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DarkBASIC Professional Discussion / DarkBasic Pro Windows Help file available.

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bruceatk
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Joined: 25th Aug 2003
Location: Loudon, NH
Posted: 4th Oct 2003 03:30 Edited at: 4th Oct 2003 08:13
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Rich Davey has given me permission to redistribute the DarkBasic Pro help files as a Windows Help file. This consolidates all the help files into one .CHM file. I have added an updated index and a "Table of Contents".

I am asking for feedback so that we can improve it. If you have Notes or examples that you would like to have included in it please post them in the forum at the site below or e-mail them to me.([email protected])

You can get it here:
http://gamedev.bruceatkinson.com/

Thanks,
Bruce

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Dave J
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Posted: 4th Oct 2003 06:04
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Cool, sounds good.

Can I ask what program you used to create the CHM file? There are quite a few but I haven't seen one that's all too good yet.


"Computers are useless they can only give you answers."
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bruceatk
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Posted: 4th Oct 2003 07:21 Edited at: 4th Oct 2003 08:14
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I just used the standard Microsoft HTML Help Workshop (v4.74).

I did write a couple of programs to parse data out of the existing html files to build the index and Table of Contents. I also had to write a program to wrap all the existing html files in html tags with a title tag that contained the name of the file, so that the search results would display something else besides "untitled".

My server is back up and running.

Bruce
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BatVink
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Location: Gods own County, UK
Posted: 4th Oct 2003 11:35
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Hark at you and your fancy ways! Nice one, well done

BatVink (formerly StevieVee)
http://facepaint.me.uk/catalog/default.php
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Wik
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Location: CT, United States
Posted: 5th Oct 2003 06:15
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That's really good!

I noticed the search function works very well

The rock has rolled!
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bruceatk
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Posted: 10th Oct 2003 17:16
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I've had 44 downloads, but no takers on helping out with improving on the content. I plan to keep revising it on my own, but it would certainly go faster if I had a few volunteers.

Bruce
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Joe Oliveri
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Location: Boston, MA
Posted: 10th Oct 2003 18:41
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I will be looking at it tonight if a see anything to added or improve i will let you know.

Koguchi Oliveri, Chief Director, Studio Yonaka
http://studioyonaka.japanese.at
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snailian
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Posted: 10th Oct 2003 18:55
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Bruce, This is a very good idea. I am at work so I don't have anything to contribute at the moment. One thing I have come across via a link posted in the forums was http://www.hufsoft.com/darkbasic/. They are tutorials that have you change things own your own. Similar to some C++ books where at the end of the chapter they have you modify your program to include or fix things. I have found those sorts of projects to be the most helpful when learning. I'll see if I can put something together

Cry in the dojo-laugh on the battlefield.
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Rob K
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Posted: 10th Oct 2003 20:27 Edited at: 10th Oct 2003 21:10
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@bruceatk

Looks great - I suggest you email this to Lee and ask if this help system could be used in the new IDE. (I will provide support for it via a plugin to mine)

The Search and Index abilities are really useful


BLUE GUI Plugin: http://blue.robert-knight.net
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zircher
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Joined: 27th Dec 2002
Location: Oklahoma
Posted: 10th Oct 2003 20:50
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Which version of DBP is this help file for?
--
TAZ
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IanM
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Posted: 10th Oct 2003 21:07
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It's for the 5.1 update
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bruceatk
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Posted: 11th Oct 2003 02:32 Edited at: 11th Oct 2003 02:35
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I don't know Lee or his e-mail. Rich Davey looked at it before I released it.

The DBPro guys can have all the source files for it, including whatever changes that get added to it. I'd even do the help files for them if they want.

I plan to start working on it again next week. I will include anything sent to me, and I'll be surfing around looking at stuff to include. It's less work for me if people offer it up to be included, then for me to find stuff and then have to ask if it's ok to include it. Even so I'll be doing both.

Bruce
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tomazmb
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Location: Slovenia
Posted: 11th Oct 2003 15:46
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Hello,

I was one of them who have downloaded it and I'm very pleased with it. You have done a very good job. Please continue with it. Thanks.

