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Information about the the help system to be used and the help files is stored in the appropriate INI files. The LEASYS.INI file defines the help browsers that are available to LEA programs in the [helpsystems] section, eg NotePad, Adobe Acrobat, Windows Help, Netscape etc.
The format is one key per browser, eg:
[helpsystems] browserkey=browserexe,extension,separator,contexttypewhere:-
browserkey is a generic name for a browser
browserexe is a browser executable file. This is searched for in the LYNXSYS directory and the directories in the standard Windows search path. If browserexe cannot be found, then the default executable for the extension listed below will be used for help files of this type.
extension is a help file default extension, for this browser
separator is the command line separator between filename and context
contexttype can be text, number or none for the type of context
For example, four alternative browsers may be specified as follows:
[helpsystem] html=netscape.exe,.htm,#,text Winhelp=winhelp.exe,.hlp, ,number Acrobat=ACROREAD.EXE,.pdf, ,text plaintext=NOTEPAD,.txt, ,none
Each LEA INI file has its own help file which defines the browser and help file to be used. This is defined in the INI file's [help] section as follows:
[help] browser=html helpfile=leasys.htm
The identifier specified by the browser key must be one of the keys from the [helpsystems] section in LEASYS.INI
A help context is an identifier which associates a particular action in a program with the corresponding help information in the help file. Help context formats vary from one help system to another. For example, Windows help contexts are numeric, whereas HTML contexts (labels) are text.
Note that each INI file maintains its own independent context sensitivity. When a system message is generated, the system help context is set. When an application message is generated the application help context is independently set.
[help] sections can also be made dependent on the language (see Multiple Language Capability below) e.g.
[R.help] browser=html helpfile=Russprog.hlp
Help contexts can be inserted at the beginning of any message string or control label in an INI file, with a predefined context delimiter, or separator character. Contexts are also generated automatically for use by the PRMEDIT parameter editing module.
The context delimiter is set in the[help] section of the INI file:
contextdelim=delimiter
where delimiter is a character to be used to separate the help context from the message. The system default is the @ character
To put a help context into a message string , simply prefix the message with the help context string using the delimiter as a separator, e.g. :-
errormessage=ERROR_1@There was an error the INI file!
In this case, the help context is ERROR_1, which would correspond to a bookmark or target in the help file. Note that Windows help system help contexts are numeric, whereas HTML allows text strings.
The default language for LEA programs can be changed at any time by right-clicking in an LEA Window to display the Languages context menu. Select the language to use from the sub-menu displayed.
The aim of language translation capability is to put all textual information for programs into the INI files where it can be modified at run time. The menus, program messages and text, help files and parameter descriptions will all switch when a new language is selected. The possible languages that can be used in the system are defined in LEASYS.INI by the current language code and [languageprefix] section. This defines a common set of codes to be used in other INI files in order to identify the languages.
In the [global] section of LEASYS.INI or the [local] section of a program or library INI file, the base (startup) language for the system or program is defined, for example language=44 would define the base language as English. This setting may be overridden in a particular user's LEASTART.INI file by the startuplanguage key. By default, we use the standard international telephone country codes to identify the languages, e.g. UK=44, Russia=07, USA=01 (for those who are particular about the differences between UK and American English!)
The [languageprefix] section within a given INI file defines the prefixes to be used to identify sections in the file belonging to a given language:
[languageprefix] 44= 07=R. 43=F.
In the above example, the prefix for English (44) is a null string, Russian has R. and French F. The prefixes are used to identify sections in the INI file as belonging to a particular language, e.g.
[page.1] - an English parameter section.
[R.page.1] - a Russian parameter section
The strings for the language selection menu presented to the user for changing the language behave like a normal component. LEASYS.INI must contain [control] sections for each of the languages to be used, with the appropriate language prefixes. These can be automatically generated using a special "programmers" pop-up menu option in conjunction with the base form by manually setting the key DESIGNMODE=ON in the [lynx] section of the INI file.
Message and other sections containing language variant strings are handled in the same way:
[prefixSECTIONNAME]
where prefix is the language prefix and SECTIONNAME is the name of the message section, eg:
[LEAmessages] mylabel=my message, which I want to display [F.LEAmessages] mylabel=Mon message, que je voudrais montrer [R.LEAmessages] mylabel=Ìîå ñîîáùåíèå, êîòîðîå ÿ õîòåë áû ïîêàçàòü