Defining help panel text

The text you define for help panels cannot be modified by the user; it is for information purposes only. To define this text, use an information region and the tags associated with information regions. The INFO tag and its matching end tag are required in help panel definitions.

You can also use AREA definitions within help panels. Remember to code the entire INFO definition (start and end tag) within the AREA definition, just as you would on an application panel. Here is an example:

<help name=help01>Help Panel Title
  <area>
    <info>
⋮
    </info>
  </area>
</help>

You can use any of the information region tags discussed in Information regions and help panels in a help panel. For example, you use the P (paragraph) tag to define a paragraph of text on a help panel the same way you use it to define a paragraph on an application panel.

Here is a help panel markup that has two paragraphs, an unordered list, a figure and figure caption to define the help text. The specification of DEPTH=28 is valid only if the display terminal has 30 or more display lines. Figure 1 shows the formatted result.

<!doctype dm system>

<help name=olcthlp depth=28 width=50>Help for Online Catalog
<area>
<info>
<p>The Online Catalog provides
you with:
<ul compact>
<li>The book title
<li>Catalog number
<li>Page count
<li>The author
<li>A brief description
</ul>
<p>Here is an example:
<fig>
  The Yellow Subroutine
  365 Pages              1234.56
  John-Paul Georgenringo

  A young band of British programmers embarks on
  a voyage across a perilous "sea" language in
  search of FORTRAN and fame.
<figcap>Online Catalog Example
</fig>
</info>
</area>
</help>

Figure 1. Help panel

             Help for Online Catalog

 The Online Catalog provides you with:

 o   The book title
 o   Catalog number
 o   Page count
 o   The author
 o   A brief description

 Here is an example:

 ------------------------------------------------

   The Yellow Subroutine
   365 Pages              1234.56
   John-Paul Georgenringo

   A young band of British programmers embarks on
   a voyage across a perilous "sea" language
   in search of FORTRAN and fame.

 ------------------------------------------------
 Online Catalog Example

  F1=Help         F3=Exit         F5=Exhelp
  F6=Keyshelp     F7=PrvTopic     F8=NxtTopic
 F10=PrvPage     F11=NxtPage     F12=Cancel

In Figure 1, all of the text was displayed because the depth we defined for the help panel was large enough to accommodate the text. However, the amount of help you want to provide for your users can vary, and it's not always possible to display all of the help text you define in the initial panel display, especially when you don't, or can't, specify a large DEPTH value for the help panel.

Depending on the use of the AREA tag, the conversion utility generates multiple panels or a single scrollable help panel.

This help panel markup includes an information region that contains a paragraph, a definition list, and two unordered lists nested within the definition list.