NetHelp2 FAQ
What is Netscape Help?
Netscape Help (or NetHelp) is a collection of HTML-based online help technologies
created to solve various online help needs for Netscape products.
NetHelp 2.0 is the latest NetHelp technology, and is used for the online
help in the Communicator product line. The NetHelp 2.0 SDK (Software Development
Kit) provides tools and information for help authors to create and distribute
their own NetHelp 2.0 help systems.
NetHelp technologies use Netscape Navigator 3.0 or later as an HTML-based
online help viewer. Through code that we make available on our web site,
any application can launch Navigator and have Navigator display specified
HTML files in a NetHelp window. Additionally, NetHelp can be run entirely
from a server, and accessed solely through HTML pages.
Why is Netscape developing an online help system?
Netscape needs to provide online help for Netscape client, server, and
tool products. Since Netscape products work across a large variety of platforms,
online help also has to work across many platforms. At the same time, Netscape's
Technical Publications organization needs to single-source content for
manuals, online help, and the Web. Since no other help authoring environments
meet those needs, we developed NetHelp as
the solution.
So you're competing with Microsoft's HTML Help?
No. NetHelp was developed primarily to provide online help for Netscape
products. At the same time, we realized that help authors outside the company
might also benefit from a truly cross-platform, single-sourced, online
help technology. That's why NetHelp has been released to the public.
What's different about NetHelp 2.0?
NetHelp 2.0 extends NetHelp 1.0's context-sensitive API and ID mapping
functions to include the following features:
nethelp: URL designator
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Provides an easy way to call NetHelp from HTML, Java, JavaScript, or native
applications
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Allows Web-based NetHelp to use the project file parser built into Navigator
Table of Contents
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Expanding/collapsing Table of Contents
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Table of Contents updates as you navigate through the help content, so
you always know "where am I?"
Keyword Index tools
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Author-defined index markers in HTML content
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Index generator scans through content files and makes the index
JavaScript Button Control
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Easy way to make "real" buttons in JavaScript
Dynamic HTML Layers and Absolute Positioning
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Stack layers of HTML
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Place blocks of HTML exactly where you want them
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Provides popup windows, animated blocks of text or graphics, and translucent
overlays
Dynamic Style Sheets
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Allows text formatting "on the fly"
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Manipulate Cascading Style Sheets (CSS1)
Text Find function
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Find text string within help content frame
Print function
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Print HTML within help content frame
Secondary Windows
Is NetHelp designed only to provide Help for Web-based content or is it
a replacement for context-sensitive and procedural Help for any kind of
application?
It's both. NetHelp can reside on a web site, and be accessed entirely through
HTML, or it can be called from a local application to view its HTML help
files.
NetHelp is just HTML, right?
NetHelp content is uncompiled, straight HTML. NetHelp functionality is
provided through JavaScript functions, Dynamic HTML, and calls to the browser's
built-in functions. There is no native code in NetHelp--all code is cross-platform.
What platforms will NetHelp support?
NetHelp supports all platforms supported by Netscape Navigator. For Navigator
4, part of the Communicator client suite, this list includes the following
platforms:
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Windows 3.1
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Windows 95 and NT
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Macintosh 68K
-
Macintosh PowerPC
-
Unix: DEC Alpha 3.2, 4.0
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Unix: HP-UX 9.05, 10.x
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Unix: AIX 4.x
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Unix: IRIX 5.3, 6.2, 6.3
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Unix: Linux 2.0.x
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Unix: Solaris 2.4, 2.5
-
Unix: SunOS 4.1.3
-
OS/2
What does it cost? Do I need to license Navigator?
NetHelp, including the API, sample code, and SDK, is free. Much of NetHelp's
functionality is already built in to Netscape Navigator. Sample code used
to hook up native applications may be used in your product and distributed
without a licensing fee. Graphic files, such as the buttons used in the
SDK's sample help system, can be reused without a licensing fee.
Since Navigator is currently the only browser that supports the level
of JavaScript needed to run NetHelp, Navigator is required. Bundling Navigator
with your product requires a licensing fee.
Will NetHelp work on other browsers besides Navigator 4?
NetHelp exploits new methods and functions available only in the latest
version of JavaScript. Currently, that version, JavaScript 1.2, is supported
only in Navigator 4. Other browsers, including Internet Explorer, also
support their versions of JavaScript, albeit perhaps a down-rev version.
The NetHelp 2.0 implementation supplied in the SDK exploits the new
nethelp URL, which also is currently supported only in Navigator 4.
What do I need to construct a NetHelp system? Do I need special tools?
To construct a NetHelp system, you need only to create help content files.
NetHelp content is standard HTML with a few special tags to denote index
and table of contents data. Any means of generating standard HTML, including
simple text editors to WYSIWYG tools, is valid for producing NetHelp content.
Table of Contents and Index data files are produced by the Java applet
provided in the SDK.
All other files are provided in the SDK.
Does each topic have to be a separate HTML file?
That's up to you as the help designer. If you want each topic to be its
own file, the system handles that. If you prefer to have one large file,
with each topic jumping to a named anchor, you can do that too.
Note however, that the NetHelp Builder included in the NetHelp 2.0 SDK
is optimized for larger files containing multiple topics. At this time,
using separate HTML files for each topic requires some manual editing of
the help project files.
What do you provide for Table of Contents and Index navigation?
