| Re: CoolHelp update [message #31519] |
Mon, 22 July 2002 11:34 |
JD Smith
Messages: 850
Registered: December 1999
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Senior Member |
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On Mon, 22 Jul 2002 06:51:31 -0700, Ben Tupper wrote:
> Hello,
>
> Many thanks to the kind folk who made suggestions regarding the CoolHelp
> system for accessing IDL 5.5 online help. I think we have incorporated
> as many of the suggestions possible. The updated version is available
> at www.tidewater.net/~pemaquid. Here are the newish features...
>
> - it has a very small memory requirement compared to the earlier version
> - it has a MAC friendly name for the help text file - it uses FILE_WHICH
> properly
> - it has a SEARCH field for the name of a routine (watch yer spellign) -
> it has a button for launching the RSI built-in hyper help - it has a
> BRIEF option which disables the GUI and simply spits out the calling
> syntax for the queried routine into the output log - it can be modified
> (I think pretty darn easily) for your own home-grown help system. - it
> corrects the problem caused by double entries of XROI - it's just in
> time for IDL 5.6!
Looks nice Ben... I have a few more suggestions:
1. This one is drawn from the IDLWAVE fast-help system from which your
help text was taken. You might include a browser-like "back" and
"forward" button, saving visited routine locations in a stack or
linked-list for fast visits. If the history was persistent in a single
IDL session, that would be even neater.
2. Let the help text frame expand when the window is resized. On my
system, it doesn't quite fit some of the entries.
I'll also just take the opportunity to plug IDLWAVE: if you like CoolHelp,
you'll love IDLWAVE's fast text help system (from which the help text for
CoolHelp was taken). Not only is it fast, but it also has rich linking
within the text itself, and can be invoked based on the context of what
you're typing, the keyword you're considering using, etc. In all
completions and routine information listings, etc., right-clicking on a
keyword, routine, system variable, etc. visits the relevant help location
directly (no more click, scroll, search, click, scroll...). It even
searches standard documentation headers in user library ".pro" files to
show keyword and other help text for these! This and more at
http://idlwave.org.
JD
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