Context-Sensitive Help

[Risky Dave]

Hi,

I want to add some context-sensitive help functionality to a tool that I've
built. By this, I mean that I want to have butons next to various things (on
forms, not worksheets) that will bring up a small message box with some
relevant help text in.

Questions:
1) It would be nice to have a button that is the small blue circle with
white question mark that is the standard MS help link. Can this be done or do
the buttons have to be rectangles?
2) What would be really clever would be if the "button" was actually a
hotspot so that the user only has to place the cursor over the object to
activate the help file (ie. no clicking). Can XL do this?
3) I was going to have the button activation just bring up a simple message
box with the help text. Is there a better/more efficient way of building in
some help text (I've never used help files before and am still learning VB,
so plain English explanations would be appreciated )

TIA

Dave

 

[Chip Pearson]

Before you can decide on how to present the help to the user, you must
define where that help text is stored. The solution will vary
depending on whether you are using real chm help files, some sort of
text file (txt or xml) or have the help text stored in a range of
cells in a (perhaps hidden) worksheet.

Cordially,
Chip Pearson
Microsoft Most Valuable Professional
Excel Product Group, 1998 - 2009
Pearson Software Consulting, LLC
www.cpearson.com
(email on web site)

 

[Jim Cone]

Q1. An Image Control can hold a picture and has a click event.
Q2. Use a controls "ControlTipText" property to provide hints not long messages.
Q3. There is no "easy" help system - see Chip Pearson's response.
--
Jim Cone
Portland, Oregon USA



"Risky Dave" <[email protected]>
wrote in message
Hi,

I want to add some context-sensitive help functionality to a tool that I've
built. By this, I mean that I want to have butons next to various things (on
forms, not worksheets) that will bring up a small message box with some
relevant help text in.

Questions:
1) It would be nice to have a button that is the small blue circle with
white question mark that is the standard MS help link. Can this be done or do
the buttons have to be rectangles?
2) What would be really clever would be if the "button" was actually a
hotspot so that the user only has to place the cursor over the object to
activate the help file (ie. no clicking). Can XL do this?
3) I was going to have the button activation just bring up a simple message
box with the help text. Is there a better/more efficient way of building in
some help text (I've never used help files before and am still learning VB,
so plain English explanations would be appreciated )
TIA
Dave