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The DataFlex Help System

The DataFlex Help system is a collection of books combined to create the Help system you are reading now. The books are a combination of resources on the DataFlex tools (Studio, etc.), reference works about the language and frameworks, tutorials, and guides. The help system is created in the HTML Help format.

This section is intended to help you get the most out of this help system.

Table of Contents

This section is divided into three subtopics:

Note

The local version of the DataFlex Help contains links to the CodeJock SuitePro for ActiveX / COM documentation. We cannot publish that documentation in the online version of the help, so all cross-links to that reference material will redirect you to this page.

Using the DataFlex Help System

Using the Locate Button

The Locate button in the DataFlex Help System locates the current page in the Table of Contents (TOC). This is extremely useful for finding additional information related to the current help topic. In many cases, you will access a particular help page via the context-sensitive help in the Studio or the index. Pressing the Locate button in the help will open the TOC and expand it to the page you are currently reading.

For example, if you press F1 in the Studio's code editor with the cursor in the word DD_FindReq, the help will open to a page describing that Data Dictionary option. To find related information, press the Locate button in the Help. The Table of Contents will open and expand, showing you the Data Dictionary Guide and other related topics in that book.

Pages Not in the Table of Contents

Not all pages have a TOC entry, so the Locate button does not apply to those pages.

For example, individual class members (properties, events, and methods) do not have individual TOC entries. There are several ways to find related information from these pages:

  • Many pages have links to other pages, either in the descriptive text:

or a See Also section:

  • All class members have a link to the class they belong to in their title bar. Pages for each class are listed in the TOC.

  • All class members have a link to other class members of the same type at the top of the page where the type is listed. Pages listing the class members for each class are listed in the TOC.

Searching for Text

You can use the Search tab to search the text in all pages in the help system, whether they are included in the TOC or index or not.

You can sort the search results by Title, Location, or Rank by clicking the respective column header.

To search for an exact match, you can enclose a phrase in quotes.

Finding Text on Individual Help Pages

If you use the Search tab of the help system to search for text, any resulting pages that are returned will have the search text highlighted on the page after you double-click on it in the Search results list.

Although there is no visual cue for it, you can search for text on any page using the standard Windows search hotkey Ctrl+F.

Pages Not in the Index

If you do not find a keyword in the index, try finding it via the Search tab.

Obsolete commands, functions, etc. are included in the help but not in the help index. Developers who need information when working with legacy code can use the Search tab of the help.

Finding Fixed Bugs and Implemented Suggestions

The What's New section of the help lists "Bugs Fixed" and "Suggestions Implemented" for each DataFlex revision; you can see these when you expand the tree for any revision. However, keep in mind that this only lists fixed/implemented items and that it is a "snapshot" of the items in our bug tracking system (BugTracker) as of the date that the documentation for that revision of VDF was last generated.

You can visit BugTracker online to see the current data in our bug tracking system.

Accessing Help from the DataFlex Tools

Context-Sensitive Help

The DataFlex Tools, in particular the Studio, have context-sensitive help built in. Press F1 to get help anywhere. In the Studio, depending on where you are, you will get help on a language feature or help on the particular Studio window you are in.

Examples:

  • If you are in the code editor and your cursor is in a line of code, pressing F1 will take you to the help for the current word. If your cursor is on the word dbForm, you will see the help for the dbForm class; if your cursor is on the word SortArray, you will see the help for the SortArray function, etc.

  • In the Properties window, if your cursor is in the Properties list on any particular property, pressing F1 will display the help for that property.

  • In the Properties window, if you right-click on the Properties window's toolbar, you can select 'Properties Panel Help' from the context menu to see the help for the Properties window.

Finding Help for DataFlex Errors

DataFlex errors are documented in the Error Codes book. Individual errors do not have their own TOC or Index entries.

The easiest way to find help for a specific error is to type the error number into the search form on the Search tab of the help system. This will find any reference to that error number in the entire help system. Double-clicking on a topic from the VDF Errors book in the Search results list will take you directly to the page where the error is documented.

Adding Help for Libraries

The DataFlex Help System supports the integration of Compiled Help Files (.chm) into the Studio's Help for your own or third-party libraries. This will make the help for those libraries available from the Studio, and they will be automatically included in the Studio's help "Contents", "Index", and "Search" pages.

See Library Documentation for complete information.