.CHM file linking to software application

Hi-

I don't know if this is the right forum for this question, so if not, please direct me as to where I should post.

I have a task in HTML Help Workshop (which I'm fairly new to working with) where I need to link between the help file and the software application that the help file is written for. The user-functionality would be this:

1 - User opens application.

2 - User opens help file.

(I'm good up until this point.)

3 - Help file displays a "step-by-step" page that instructs how to navigate through the application. Clicking on one of the "steps" will automatically make the application open up to a corresponding window. Note that I'm not trying to link within the help file itself, but from the help file to the software application.

I'm more of the help file "writer", rather than the programmer, so I'm not sure on which end this type of functionality comes from. Does this need to be written into the code for the actual application? Or is it something that needs to be done from the HTML page in the help file? (or the .h or .chm .hhp file or any other file?)

Thanks for any help you can offer, or for directing me as to where I can go to solve this!

.CHM file you should have an HTML Help Viewer to veiw those files.

For accessing the application from the HTML viewer you should write the code in which the application is developed. and embed as an hyper link or some appropriate control to redirect to the application again.

For more information html viewer see this link: http://www.codeproject.com/KB/winhelp/off2khelpdlg.aspx

From what I understand you require context sensitive help as well as some kind of a macro that will perform some operation in a specific step in the application automatically. You will require the assistance of a programmer to build a macro.

For building context sensitive help, you can make use of the following resources -
HelpScribble - http://www.helpscribble.com/dotnet.html
West Wind HTML Help Builder - http://www.west-wind.com/wwHelp/docs/
This MS KB step-by-step article describes how to provide online help pages and context-sensitive help for the controls in a Microsoft Windows application - http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;821777