Re: [lmi] Accessing html help while an XRC dialog is active

[Greg Chicares]

On 2008-03-13 19:54Z, Vaclav Slavik wrote:
> Greg Chicares wrote:
>> (2) If (1) isn't possible, then we've got a "Help" pushbutton on
>> each XRC dialog already, and it's mapped to wxID_HELP, but still
>> it does nothing. How can it be made to display html help?
>>
>> If (1) is feasible, then we should ignore (2) and remove the
>> "Help" pushbuttons from XRC dialogs.
> 
> (1) can be done by installing wxAcceleratorTable for the affected 
> dialogs that will map F1 to wxID_HELP and then have wxID_HELP handler 
> that will display relevant page of the manual

That's more than I want, actually. I'm only trying to show the
main html help "Contents" page, exactly the same as if a user
presses F1 in any non-dialog context. Then F1 would always do
the same simple thing.

Here's why. Suppose you open a new "census" file
  alt-F N C
and edit its first cell
  alt-C E
and tab to "Extra policy fee". That's an "input sequence", so
we could open help to "user_manual_contents.html#how_sequence".
But maybe "user_manual_contents.html#how_census" would be
better, if "Extra policy fee" is just focused by accident and
the user wants more general help. Or I could make a case that
"user_manual_contents.html#how_illus_prop" is best, because
that's the command that brought the user to the dialog.

So there are three help contexts I could guess, but all I know
for sure is that two of them are wrong. That's why I think
simpler is better here.

> (for example, it could 
> be done in MvcController and derive help page's name from dialog's 
> name (==XRCID)). The code would then be the same as for Help button, 
> only the button would be missing from XRC resources.

Could I ask you for a patch? I'm just guessing it's probably a
whole lot quicker if you show me.

Would this work for wxGTK? (We need to make sure lmi works at
least as well on a free OS as on msw--it's FSF policy.) The wx
documentation says "on GTK, only menu commands are supported"
by wxAcceleratorTable, but I'm not sure exactly what that means
here. I've got this:

    <object class="wxMenuItem" name="wxID_HELP">
        <label>_Contents\tF1</label>
        <bitmap>help.xpm</bitmap>
        <help>Read documentation</help>
    </object>

in XRC, so in that sense F1 is already a menu command, but of
course that menu is inaccessible when a modal dialog is active.

> I think the Help button is useful, though, it indicates to the user 
> that extended help on this dialog is available in addition to 
> per-field contextual help.

You and Vadim have both said that, and I accept your reasoning.
I'll leave the "Help" pushbuttons in place.