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 Entire forum ➜ MUSHclient ➜ General ➜ New MUSHclient help file available
New MUSHclient help file available

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Posted by Nick Gammon   Australia  (23,165 posts)  Bio   Forum Administrator
Date Sat 24 May 2003 09:30 PM (UTC)
Message
I am pleased to release a trial version of the new MUSHclient help file. You can download it from:


http://www.gammon.com.au/files/mushclient/mushclient_help.zip (452 Kb)


Inside that file will be two files: MUSHclient.hlp (the help file) and MUSHclient.cnt (the help contents file). Unzip them into your main MUSHclient installation directory, replacing the two files there of the same name.


Features

This help file is basically a rewrite of the old one, with (hopefully) all the new features in recent versions covered. In particular, you should find:


  • Every dialog box explained (excepting simple ones with a Yes/No question in them)
  • Every command explained (eg. Connection -> Quick Connect) with a link to relevant dialog boxes
  • Every script function documented (this is virtually identical to the script functions pages on the Internet)
  • Extensive cross-referencing - for example, related script functions refer to each other, and various topics refer to relevant script functions.



General organisation

To help understand the help file better, I'll explain how it is organised. Basically there are four types of things in it ...


  1. Command reference - this documents each menu command. Commands (which are different from script functions) are things (generally from a menu) like File -> Open, View -> Status Bar. Where relevant, they are cross-referenced to the dialog box that the command will show you.

  2. Dialog reference - this explains each dialog box, describing what each field means, what the check boxes do, and so on. The only exceptions are the occasional small box like "do you want to delete X?" which are not implemented internally as individual dialog boxes.

  3. Function reference - this documents each script function, like the current script function pages on this web site.

  4. General topics - this describes things (like what triggers are) which are not related to a specific command or dialog box.



Please report any problems

Please let me know if you have any problems with the help file, like:


  • An error message appearing for any dialog box or menu item

  • Any help page appearing that is incomplete. The help pages were initially generated automatically from the program dialog boxes and commands. A handful might not have been filled in yet.

  • Any problems with general structure (eg. it is too confusing)

  • Any cross-referencing that you think could be improved (eg. X should cross-reference Y).

  • Help topics that could explain more (eg. explain plugins better)

  • Missing general topics (eg. describe what an alias script sub should look like). It would be helpful if you can point to existing descriptions (eg. on the forum), so I can just copy and paste them.


In each case please be specific enough so I know where to look. Here are some possible example suggestions (these are examples, they do not necessarily apply):



"Pressing F1 when adding a trigger shows an error dialog box that the help topic is missing"

"The help topic for the plugin wizard has only the checkbox names but no explanation"

"The help for triggers does not mention what 'keep evaluating' does".

"Plugin callbacks are not documented"

"A link to the example colour names on the web page xxx would be helpful"

"The description of speedwalks should cross-reference the mapper"



I will be pleased to get your feedback. Once I have incorporated it, I will release an updated version, and then use the new version in future releases.
- Nick Gammon

www.gammon.com.au, www.mushclient.com
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Posted by Shadowfyr   USA  (1,791 posts)  Bio
Date Reply #1 on Sat 24 May 2003 11:24 PM (UTC)
Message
Certain irony in this one: "Plugin callbacks are not documented". lol If you try to look for 'callbacks' in the index you can't find them, same thing if looking for 'plugin callbacks'. To make things easier you might want index items for those under the plugin header that actually lists them, since it is what most of us are going to go looking for when we need them. ;) Though I now see that they are listed in the plugins items itself. However, many people are still likely to try looking for 'callback' before thinking of looking in the plugins help to find them.
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Posted by Poromenos   Greece  (1,037 posts)  Bio
Date Reply #2 on Sun 25 May 2003 12:49 AM (UTC)
Message
I'm gonna love this helpfile... Downloading now...
Vidi, Vici, Veni.
http://porocrom.poromenos.org/ Read it!
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Posted by Poromenos   Greece  (1,037 posts)  Bio
Date Reply #3 on Sun 25 May 2003 12:56 AM (UTC)
Message
Program features:
"Scripting
· You can write scripts in Vbscript, JavaScript or PerlScript."

