Here's a collection of point-and-click links to resources on the Internet which will come in handy when working with ThinHelp. Selecting the links will launch your Web browser if it is not already open and load the appropriate URL. If your browser is already open, it will load the URL directly. The first time you use the Web extension in this help system you may be asked to select your browser before launching the first URL. You may also need to start your dialer and connect to your Internet provider if your winsock software does not do this for you automatically.
At this link you'll find more information on our other Help/Viewer extensions and enhancements and have the opportunity to download demos, shareware versions and full working copies of our freeware. For a complete list of products see the catalog helpfile included in this distribution.
Our recommended tool for optimizing JPEG graphics is CJPEG.EXE, a program that runs from DOS. It provides optimizing parameters unavailable in Windows tools such as Paint Shop Pro or Push, and it's free software from the same people who developed the JPEG specification. This button will load a page of search results from Alta Vista offering several choices of download locations for this software.
ForeHelp is the WYSIWYG help authoring system used by the creators of ThinHelp. In addition to authoring tools they also provide a number of useful Help/Viewer extensions including HelpButtons, for embedding your own custom buttons in bitmaps; and OLE for Help, a revolutionary extension for embedding OLE objects in helpfiles. This is your source for assistance with ForeHelp problems not related to ThinHelp's ForeHelp interface.
One of the biggest and best clearinghouses of WinHelp-related links. Managed by Ron Loewy of Hyperact, who provide a wide range of unique products for WinHelp, hypertext and HTML authors. Also includes a collection of Word for Windows links for authors who rely on Word as their main authoring tool.
Leftjustified Publiks of Las Cruces, New Mexico have graciously provided us with ftp space for Internet access to many of these products. You're invited to browse their Web site and download some interesting Windows Help implementations offered as shareware, as well as peruse some useful ASCII documents. This URL on their site offers some interesting insights into the development of stand-alone hypertext applications in Windows Help format.
This is a USENET newsgroup specifically for WinHelpers. This link will only function properly if your browser is set up for USENET access.
developers of GIF Construction Set, a simple and effective tool for working with GIFs, and useful for converting animated GIFs to ThinHelp animations and transparent GIFs to transparent Help/Viewer bitmaps. You might also want to investigate their Web authoring tools and Graphics Workshop.
Here you'll learn about Paint Shop Pro, perhaps the best shareware bitmap editing and conversion tool on the market, and one of the simplest sophisticated graphics processors anywhere for new users. If you're a writer first and only do graphics as “part of the job”, Paint Shop Pro could be your best choice for graphics processing. JASC also makes sophisticated screen capture software and authoring tools for designing demos, and the Paint Shop Pro helpfile is frequently touted as being a clinic in context-sensitive Help authoring technique.
Arguably the biggest, best FTP site on the Internet for Windows Help authors. Operated by Onyx Graphics and maintained as of mid-1996 by Grant Hogarth, this archive included nearly 30Mb of Windows Help tools, demos, tip sheets, utilities, patches and much more. Includes extensive file descriptions. Hackers beware: this site has a high addiction factor. Of special interest to ThinHelp users may be WH_WEDIT.EXE, a tool for fine-tuning and editing the parameters of compiled helpfiles.
Note: if your browser can't hit this site using the URL loaded from here, try capitalizing Pub/Winhelp.
This archive is nearly as extensive as the one at Onyx and was the de-facto "official" WinHelp ftp site until the Onyx site was established in 1995.
Home of the winhlp-l Internet/BITNET mailing list used by over 1,300 Winhelp authors and developers worldwide. From here you'll be able to subscribe to the mailing list, learn more about WinHelp, search the Web for WinHelp-related products and much more. Site and mailing list managed by George Byrnes at Humber College in the Toronto, Canada area as of mid-1996. Bookmark this site as a quick reference to commands for changing your winhlp-l settings and signing off the list.
Home site of Mary Deaton, co-author of Designing Windows 95 Help and download site for demo software from TouchSend.
Home of one of the most dedicated and enthusiastic Help authors in the world, and source for a number of unique WinHelp products, tutorials, tips and demos. A must-see for all serious help authors.
The Windows Help Universe is another source for a wide range of WinHelp links, from product sources to ftp sites. Maintained by Michael Cessna, who has provided the Help authoring community with a wide range of unique new tips and tricks over the years
An excellent resource for more WinHelp-related links.
Email to Bernd Herd, author of ThinHelp: herdsoft@aol.com
Email to Cub Lea, author of ThinHelp documentation files: cublea@cyberstore.ca