Have a nice day,

Tomaz

Why some people take programming so seriously ?
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Rob K
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Posted: 11th Oct 2003 17:25
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[email protected]


BLUE GUI Plugin: http://blue.robert-knight.net
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bruceatk
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Posted: 11th Oct 2003 18:10
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I sent off an e-mail. I was just going through past issues of the DB Newsletter and saw that Lee is the creator of DB.

I'm new to DBPro. I've only had it about 3 or 4 weeks now. I'm trying to wrap up my first game with it. I'm trying to improve the AI game play.

Bruce
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the_winch
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Location: Oxford, UK
Posted: 12th Oct 2003 02:45
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Wonder why they did it the way they did it in the fist place, this is much better.

A problem with yours it is if you click on the index tab then either #constant or include you get a This page can't be displayed error.
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bruceatk
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Posted: 12th Oct 2003 04:47 Edited at: 12th Oct 2003 04:51
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The actual contents of the compiled help file is the original Dark Basic Pro html help files with just a few tweaks. I don't know why they didn't package it as a Windows Compiled HTML Help file. If they would just change a few things you could pretty much automate the process.

I cannot find anywhere in the original DarkBasic Pro Help that they refer to the #constant.htm and #include.htm except in the keywords.ini file. I used keywords.ini to parse out the data to build the index.hhk file. The reason it doesn't work is because the # is the html way of refering to a link destination within an html file. Like core/basic3d.htm#ObjectCommands, so core/#include.htm doesn't work. I renamed the files and the link in the index.hhk to fix it.

I will make an updated version available in about 2 weeks. So if anybody has any simple examples that shows how various commands work please send them to me and I will include them.

Bruce
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Codger
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Posted: 13th Oct 2003 02:01
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I placed the file in the help section. When I click on the file it runs fine.
How do I use it from within the DBPro Editor?

System
PIII 650 MZ H.P. Pavillion
394 Mem GeForce 4 400MX
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bruceatk
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Posted: 13th Oct 2003 02:30 Edited at: 13th Oct 2003 02:40
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You can't launch it from the editor but you can run it before or after you start DB. Just make a shortcut and place it on your desktop, start menu, or quick launch.

You can alt-tab to switch between them, run db in a window so they overlap, or do what I do and run dual monitors. I have DB in on one and the help on the other.

Windows tip:

One thing that I do is to tear off my quick launch toolbar from the bottom and run it across the top of the window. I check "always on top" and "auto hide". This makes the quick launch appear by moving the mouse up just a little ways above the normal application menus. My help file is just above and a little to the left of the DBPro help.



Bruce
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bruceatk
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Posted: 13th Oct 2003 10:17
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I was wrong you can launch it from within DB Pro. You can read about it here:

http://darkbasicpro.thegamecreators.com/?m=forum_view&t=18324&b=1&p=0

Bruce
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Codger
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Posted: 13th Oct 2003 23:12
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Cool works great but I did have to change file name in the weblinks.cfg file here is the change in bold to simpify the install

Dark BASIC Professional Home|http://www.darkbasicpro.com
Dark Basic Developer Network|http://www.darkbasic.com/dbdn
Dark Basic Software Home|http://www.darkbasic.com
DB Pro Help - Windows style|file:C:\Program Files\Dark Basic Software\Dark Basic Professional\help\launchhelp.exe

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PIII 650 MZ H.P. Pavillion
394 Mem GeForce 4 400MX
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bruceatk
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Posted: 14th Oct 2003 03:06 Edited at: 14th Oct 2003 03:12
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I like that we can do that. I've been taking advantage of it and adding more stuff.

I do say in the readme that you need to replace f:/darkbasicpro with the location of your DBPro.

Everybody installs into different places. I usually avoid the default paths because I don't want to install stuff into "Program Files". I try to minimize what goes on my system drive.

Bruce
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Codger
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Posted: 14th Oct 2003 04:15
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The reason I posted the full file name was your "f:/" should be "f:\"

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PIII 650 MZ H.P. Pavillion
394 Mem GeForce 4 400MX
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bruceatk
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Posted: 14th Oct 2003 04:18 Edited at: 14th Oct 2003 04:26
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file: is a url. In a url it should be /. It just so happens that some things allow it to be \ also.

http://www.mozilla.org/quality/networking/testing/filetests.html

I'm in the habit of doing it the standard way because it will bite you sometime down the road when it creeps into a web page that someone ends up viewing with Netscape.

Bruce
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