Hi HelpIndex Advanced Topics

Last modified: 4 February 2005.

Page Contents Version history Other Information Bug List New features

Page Contents	Version history Other Information Bug List New features

Version history

See the version history of Hi Jump, Hi Brow, Hi Lab, MakeHelpIndex and the Help Index File Format.

Hi HelpIndex Java Applet

JDK 1.0 Version

2.1.25	4 February 2005	Non-western characters accepted in index panel (ie top byte not stripped if above JDK1.0)
2.1.24	28 January 2005	Language file charset support
2.1.23	18 May 2004	Index file charset support Flicker removed when keywords being loaded Keyword sort order improved
2.1.22	4 November 2003	Contents display works after keypress after scrollbar mousing
2.1.21	10 October 2003	Index panel better layout New kwSubstFrom and kwSubstTo parameters supported to enable Index panel keywords compression. LookForBgColor parameter added kwMaxResults parameter
2.1.20	7 February 2003	URLs normalised
2.1.19	18 October 2002	Index file record type 8 (Include file) supported Page tips shown in Index tab if available New ShowTips parameter added FailOnAnyError parameter added selection index parameter field also matches full URL including Base URL
2.1.18	13 May 1998	Contents initial selection works again ?Communicator 4 problem: read of index retried if necessary
2.1.17	4 May 1998	Index file loaded changed to sort Communicator problem.
2.1.16	28 April 1998	Server connections closed quicker. May work better online.
2.1.15	27 April 1998	Temporary licence feature added
2.1.14	23 March 1998	"noindex" option added: does not display Index tab. Floating window title updated when index file changed.
2.1.13	12 March 1998	Improved internal data organisation. Reduced memory usage. Only index file format 2.1 now supported. Copes with double anchors in URL to display
2.1.12	3 March 1998	Fixed problem in IE4: Could not display pages on network drives not mapped as a drive letter.
2.1.11	9 February 1998	Index file reads much faster Initially selected item in Contents scrolled into view. Page tips disappear after 3 seconds. Index keywords results restricted to 50 entries. Makes faster to use. Bug fixed: Language files now consistently loaded from code base IE4 bug fixed: After keypress in the Index lookup box, focus is lost.
2.1.10	6 October 1997	Contents Page Tips added. New Page Tip records supported in index file. TipBgColor parameter added. `helpindex.gif` renamed to `hi.gif` Bug fixed: icon mode nocontents works Bug fixed: Tab text is in foreground colour
2.1.8	23 September 1997	Bug fixed: ContentsIcons shown properly, especially in Windows 95.
2.1.7	19 September 1997	Folders show as open/closed folder icon. New local and off-site icons Single click on folder will open/close it. New ContentsIcons parameter supported. buttonshape and selectcolor parameters added. mode parameter popup option added: makes floating window popup straight away. mode parameter close option added: makes floating window close when a page is displayed. MinIconWindowSize parameter added. JDK 1.1 browsers display Contents scroll bars properly.
2.1.6	3 September 1997	JDK 1.1 browsers display JDK 1.0 scroll bar slightly better.
2.1.5	25 August 1997	If run from a JDK1.1 browser, selects most appropriate index/language file set for a user's locale using the new index parameters locale field. Otherwise English used as the default. Index/Language file info only read once. Possible missing vertical scroll bug fixed Parses remaining index parameters properly if language field not there
2.1.4	20 August 1997	In Navigator 3, index copes with character codes >= 192, ie non-US English ones icon parameter recognised again. Contents shows in Navigator 4 floating window. Occasional "null" bug fixed. Tab card highlight box has more visible colour Tab movements in contents changed to Shift+Up and Shift+Down Tab control shows tip if only icon showing
2.1.3	1 July 1997	Optimised and smaller
2.1.2	6 June 1997	Loads index files faster. Uses a bit less memory. Index files use format 2.1 coding 1. Archive and cabinet files provided. high mode grey box round Hi HelpIndex text fixed for IE. default card background colour is now light yellow. tabicons parameter added. expanded option added to indexN parameter.
2.0.0	21 February 1997	Has a Contents "tree" of the web site. Has a "card" arrangement with Contents, Index, Select and About tabs. The Select tab allows new index files and languages to be loaded. Displays a "Loading" message. Revised language file format.
1.7.1	13 January 1997	Allows two HelpIndex applets on one page to read same index file correctly
1.7.0	18 December 1996	Uses language file Mode parameter allows high form arrangement. IndexLines parameter added Double-clicking page shows URL Index file fields can be empty, ie need not contain a space fieldbgcolor parameter added
1.6.0	6 December 1996	Limited index capacity. Reads format 1.2 index files (and earlier) Individual index's Target field takes precedence over default frame.
1.5.4	14 November 1996	Floating window sized better. Form layout improved marginally.
1.5.3	22 October 1996	Ensures that / character at end of Base URL. The query parameter is a C style string so you can specify spaces at its end.
1.5.2	16 October 1996	Format code 1.1 introduced. IE3.0 window displays status text better
1.5.1	15 October 1996	Each applet instance has its own index file
1.5.0	14 October 1996	Separate floating window mode introduced. Format code 1.0 introduced
1.2.5		`Escape` clears to initial query. `F1` displays status bar help.
1.2.4		font parameter added, using PHDUtils version 1.1
1.2.3		No abort if form cannot be laid out (GridBagLayout array exception caught)
1.2.2		query parameter added
1.2.1		Index.class renamed to HlpIndex.class. Colours work. Other unnoticeables. Works when revisited by N3.0.
1.2		Has a separate thread to (a) read the index file and (b) look up a query. The query lookup is stopped and started again whenever a new key arrives.
1.1.5		Added minquerylength parameter.
1.1.4		Clears selected URL if query not found.
1.1.3		Copes with amended format code 0, ie characters after Index Item title URL short-cut.