Python too :p

Vidi, Vici, Veni.
http://porocrom.poromenos.org/ Read it!
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Posted by Poromenos   Greece  (1,037 posts)  Bio
Date Reply #4 on Sun 25 May 2003 12:57 AM (UTC)
Message
Hmm, also, in the numeric keypad features, you're not mentioning Ctrl+key... Am I off topic?
Vidi, Vici, Veni.
http://porocrom.poromenos.org/ Read it!
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Posted by Nick Gammon   Australia  (23,165 posts)  Bio   Forum Administrator
Date Reply #5 on Sun 25 May 2003 01:43 AM (UTC)
Message
No you are not off-topic.

Quote:

Program features:
"Scripting
· You can write scripts in Vbscript, JavaScript or PerlScript."


Where did you find that? In my help file Python is mentioned. Are you still using the old help file?

As for words like "callbacks" try using the Find tab rather than the index. However I must admit that callbacks are still poorly documented.
- Nick Gammon

www.gammon.com.au, www.mushclient.com
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Posted by Nick Gammon   Australia  (23,165 posts)  Bio   Forum Administrator
Date Reply #6 on Sun 25 May 2003 01:44 AM (UTC)
Message
My help for the numeric keypad reads:

"You can also specify actions if you hold down the Control key (eg. Ctrl+2)."
- Nick Gammon

www.gammon.com.au, www.mushclient.com
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Posted by Nick Gammon   Australia  (23,165 posts)  Bio   Forum Administrator
Date Reply #7 on Sun 25 May 2003 01:57 AM (UTC)
Message
I have uploaded a new version of the help file (about a minute before posting this message) which has an amendment for tracking which help pages have problems.

At the bottom of each help page there will be a line like one of these:


(Help topic: general:contents)
(Help topic: function:DeleteVariable)
(Help topic: dialog:IDD_EDIT_VARIABLE)
(Help topic: command:ConfigureVariables)


The presence of these lines will confirm you have the new help file format, and if you quote that line in your message it will mean we are both talking about the same page.

To know which help file you have, click on the Contents button, and then choose "Main Contents Page" (third item). At the bottom of that page will be a line like this:


Help file generated on Sunday, May 25, 2003, 11:35 AM.


This will tell you whether you have the same help file that I have.
- Nick Gammon

www.gammon.com.au, www.mushclient.com
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Posted by Nick Gammon   Australia  (23,165 posts)  Bio   Forum Administrator
Date Reply #8 on Sun 25 May 2003 02:32 AM (UTC)
Message
Found the two things you mentioned - hopefully my "plugin topic" line at the end of each page will help speed up this process.
- Nick Gammon

www.gammon.com.au, www.mushclient.com
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Posted by Shadowfyr   USA  (1,791 posts)  Bio
Date Reply #9 on Sun 25 May 2003 04:57 AM (UTC)
Message
Hmm.. Tried to search on callback under 'search' and instead of listing callbacks it lists:

ChatCall
ChatCallzChat
ChatDisconnect
ChatDisconnectAll
ChatMessage
ChatNote

These are obviously not callbacks. ;) Whoops!
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Posted by Nick Gammon   Australia  (23,165 posts)  Bio   Forum Administrator
Date Reply #10 on Sun 25 May 2003 08:08 AM (UTC)
Message
Yes, I found that, but the search button (the Find button) does a full-text search. I think you will find that in the description for those items there is a reference to a plugin callback.
- Nick Gammon

www.gammon.com.au, www.mushclient.com
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Posted by Nick Gammon   Australia  (23,165 posts)  Bio   Forum Administrator
Date Reply #11 on Sun 25 May 2003 08:09 AM (UTC)
Message
The help search database is generated dynamically at run-time on your PC - it is not something I can get wrong per se.
- Nick Gammon

www.gammon.com.au, www.mushclient.com
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Posted by Poromenos   Greece  (1,037 posts)  Bio
Date Reply #12 on Sun 25 May 2003 07:10 PM (UTC)
Message
Scripting

· You can write scripts in Vbscript, JavaScript or PerlScript.

(Help topic: general:features)
Vidi, Vici, Veni.
http://porocrom.poromenos.org/ Read it!
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