is it possible to display dynamic help for a modal window?

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alex
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is it possible to display dynamic help for a modal window?

Post by alex »

Hello,
I've built a dotnet help system for a dotnet app that has a few pop-up windows which will require documentation. We have implemented built-in dynamic help, which follows the user's mouse clicks throughout the application, and a standalone help viewer, which can be displayed on demand, but it is static.

My dilemma: At least one of the modal windows really needs documentation to display when the user accesses this pop-up window. The dynamic help pane docked next to the application displays a blank pane while the focus is on the modal.

It doesn't look very good to see the blank pane with a line telling you help is not available for this option...

Has anyone found a way around this? We wondered about putting a button on the modal window for the user to access a help page, but even that's going to take a bit of experimentation. Can anyone help?

Thanks!
RamonS
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Re: is it possible to display dynamic help for a modal window?

Post by RamonS »

The only idea I'd have is to update the help pane before showing the modal form and then updating the help pane when the main form receives focus again. It is kinda backwards to show the help first and then the form, but that might end up being only semantics on a fast system. The user may not even notice.
alex
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Posts: 96
Joined: Fri Aug 25, 2006 11:22 am

Re: is it possible to display dynamic help for a modal window?

Post by alex »

Ok... so how do I do this? (or what do I ask the developers to try?)

One thing that was brought up was that maybe we wouldn't want the dynamic help pane to display help for the modal since the modal will have the focus and the dynamic help pane would be display-only (which may be confusing or frustrating for the user if there are links that can't be clicked, etc.)

Would this be a case requiring us to implement some other kind of help for the modal? Is there a way we could make the dynamic help pane minimize while the modal is up and then re-display in the same place when the modal is closed? Otherwise, it could get very annoying to have to manually call up the dynamic help pane again.

I'm thinking of the way help displays for toolbar items in the latest version of Microsoft Word - like an extended tooltip that displays when you hover over a button in the ribbon... Would something like that be more feasible for documenting modals? If so, how do you set that up?

Thanks for any light you can shed on this - I'm still relatively new to the .net help realm.
RamonS
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Re: is it possible to display dynamic help for a modal window?

Post by RamonS »

You for sure can do that, but this is really a problem that the developer / GUI designer have to figure out. One question would be, does that window have to be modal? Is there any other way to accomplish what is needed? Omission is always a valid approach to consider.
alex
Propeller Head
Posts: 96
Joined: Fri Aug 25, 2006 11:22 am

Re: is it possible to display dynamic help for a modal window?

Post by alex »

Thanks for your help. They definitely need to keep it as a modal. They did find a way to attach a new instance of the dynamic help pane inside the modal frame, so that helps a lot. Yay for smart programmers who work with help developers!
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