JDK 1.1 Bean Applet Version

2.3.7	8 May 1998	Contents initial selection works again
2.3.6	28 April 1998	Server connections closed quicker. May work better online.
2.3.5	27 April 1998	Temporary licence feature added
2.3.4	23 March 1998	"noindex" option added: does not display Index tab. Bean IndexParam editor has "noindex" option added Floating window title updated when index file changed.
2.3.3	13 March 1998	Improved internal data organisation. Reduced memory usage. Only index file format 2.1 now supported. HelpIndex generates full HiEvent home/parent/prev/next information Copes with double anchors in URL to display Character encoding default explicitly set to "8859_1" IndexParam PropertyEditor displays and stores better
2.3.2	3 March 1998	ensure background and foreground set setIconMode() after start works better showAbout() method added Fixed problem in IE4: Could not display pages on network drives not mapped as a drive letter.
2.3.1	26 February 1998	contentsOnly and indexOnly implemented. lookupKeyword() implemented. Problem with Index in IE 4 sorted Events not declared in BeanInfo so JBuilder designer does not die
2.3.0	16 February 1998	Initial release. contentsOnly and indexOnly not implemented. Previous and next in Contents not implemented.

Hi Jump

1.0.1	20 March 1998	Fixed problem in IE4: Could not display pages on network drives not mapped as a drive letter.
1.0	3 February 1998	Initial release

Hi Brow

1.0.2	12 March 1998	goto no anchor takes you to top of page
1.0.1	26 February 1998	Events not declared in BeanInfo so JBuilder designer does not die
1.0	16 February 1998	Preview release Does not serialize properly.

