filePro User Menu Help Files - A New Tool

[Bob Stockler]

I've written a filePro input processing table ("hlp"), to
help programmers make better use of filePro User Menu Help
files.  It's an @MENU routine executed with:

  /fp/dclerk fPfile -sAny -y '' -z hlp -t 200000

which brings up this processing table menu (square brackets
indicate screen highlighting):

        +---------------------------------------------------+
        |      filePro [User Menu Help File] Assistant      |
        +---------------------------------------------------+
        |                                                   |
        |      User Menu:                                   |
        |                                                   |
        | [1 - Create a User Menu Help File               ] |
        |                                                   |
        |  2 - View a User Menu Help File                   |
        |                                                   |
        |  3 - Test a User Menu Help File                   |
        |                                                   |
        |  4 - Assign a User Menu Name                      |
        |                                                   |
        |  H - Help Writing User Menu Help Files            |
        |                                                   |
        |  X - Exit                                         |
        |                                                   |
        +---------------------------------------------------+
        |                Enter Selection > 1                |
        +---------------------------------------------------+

When a Menu name is assigned it appears after "User Menu:" above
the Menu choices, with carets underlining it.  The Choice 1 - 4
Descriptions change according to whether or not a Menu name has
been assigned and whether or not a Help file for it exists.

The "H" choice provides three screens of elementary information
about writing User Menu Help files.  More information on this
subject appeared in an article by Laura Brody, "Writing filePro
Help Files", in the filePro Developer's Journal, Volume 1, #4.

If you're unfamiliar with filePro User Menu Help files, run the
filePro Main Menu and press [F10] when the highlight cursor is
on various choices and see examples of how you might make your
User Menus more user friendly and informative.

I'll email a gzipped tar archive of "prc.hlp" and "hlp.prc" to
anyone requesting it.  (Note to Windows users:  WinZip can be
used to extract the file.)

Note to licensed users of MENU EDIT II:  I've edited that program
to CALL "hlp" from its Main Menu Screen by typing "H".  It starts
up with the assigned name of the Menu being created or edited.  I
royally screwed up an attempt to email the latest ME2 files to all
licensed users.  Some may have gotten one or more copies of it,
some none at all.  Email me if you'd like a gzipped tar archive of
"me2", "hlp" and later (or maybe new to you) versions of some
associated files.

Note to ALL:  Demos of this latest version of MENU EDIT II are
available in the "filepro" directory at ftp.jpr.com.  There are
UNIX/Linux (ME2.demo.tar) and Windows (ME2.demo.zip) versions.

Bob

-- 
Bob Stockler - bob at trebor.iglou.com
Author: MENU EDIT II - The BEST Creator/Editor/Manager for filePro User Menus.
Fully functional (time-limited) demos available by email request (specify OS).