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Advanced Topics

Customizing Help and Menus

Creating New Help

You can create an entirely new help system for use in Smart Characters in two ways. You can make a Windows compatible help file similar to \sc\system\Scw.hlp, or a Smart Characters hypertext(D- - 4) help file similar to \sc\system\Sc_Help.doc. See Writing Hypertext(12- 1).

Writing windows help requires the appropriate software development tools and some knowledge of programming. There are several books in bookstores that explain how to create windows help files. A drawback is that the language support is limited to that which can be displayed on your system (i.e., no Chinese under Japanese Windows). On the other hand, Smart Characters help in any language can be created using Smart Characters with the unlimited file size editing(4- 3) accessory. Contact Apropos Customer Service(F- - 1) for details.

Customizing Menus and Dialogs

There are two reasons to customize the menus and dialogs. The first is to allow complete non-English compatibility without difficulty. The second is to allow you to configure Smart Characters to your personal preference, without infringing on other companies copyright-protected user interfaces. Modifications can be classified as follows:
  1. English modifications: the menu titles only are changed to suit your taste (e.g., Retrieve instead of Open).
  2. Asian translations: use Smart Characters to translate the menus to Japanese or Chinese.
  3. Menu structure modifications: here the menu items themselves are re-arranged. This is a far more complex undertaking.
Contact Apropos Customer Service(F- - 1) for technical details. If you customize the menus and dialogs, you should also update the help system. See Creating New Help(12- 1) and Help, Menus, and Dialogs May Be Changed(1- 6).

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Apropos Customer Service home page 617-648-2041
Last Modified: March 23, 1996

Copyright © 1996 Apropos, Inc.