Hi Lab

1.2.1.0	13 January 2003	"Use title as keyword phrase" option added
1.2.0.4	1 October 2002	New anchor name KEYWORDS option added Include and Exclude file-specs added Do not use short-cuts option added URL normalisation sorted wrt BaseURL Save report as button added
1.1.20	26 September 2000	Help text pops up correctly in W2000
1.1.19	8 November 1999	Licence ids stored properly in Windows 2000
1.1.18	11 September 1998	First licence id generates welcome msg Help page and popup appears correctly in W98 and NT5
1.1.17	1 September 1998	Revised help has index option
1.1.16	21 August 1998	Relinked statically. No user differences.
1.1.15	20 July 1998	File+New scan source: cursor jumping back to start sorted for W95. META NAME matches any case
1.1.14	23 May 1998	If parsing all, scan back a directory now works root link / works ok Detects URL open error when status!=200 Copes with / when URL BaseURL has sub-dir Doesn't insert spaces in URL page scans
1.1.13	6 May 1998	Net errors while scanning a URL caught properly Ensure scan URL host name has "/" at end Scan to root (eg "/anypage.htm") handled properly.
1.1.12	27 April 1998	Temporary licences supported
1.1.11	23 March 1998	New web page Advanced page has "noindex" option
1.1.10	12 March 1998	URL properties allow Base URL <None> to be selected
1.1.9	23 February 1998	Shorter list of copied Java files
1.1.8	16 February 1998	For Other Index Keywords, URL does not have to be specified. Browse button in URL Properties works better with Base URL. Scan option not to make anchors into keywords Index file size warning after scanning if file largish
1.1.7	6 October 1997	Contents Page Tips supported. Bug fixed: Double click of URL causes "box display after property edit".
1.1.6	22 September 1997	Bug fixed: Test menu now saves index file if you ask it to be saved. Scan displays "dots" progress indicator. Cancel cancels scan quicker. User abort does not fail scan.
1.1.5	19 September 1997	Enhanced `Test+New Web Page` functionality: Full index/language file parameter settings Select colour, icon mode popup and min window size supported Image wizard page added High and wide buttons selected properly initially. Bug fixed: Scan into HREF links with "/./" and initial "./" OK now. Bug fixed: Multiple white spaces now ignored in HTML. Most Recently Used index files minor bug fixed. MRU size increased to 8.
1.1.4	3 September 1997	Licence Id shown and can be entered
1.1.3	14 August 1997	Set all base urls count corrected
1.1.2	4 August 1997	Better help popup positioning
1.1.1	21 July 1997	Completed help support Contents updated after URL title changed
1.1.0	13 July 1997	Better help support Scan correctly copes with links which begin with `../../` Return key and double-click of Other Keyword Indices works
1.0.7	6 June 1997	Initial release

Hi Help

1.3.0	25 September 2000	Added French escape characters Character format applied to correct range of chars
1.2.2	23 September 1997	Further W98/NT5 fix to keep dlg display for our "popup:" URLs
1.2.1	11 September 1997	Closes main window if popup tip shown. To cope with W98/NT5 fix.
1.2.0	31 August 1997	Index button added Does not beep on key press inside applet.
1.1.2	4 August 1997	Contents button works again
1.1.1	21 July 1997	Improved help tip box shadow for Windows 95 Dies if calling app dies
1.1.0	11 July 1997	Supports help tip boxes
1.0.0	6 June 1997	Initial release

Other Information

Java Console

If the mode parameter has incorrect entries or an index<N> parameter has incorrect options then an error message is written to the Java Console (Navigator) or the Java log file (Internet Explorer). Internet Explorer 4.01 now has a Java Console as well, which displays the Java log file and allows commands to be entered.

Similarly, any invalid lines in the index file result in a warning message being written to the Java Console/log file.

In Windows Netscape Navigator, you should select Communicator+Show Java Console to see these messages.
For Windows Internet Explorer, in View+Options+Advanced tab, "Java logging enabled" must be turned on to store these messages. These messages appear in the Java sub-directory of your Windows directory, eg C:\WINDOWS\Java\JavaLog.txt or C:\WINNT\Java\JavaLog.txt.

Bug List

See Hi Lab bugs

Medium:

Windows networked drives (which are not mapped to a drive letter) cause a few problems.
FIXED in 2.1.12 and 2.3.2 (and Hi Jump 1.0.1): Notably, IE4 (but not IE3) will not display a page properly (code/doc base is file:/\\network\drive\...)
N3 and N4 will display pages, but take ages to load files.
N4 will not load jar file from such networked drive if URL starts with "file:////". Use "file://" instead.
These problems are not caused by HelpIndex. If necessary the IE4 problem could be fixed by HelpIndex. Let us know if you are desparate for this to work.

Mac:	There are various problems when running Hi HelpIndex from a Mac. Return/Enter key presses do not work. If low on memory, in icon mode the floating window starts up very small (and empty?)

