[APBeta] Help system

[Paul Rodman]

Just when you thought it was safe to assume V2 was feature complete...

After a lot of soul-searching I have decided to create a Help system for AP V2. This will work in a similar fashion to a typical Help system (i.e. Help->AstroPlanner Help produces a table of contents, index and pages of help info). I'm using a commercial product to do this, so it didn't take long to add it to the app. Other advantages of this over just a PDF manual:

a. It will also allow context sensitive help. e.g. if you have a dialog open and select help, then the help system will open to the correct page. This might take a bit of time to get right, but isn't rocket science.
b. I can produce a PDF manual directly from the help file, so those who like dead trees will remain at peace.
c. I can add active links into the help that will perform functions within the app. i.e. Rather than describing how to open a dialog, or add a new object, a click on a help link will do it for you. This might, or might not get implemented for V2.0. We'll see.
d. I really hate writing manuals, and updating them when features change. This should make my life easier.
e. The help is integrated into the app, so I won't have the common support request from users who didn't download the manual in the first place.

That being said, I will have to have a Getting Started manual as a PDF, since the Help system is only accessible from within the app.

As usual, feel free to tell me I'm an idiot/saviour/procrastinator/hero/moron.

Paul R.