This is a sort of a guide to using the INT2WHLP precompiler. INT2WHLP transfers Ralf Brown's Interrupt List to some RTF (Rich-Text Format) files which can be used as input for Microsoft's HC31 WINHELP file compiler. This text gives also some hints on using the the results of the compilation. COMPILATION The easy way to compile the list is this: Change to the directory where you want your INTWIN.HLP file. There should be at least 16 Mb free space on the disk. It can be the directory with the Interrupt List files (which we will call the Source Directory), but it is better to use a separate directory not to mess up the Source Directory. A subdirectory under the Source Directory would be fine. Copy the following files to the directory: INTWIN.BAT INT2WHLP.EXE INT2WHLP.CFG SEL_TOPC.RTF MISC_INF.RTF INTWIN.PH It is handy also to have: I2W-FILE.TXT I2W-HINT.TXT (this file) I2W-CFG.TXT I2W-OPT.TXT in the directory. For a partial compilation of the List, FLT_METH.RTF is required (see paragraph FLT_METH.RTF in I2W-FILE.TXT). Make sure that the following files are in the Source Directory: INTERRUP.LST or INTERRUP.A, INTERRUP.B, ... INTERRUP.1ST CATEGORY.KEY OVERVIEW.LST INTERRUP.PRI PORTS.LST MEMORY.LST 86BUGS.LST CMOS.LST GLOSSARY.LST where INTERRUP.LST is the concatenation of INTERRUP.A, INTERRUP.B, ... . Make sure that HC31.EXE is somewhere on the DOS path. Type INTWIN at the DOS prompt to start the compilation. On a 486/33MHz computer it takes INT2WHLP 1 1/2 minut to precompile release 41 of the List, and it takes HC31 40 minutes to create the INTWIN.HLP file. CONFIGURATION The INT2WHLP program lets you personalize your INTWIN.HLP file. If you use high resolution graphics on a large screen, then read the comments in the [CONFIG] section of the INT2WHLP.CFG file. For more details, see the files I2W-CFG.TXT and I2W-OPT.TXT. COMPRESSION The HC31 program supports three levels of compression: high, medium, and none. Medium compressed and uncompressed files are about 15% and 100% longer than highly compressed files, respectively. HC31 can use an existing file with compression information (a PH file), and it needs not to be exactly up-to-date. Compiling release 41 with a PH file from release 40 gives a file about 4% longer than a compilation with an up-to-date PH file. Compiling the compression information file is very resource consuming. For Interrupt List release 41 compiled with INT2WHLP v. 1.10: 631 kb < required DOS RAM < 730 kB 27 Mb < required free disk space < 50 Mb The compilation of the compression info took 20 minutes, and the rest of the compilation took 40 minutes on a 486/33MHx computer. Actually, when the computer gave up due to insufficient RAM when 631 kb were available, it had already created an INTWIN.PH file that was identical to the final file. We will try in the future to include an INTWIN.PH file based on a beta release of the list, and we will try to update that file to include the correct release date. You should control that INTWIN.PH includes a line identical to line 1 in INTERRUP.A, except that 6 spaces have been substituted for 2 or 3 tabs. The date at the end of the line appears also as a separate entry in the INTWIN.PH file. Edit INTWIN.PH if appropriate. This is essential because the string appears in about 260 locations in the help file. HIGH RESOLUTION GRAPHICS The default settings allow you to display the List on a normal 640x480 VGA screen without the need of horizontal scroll. If you use high resolution graphics on a large screen, you will want to define another size of the secondary window used to display the tables, see comments in the [CONFIG] section in file INT2WHLP.CFG. If you use a high resolution graphics on a screen with small dimensions, you might want to use a larger font. The file package I2W-TEST.ZIP contains files that let you experiment with different fonts with very short INT2WHLP and HC31 compilation times. Unzip the package to a subdirectory under your INT2WHLP directory and read its README file. INTWIN's TOPIC SEARCH FACILITIES INTWIN facilitates seaching interrupt topics with many different keys, based on: a. Elements in the interrupt header line. b. Keys in the file CATEGORY.KEY for the appropriate interrupt category. c. Combinations of interrupt number and register contents. d. Category letters. For example, --------O-214302----------------------------- INT 21 - DR-DOS 3.41+ internal - GET ACCESS RIGHTS AX = 4302h will be listed with the following search keys: DR-DOS 3.41+ internal \ a GET ACCESS RIGHTS / other operating systems \ non-standard operating systems > b operating systems (non-standard)/ INT 21 AX = 4302 \ INT 21 AH = 43 \ INT 21 *) \ 21 4302 \ c 21 43 / 21 *) / AX = 4302 / AH = 43 / O! **) d *) WINHELP lists only the first 400 search hits. **) Because WINHELP's search facility does not distinguish between letter case, the search keys for capital letter categories are the letter followed by an exclamation mark. TABLE CROSS-REFERENCES Tables are separate topics in help files compiled with version 1.08+ of INT2WHLP. When referenced from a "#nnnn" hotspot, the table pops up in a secondary window, thus the user can easily change between the source in the main help window and the referenced table in the secondary window. However, secondary windows are less flexible than the main window: topics are not recorded in the history list, you cannot browse between topics (<< and >> pushbuttons), and the topics cannot be copied or printed from the secondary window. Therefore all tables have a "Copy to Main" hotspot at the top. The table topic titles include the interrupt number and subfunction where the table is defined, and there is a hotspot at the end of each table that pops up the appropriate interrupt in the main window. There are two search keys for each table topic: "#nnnn" where nnnn is the four digit table number, and the table title as given in the Interrupt List ("Bitfields for ...", "Call ... with:", "Format of ...", "Values for ..."). HELP WINDOW PUSHBUTTONS The Help Window includes some extra shortcut pushbuttons. "Print" sends the current topic to the currently selected printer. To select another printer, use "Print Select..." from the "File" menu. "Copy" copies the current topic to the Cllipboard. To copy only part of the topic, use "Copy..." from the "Edit" menu. "Exit" closes both the main window and an open secodary (table) window. Selecting "Close" from the control menu or pressing Alt F4 closes only the main window. "Print" and "Exit" are equivalent to selecting "Print Topic" and "Exit" from the "File" menu.