The HTML

Reference

Library

The best

HTML

Reference

resource

in the world

Ever!*

First off, thanks for coming this far - I hope the journey so far hasn't been too tortuous and that it'll prove to be worth it. The following are notes that should be read before continuing any further into this HTMLib.

Important : This HTML based HTMLib (both the library and the LibPad application) is beta software. It will remain so until the HtmlHelp controls reach release versions. Also, it requires Internet Explorer 3.01 and the Microsoft HtmlHelp controls to be installed at the bare minimum for it to work.

• Internet Explorer is available from Microsoft at http://www.microsoft.com/ie/
• The HtmlHelp controls are available from Microsoft at http://www.microsoft.com/workshop/author/htmlhelp/

The Colour Wizard (included with previous incarnations of the HTMLib) is now an ActiveX control which works directly through the HTMLib. This will require the Visual Basic virtual machine to be installed on your system. As this is beta software, I haven't created a .CAB file for the control, so you will need to manually download the Visual Basic virtual machine (if you don't have it) for the Colour Wizard to work.

• The Visual Basic virtual machine is available from Microsoft at http://activex.microsoft.com/controls/vb5/MSVBVMb5.cab

The eagle-eyed amongst you will have noticed that the HTMLib now installs into it's own program group and sets up three icons. There is the Installation info icon (which loads this document) and there are icons for applications called 'HTMLib' and 'LibPad'.

The HTMLib icon launches the new HTML based HTMLib (using the Microsoft HtmlHelp controls). The LibPad icons launches a test-bed editor, which was developed to show how easy it is to create and embedded HtmlHelp system. LibPad operates like any other text-editor, but currently has some limitations, which are detailed in the 'Limitations' menu item (under the Help menu).

LibPad doesn't support automatic inclusion of HTML elements, which is why it's slogan is 'For those who know where they're going' (i.e. you need to know HTML to create documents with it). What it does have is complete access to the HTMLib, via a right-click menu option after any HTML element has been selected.

I have chosen to make this HTML based HTMLib (and LibPad) available to fellow WinHelp developers in the hope that it may help for developing prototype HTML based on-line help systems, until the 'serious' (by that I mean financially serious) help development tools become stable enough (this includes the HtmlHelp controls) for mainstream development work. All comments on this HTMLib and LibPad should be directed to me by e-mail at cmlehunt@swan.ac.uk.

Please take note of the re-distribution issues with this beta HTMLib, by viewing the 'Licencing/Re-distrbution' topic contained in the Introduction topic of the HTMLib contents.

Thanks for taking the time to play with these applications - I hope they prove useful.