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$Id$
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This help file is for the gethelp.tcl utility itself, and explains
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the various buttons and windows it uses.
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All help files have the same general format. Each help section is
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named by its category and topic, and its position in the file is
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indicated with a line beginning with ".Category.Topic", where
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"Category" and "Topic" are replaced by the appropriate names.
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These names must begin with letters and may contain letters and/or
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numbers, but no special characters. They will appear on the menus
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of the help utility when that file is open.
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The file is unformatted, and will be filled by the help utility
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dynamically based on the current window size. The formatting code
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is very simple, placing a single space between adjacent lines,
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except when a line ends a sentence, when two spaces are used.
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Regular expression searches will not cross newline boundaries in the
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original file, so some care should be used not to break lines at
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likely search strings. (This is a pain, I know.)
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The first section of the file, which you are now reading, is
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generally reserved for comments such as this, and is not accessed
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directly by the user.
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.Help.Intro
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While holding down the control key,
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press and release the left mouse button on any object of curiosity,
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and if there is something to say about it, that
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something will appear in this window.
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Typically, a program will access multiple help files
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through this help interface.
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The particular file being viewed is indicated by the text at the
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top right of this window.
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It is not possible through this interface to switch from one help
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file to another, as the particular file being viewed is controlled by
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the calling program.
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The help window itself offers the ability to search through the
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available topics in the selected file via the "Category" and "Topic" menus.
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Each general category consists of an introduction (such as this
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one), followed by zero or more topics.
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Selecting a new topic starts automatically at the introduction page.
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From there, various topics within that category may be selected
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using the "Topic" menu.
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.Help.Category
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Help information is divided logically into categories, then
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into topics within each category.
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Changing categories via the "Category" menu immediately selects the
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default topic for the new category, which is always called "intro."
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Other topics for the new category will be listed by the (new) topic
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menu for that category.
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Some categories may have only an intro topic.
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The current category and topic are given as the title in the
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displayed help window.
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.Help.Topic
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The topic menu allows you to select which subtopic in this category
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you wish to display.
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The next logical topic is available via the "Next" button,
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unless the end of the help file has been reached.
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The current category and topic are given as the title in the
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displayed help window.
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.Navigate.Intro
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Besides accessing the category and topic menus, you can navigate
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forward and backward in the history list for the current help file,
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go directly to the next help topic, and search for regular
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expressions.
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The history list is filled in one of two ways.
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The first way is by running a search which results in multiple topic
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matches, in which case the additional matches are put in the future
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history of this file.
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The second way is by selecting additional topics, either explicitly
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via the "Category" and "Topic" menus, or implicitly by getting more
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help from the calling application without quitting the help window
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in between.
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.Navigate.Search
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To search for a particular pattern, type a regular expression
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in the text entry field.
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Hitting <return> causes all matches in the current topic to be
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highlighted.
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Hitting the "Grep" button causes all categories and topics to be
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searched.
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The first matching topic is displayed, and other matching topics (if
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any) may be accessed with the "Forward" button.
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Each time a new topic is selected, matching words will be highlighted
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in bold, whether or not <return> or the "Grep" button has been pressed.
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To prevent new matches from being highlighted, clear the search entry
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with <control-U>.
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Matches are insensitive to case and word boundaries.
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.Navigate.Forward
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The "Forward" button moves from the current topic to the next one in
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the history list, if any.
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In most cases, the "Forward" button will not be activated unless
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a search has been conducted with the "Grep" button or
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the "Back" button has been pressed one or more times.
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.Navigate.Back
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Use the "Back" button to go to previously accessed topics in the
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history list.
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If this button is disabled, it simply means that you are already at
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the beginning of the help file history.
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.Navigate.Next
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The "Next" button moves to the next sequential topic in the help file,
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which is named at the bottom of the current text.
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If this button is disabled, it means that the end of the help file
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has been reached.
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.Helpwin.Intro
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The help window displays the contents of the current help category and
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topic.
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The category and topic are given in bold at the top of the text in
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the window.
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The next category and topic are given at the end of the text in the
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window.
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Scrolling is accomplished with the scrollbar on the right.
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.Helpwin.Scroll
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Grab the bar with the mouse and drag it up and down to scroll
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the text in the help window.
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Click below or above the bar to jump a page forward or backward,
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respectively.
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Click on the little triangle at the bottom or top to move down or up
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a line at a time.
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.Help.Done
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The "Done" button simply dismisses the help window.
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(It is sometimes better to iconify the window, if frequent help is
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needed.)
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