Help & Manual Action
This Action enables the automated builds of Help & Manual projects - you can build multiple output formats in one action.
Help & Manual is a product of and is the tool we use and recommend for help file and manual generation.
Options
File locations
Project file
The Help & Manual project file to compile.
Error log file
Outputs the compile log to the specified text file.
Variables file
An external text file, which redefines some or all the variables in the specified project file. The file must only contain one definition per line.
Types of help files to create
A list of the available project types to be built. More then one type of help file can be built. The specific options for each Help file type can be found under the relevant options tab.
Compile WinHelp
Instructs Help & Manual to compile WinHelp based on the settings provided in the WinHelp options tab.
Compile MS Help 2.0
Instructs Help & Manual to compile MS Help based on the settings provided in the MS Help options tab.
Create PDF
Instructs Help & Manual to compile a PDF based on the settings provided in the PDF options tab.
Create MultiMedia help file
Instructs Help & Manual to compile a MultiMedia help file based on the settings provided in the MultiMedia optiosn tab.
Compile HTML help
Instructs Help & Manual to compile HTML help based on the settings provided in the HTML help options tab.
Compile browser help
Instructs Help & Manual to compile Browser help based on the settings provided in the Browser help options tab.
Create manual (RTF)
Instructs Help & Manual to compile Rich Text Format help based on the settings provided in the RTF options tab.
Options
Don't close
The Help & Manual program will be left running after the action finishes.
Keep temp files
Ensures the files generated by the 'HTML Help', 'WinHelp' and 'Visual Studio Help' help file compilers are not deleted
Fail on warnings
Instructs the action to report a failure if any warnings are detected as being reported by Help & Manual.
H & M version
The version of Help and Manual to run. Helpful when multiple versions are installed on the machine.
WinHelp Options
Options
Output file
The WinHelp file to generate from the Help & Manual project. The full path and filename should be specified.
Include options
Options from the Help & Manual project to include when generating the WinHelp output. All option groups will be presented from the Help & Manual project. Ones that don't appear can be added by using the "Add" button and typing the name of the option set.
HTMLHelp Options
Options
Output file
The HTML help file to generate from the Help & Manual project. The full path and filename should be specified.
Include options
Options from the Help & Manual project to include when generating the HTMLHelp output. All option groups will be presented from the Help & Manual project. Ones that don't appear can be added by using the "Add" button and typing the name of the option set.
Skin file
The skin file to use in generating the HTMLHelp. If not specified the values set in the project file will be used instead.
Browser Help Options
Options
Output file
The Browser help file to generate from the Help & Manual project. The full path and filename should be specified.
Include options
Options from the Help & Manual project to include when generating the HTMLHelp output. All option groups will be presented from the Help & Manual project. Ones that don't appear can be added by using the "Add" button and typing the name of the option set.
Skin file
The skin file to use in generating the HTMLHelp. If not specified the values set in the project file will be used instead.
PDF Options
Options
Output file
The PDF help file to generate from the Help & Manual project. The full path and filename should be specified.
Include options
Options from the Help & Manual project to include when generating the PDF output. All option groups will be presented from the Help & Manual project. Ones that don't appear can be added by using the "Add" button and typing the name of the option set.
Template file
The template file to use when generating the PDF help file. Leave blank to use the options specified in the Help & Manual project and include options selected.
MS Help 2.0 Options
Options
Output file
The MS Help help file to generate from the Help & Manual project. The full path and filename should be specified.
Include options
Options from the Help & Manual project to include when generating the MS Help 2.0 output. All option groups will be presented from the Help & Manual project. Ones that don't appear can be added by using the "Add" button and typing the name of the option set.
Skin file
The skin file to use in generating the MS Help. If not specified the values set in the project file will be used instead.
RTF Manual Options
Options
Output file
The RTF help file to generate from the Help & Manual project. The full path and filename should be specified.
Include options
Options from the Help & Manual project to include when generating the RTF output. All option groups will be presented from the Help & Manual project. Ones that don't appear can be added by using the "Add" button and typing the name of the option set.
MM Help Options
Options
Output file
The MM help file to generate from the Help & Manual project. The full path and filename should be specified.
Include options
Options from the Help & Manual project to include when generating the MM help output. All option groups will be presented from the Help & Manual project. Ones that don't appear can be added by using the "Add" button and typing the name of the option set.
ePub Help Options
Options
Output file
The ePub help file to generate from the Help & Manual project. The full path and filename should be specified.
Include options
Options from the Help & Manual project to include when generating the ePub help output. All option groups will be presented from the Help & Manual project. Ones that don't appear can be added by using the "Add" button and typing the name of the option set.