Help file

[pekajo]

Hi,
Can anyone give me a idea of adding a help to fields. (by pressing function key?) I know there is a roll over but was thinking of having a table with help for each field and then use a dlookup, but am open to any suggestions

Thanks
Peter

 

[theDBguy]

Hi Peter. Sure. You can also use small buttons with a question mark icon users can click to get a popup window show up.

 

[vba_php]

what kind of content are you planning to put in the table regarding your 'help' Peter? I wouldn't think anyone would need help with an actual 'field' if they are entering data. Maybe as an 'additional info about field' option.

 

[The_Doc_Man]

There used to be a "Help File" editor but that was so insanely good as an idea that in their infinite wisdom, Microsoft doesn't push that much. The last time I did this, I might have done a SMALL amount of overkill, but...

I built a Word file and assured that it had short-text bookmark names. Then I built a subroutine (in a general module) that would open a specified WORD file in Read-Only mode, execute a JumpTo Bookmark operation, and would seek the bookmark associated with data specific to the control I had just clicked to get that help.

Then I put "hot spots" with question marks in them next to some controls. Each such hot spot responded to an OnClick operation and would call that module. The subroutine would know whether it had ever been called before in the current session and would pop up a message box if not. The first time you asked for help in a session, it would say, "If you open a help article, remember to click on the CLOSE button in the upper right of the help window." After that, it just popped up the help article that was found at the given bookmark.

 

[isladogs]

I believe the old MS Help Authoring app used to create chm files no longer works in the latest versions of Windows. I tried it a few years ago and found it very hard to use.

However, there are a variety of other methods you could use for help info, each with advantages and disadvantages.
1. Control tips which pop up if you hover over a control for a few seconds. However these are fairly slow to load and don't appear at all if you have a hidden control 'above' the one with the control tip
2. Status bar messages. However the text is small & out of the way. Its easy to miss messages displayed in the status bar
3. Use control formatting to show a message when the field is null. For example formatting a date field as dd/mm/yyyy;;;"Enter Date of birth" would display the text when the field is null and display the entered date in that format
For more details see http://www.mendipdatasystems.co.uk/add-query-colour/4594424152
4. Use a mouse move event to display a message fairly prominently on a form. The message appears immediately when you move over the control and disappears as soon as you move away. By using a large font & brightly coloured text not used for other purposes (I often use magenta for this), the message is very hard to miss. Of course, the disadvantage is that it can take up more screen space ….
5. Use a click or mouse move event to display a custom popup form used for hints/tips etc based on e.g. a rich text memo field stored in a help table. This takes a bit more planning but has the advantage that the same help info could be used in multiple forms having the same type of data e.g. wherever there is a date field

Hope that helps

 

[Uncle Gizmo]

Mark provided an excellent thread on one method a while back which you can see here:-

https://www.access-programmers.co.uk/forums/showpost.php?p=1582223&postcount=6

I also did a video showing Marks code in use which you can see here:-

https://www.niftyaccess.com/display-a-message-for-the-user/



Sent from Newbury UK

 

[Uncle Gizmo]

A few years back I developed my own simple help system which was basically a command button to open a form to a particular record in the forms table. (You could also use the double click event of the control in question) - the code to open the form will also pass through an ID number identifying the particular help you wanted to show against that particular control.

This worked OK for one Form, but to add it to multiple Forms meant you had to know where you were in the list of ID numbers you had used. Not a major problem but a headache you don't really need.

Later I built a Class Module which has the ability to capture a reference to a control on your form, open another form and use that captured information to do anything you wanted with VBA code.

For example, the VBA code could be used to get the name from the the captured control and place that in the table, then you could fill in the help text related to that control. You could also place a subform on your help Form to display images if required, or URL to YouTube where you might want to store helpful videos.

The beauty of implementing a Help System with this method is that wherever you put the code whether you put the code in the double click event of the control, or whether you put the code in a command button adjacent to control, the code is exactly the same in every case all it does is open the Form. In your case this would be the Help Form.

The Help Form would open with a blank record ready for you to type in the help information. Nothing to think about, no list of reference numbers to maintain, just identical code, a simple one line of code, and then just type in the the help text.

If you went with this method I would also recommend that you capture the form name, (the class module allows you to do this easily) because it is likely you will have controls with the same name on different forms.

The class module is available here:-

https://www.niftyaccess.com/callcalled-class-module/

Along with some YouTube instructional videos and samples.

I would be very happy to help develop a help file system using the CallCalled Class Module if you wanted to take this route.

Sent from Newbury UK

 

[Uncle Gizmo]

Hi,
Can anyone give me a idea of adding a help to fields. (by pressing function key?) I know there is a roll over but was thinking of having a table with help for each field and then use a dlookup, but am open to any suggestions

Thanks
Peter

Your question prompted me to go ahead and set up my help system which I've been contemplating creating for a while now. The following is a YouTube showing how it works.

The Nifty Access Help System will be available for free shortly. If you want a copy, then contact me and I will explain how you can get a free copy...

My email address is mailtonyhine@gmail.com

YouTube Video:-
Help System For MS Access - Nifty Access
https://youtu.be/RU4qsMFDFr0

 

[Uncle Gizmo]

Your question prompted me.....

And there's More!

With this method of coding, instead of having to write code for each individual call to the help file by providing a reference number to the particular help you want to pop up.

By developing the code to work independently of that sort of arrangement, you end up with a single function that does not require any extra information, like an integer to specify the help Row in question. By taking this route, you end up with the ability to wire up multiple controls in just a few seconds.

See this YouTube video for a demonstration. Wire Up Multiple Controls to a Function - Nifty Access https://youtu.be/3FdRkYuUsxU

 

[Uncle Gizmo]

Here are the instructions for Installing the "Nifty Help System" for MS Access...

Nifty Access - Help System - SETUP

 

[Uncle Gizmo]

I've just updated the Nifty Access - Help System. I had a request from a YouTuber FarZ. I've added the ability to call up the Help Form with a Hotkey and Mouse Over. This is useful if you are using the double click event for something else.

YouTube Explanation
Nifty Access - Help System - PopUp on MouseOver

More Info on Nifty Access HERE:-

Nifty Help System