NetHelp provides JavaScript Table of Contents and Index tools. Because
they're implemented in JavaScript, these tools work across all Netscape
platforms without changes.
How do the Table of Contents and Index tools work?
The NetHelp SDK provides a Java applet -- the NetHelp Builder -- that scans
through your HTML content files for special tags. The Builder generates
Contents and Index data files that are displayed by the JavaScript tools.
What about Find and Search?
NetHelp provides a simple Find function to search the contents of the topic
pane for a specified text string. A more robust search solution is under
investigation.
Is NetHelp customizable?
Yes. Customization of the NetHelp user interface (UI) is one of NetHelp's
primary design features. For example, you might want to customize the look
of the help window to better match your application's UI. To get help authors
jump-started, the NetHelp 2.0 SDK includes a Template Gallery on our SDK
site.
What UI modifications will you support? (buttons, etc.)
It's easy to change colors, layout, and sizes of panes. Using the JavaScript
button control provided in the SDK, you can simply change the supplied
graphics to provide your own custom look. Other UI elements and design
concepts will be provided in subsequent updates to the SDK.
Will you have popup windows ala "What's This" help? If no, how will you
handle that form of Help?
NetHelp 2.0 does not support What's This help for Windows applications,
where a small window of limited size and capabilities is "popped up" over
a native application UI. Since the small window does not make any use of
the benefits of an HTML-based help system, this function is better left
to a native help system. If this feature is important to you, we'd recommend
a hybrid Help system. Continue to use the OS-specific method for "What's
This" and tool tips, in addition to HTML-based reference and procedural
Help.
For Crossware applications, where UI is coded in Dynamic HTML, NetHelp's
nethelp URL feature allows easy connection of What's This-style windows
to event triggers in the DHTML interface.
Does NetHelp support popup windows?
Regular popup windows can be implemented in NetHelp using Dynamic HTML.
For example, other popup implementations require an ActiveX control to
provide the popup window. That's available only on Windows. A popup window
using Dynamic HTML, like NetHelp's, would be available on any platform
and will work on any DHTML-capable browser.
We're working on updating our popup implementation from the earlier
LAYER tag to a Dynamic HTML implementation. These functions will be provided
in an update to the SDK.
Does NetHelp support multiple secondary windows?
Yes. You can use either JavaScript to create multiple windows. NetHelp
secondary windows are "owned" by the help implementation, that is, unlike
secondary windows spawned from a regular browser window, NetHelp secondary
windows can be controlled from the help system. For example, you
can specify that when a particular NetHelp window is closed, accompanying
secondary windows are closed as well.
We'll provide an addendum to the SDK documenting the secondary window
support.
Will you have differing windows for procedural help vs context-sensitive
Help?
Netscape Help supports different windows. You can design as many different
types of windows as you feel appropriate. The NetHelp 2.0 Template Gallery
includes UIs with differing windows.
If someone wanted to build a "local" (disk or CD-ROM based) title, could
they use your system?
Yes.
It sounds like for stand-alone use, a setup of some kind will probably
be required.
As part of an application's help system, the multiple HTML files could
be installed during the setup program for the application itself, much
in the same way WinHelp .hlp files are installed today. WinHelp authors
have the same problem if they use multiple .hlp files in a help system;
the files are usually installed together in a help directory off the application's
directory on the local drive in order for interfile jumps (using the JumpID
macro, for example) to work correctly. The same solution works for NetHelp--the
files would be installed in the same directory during setup.
In terms of standalone help files, we're seeing a trend of that information
delivery mechanism migrating to the Web. Lots of help authors extended
WinHelp into uses besides online help, such as online policy manuals, or
electronic books, prior to the advent of HTML and the World Wide Web. These
types of information have started to migrate to web-based solutions. For
example, online policy manuals are now implemented on many Intranets.
Netscape Help is intended for use as online assistance. For non-help
uses, Intranets and conventional web sites seem to be the direction many
people are taking.
One other alternative is digital paper formats, such as Adobe Acrobat.
Netscape Help supports Acrobat (PDF) files through the Adobe plugin, so
you can display PDF files in your NetHelp system.
Does all components have to reside on the server, not the client? Or will
things reside in both places?
That will be up to the Help designer. Depending on the situation, either
solution (or both) may be appropriate. For example, you may not want the
user to install large multimedia files locally--you might choose to keep
them on the server.
In addition, you might keep information that gets updated frequently
on the server, and have Netscape Help access the server-based file. Information
that needs to be accessed without a server connection could reside locally.
The current version of the NetHelp 2.0 SDK emphasizes the creation of
NetHelp 2.0 systems that reside on the client. More information on developing
served NetHelp 2.0 content will be available in future updates.
What about some form of ExecFile function that lets us author a hotspot
to open an app or applet?
Yes. You can use Netscape LiveConnect technology (JavaScript, plug-ins,
Java applets, and HTML elements working together) to interact with other
apps or applets.
In NetHelp, can I do anything I can do in Navigator?
Anything that you can display in Navigator, you can display in your Help
system--animated GIFs, tables, dynamic HTML, CSS and CSSP, plug-ins, RealAudio,
Real Video, other multimedia formats, JavaScript code and even Java applets--anything
that Navigator 4.0 supports.
Where can I find more information on NetHelp2?
Check out the NetHelp Developer's Site at http://home.netscape.com/eng/help.
How can I ask a question of my own?
Send all queries to nethelp.