If you have a Microsoft Windows program or product to distribute that requires a help file, you may have tried to use Microsoft HTML Help. The help compiler is free, and it produces the .CHM file that the HTML Help file viewer uses. You would have also discovered that it is difficult to use. If your program or product requires a full featured help system, with indexing and search capabilities, then this is what you should use. But what if you don't need any of the advanced search and indexing features of HTML Help? What if you only need a simple HTML-based help system that mainly uses hyperlinks and file selection?  For most applications, HTML Help is overkill.

This page will show you how to create a custom help system using an EzWeb Compiler file.  We will show you 3 different ways to implement it:  Using EzView; Using Internet Explorer; and using an embedded web browser control in your application.  Each method can display any webpage specified by your application code.

 The first step is to create your help file content.  These are the webpages that make up your help system.  If you plan to use EzView, then you won't need a navigation system between pages because EzView has the treeview to select pages.  If using the other two methods, you will need links to get from page to page.  Usually, you would create a Table of Contents page as a starting point, from which the user can navigate to other pages.

After you have created your content, build your EzWeb Compiler file as usual, by dragging/dropping your files onto EzWeb Compiler.

Method 1: Using EzView

To call any webpage within your EzWeb Compiler file from within your application, use either WinExec or CreateProcess, and passing the name of the file you want to load.  You must build a path to where EzView is installed (possibly in your application folder, or in "Windows\system32\viewers".  For example:

WinExec( "c:\windows\system32\viewers\ezview.exe c:/myfolder/myhelpfile.ezs/page1.htm", SW_SHOWNORMAL );

 Notice the EzWeb Compiler file path contains the internal HTML filename that we want to load (page1.htm).

Method 2: Using Internet Explorer

This method is probably the best because it doesn't require EzView to be shipped with your application, and doesn't require any extra programming to make your own Help window.  Using the code below, a new Internet Explorer window will be opened, displaying the specified webpage within your EzWeb Compiler file.  The code also hides the Toolbar, MenuBar and StatusBar.  Notice the URL specifies the EzWeb Compiler protocol.

IWebBrowser2Ptr ix( L"InternetExplorer.Application" );

ix->put_MenuBar( FALSE );
ix->put_ToolBar( FALSE );
ix->put_StatusBar( FALSE );

CString strPath;
strPath = "ezstor://c:/myfolder/myhelpfile.ezs/helppage1.htm";
_bstr_t bstrUrl = strPath;
ix->put_Visible( VARIANT_TRUE );
ix->Navigate2( &_variant_t(bstrUrl), &vtMissing, &vtMissing, &vtMissing, &vtMissing );

 Method 3: Custom Help Window

This method can be very appropriate for some applications.  You would need to create your own Help window that contains an embedded web browser control (or a WOW control).  Once you have coded this, you just add code to open the appropriate help page.  If your web browser variable name is m_webctl, then you would do something like this:

m_webctl.Navigate( "ezstor://c:/myfolder/myhelpfile.ezs/helppage1.htm" );