In icon mode, if you display a page which removes the page which Hi HelpIndex came from, then the floating window stays available. However pressing Display Page does not work.
Tested on PC only.
We are not sure if this is a Hi HelpIndex bug or a browser problem.
Interim solution: in icon mode, do not specify a frame which removes Hi HelpIndex's page.
Similarly if you have an icon floating window open and by hand you select a page which removes the page that Hi HelpIndex came from, then the same problem arises.
Internet Explorer version 3.0x (IE3) does not jump to anchor links properly from Java, ie if you specify a link of test.html#sales then it will just display the top of the page, rather than moving to the sales anchor.

Not major:

JDK 1.1 version in icon mode. If "noindex" and "nocontents" given then various errors are reported.
When IE4 processes a mouse click on a component that does not have the focus, it (erroneously I think) gives it the focus first. Effects JDK 1.1 version minorly.
HelpIndex adds period characters '.' to the initial message shown while loading. With extra dots on the end of the last word, it may wrap round onto the next line. The problem is that the shorter last word is not cleared off the display when the longer last word moves onto the next line.
Internet Explorer 4 preview 2 always displays the background of labels and lists as grey. IE4pr2 seems very slow to display the floating window once the applet icon has been clicked. IE4pr2 does not cope with iconurl satisfactorily. IE4pr2 always erroneously closes a floating window if the page it comes from disappears.
When running Internet Explorer under NT 4, the top of the tab cards is sometimes not shown when Hi HelpIndex is first run, and changing tab cards does not work. Returning to the page makes the tab cards work correctly.
N3.0 in Windows 95 only: the selected highlight of root entries is too long. A bug in Navigator 3.0 when sizing bold text?
N3.0 only: In Windows NT, the separate window cannot be closed using Alt+F4, ie the usual key press to close a window. Instead of closing the window, Hi HelpIndex is sent details of the key press. While this could be hard coded to close the window, it does not seem very satisfactory.
IE3.0 does close the window on Alt+F4.
IE3.0 only: IE3.0 does not generate some Java messages (N3.0 does) so Hi HelpIndex may not display the selected URL properly.
Double-clicking on the list boxes does have the desired effect. For example, double-clicking on the index page should display that page.
Ask Microsoft to fix this...
IE3.0 only: mailto: URLs do not work.

Major, but unfixable:

Not a Hi HelpIndex bug... honest
After you have displayed a page or go elsewhere, Hi HelpIndex keeps the input focus, so you have to click on the displayed page for the Page Up key, etc. to work. I think that this is the browser's fault.
Navigator 4 does not have this problem.
Explorer 4 preview 2 does not have the problem as it erroneously closes the floating window.

Hi Lab Bug List

Pressing F1 while Hi HelpIndex has focus in Test web page causes Hi Lab to crash immediately.

Hi Help Bug List

Pressing F1 while Hi HelpIndex has focus causes Hi Help to crash immediately.
Beep on each key press when Hi HelpIndex has focus.

New features

Much faster

Version 2.1.11+ reads index files much quicker than before.

Hi Jump

Hi Jump provides extra site navigation help for your users. It is a standard Java applet to put on all your web pages. Try Hi Jump at the top of this page.

Hi Jump provides navigation link arrows (home, up, previous and next, etc) with the information coming from a HelpIndex index file.

The title of the web page is shown in a pop up tip when the user's mouse hovers overs the link arrowss.

Bean version and Hi Brow

Hi HelpIndex version 2.3+ is a browser bean applet. It runs on web pages in browsers that fully support JDK 1.1, eg Internet Explorer 4. Netscape Navigator 4.04 does not run JDK 1.1 unless you have run SmartUpdate to get the JDK 1.1 patch.

However the bean version will be of most use to Java programmers with a Hi HelpIndex Developer licence. (A Java bean is a component that can be slotted easily into a Java application.)

We envisage the bean being used as a part of a program's help system. Hi HelpIndex would provide the Contents and Index, while a browser bean such as Hi Brow (or Sun's Hot Java bean) will display the HTML-based help text.

Hi Brow is supplied as a part of the Hi HelpIndex suite. It is a standard web browser that supports a basic but useful set of HTML tags.

Hi Demo is an example Java program which uses Hi HelpIndex and Hi Brow to provide a help system. Copy the source code!

Unzipper not needed

An unzip program is no longer needed for the Windows version as the installation file is provided as an EXE file.

Full version history Previous new features

HelpIndex PHD