1. In Windows Explorer, navigate to your C:\ drive and create a new folder named Guidance.

2. Create a file in the Guidance folder and name it CustomGuidance.htm. Type or paste any valid HTML content in the file, then save and close it.

1. In Windows Explorer, open the following folder:

   C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio .NET 2005\Common7\IDE\HTML\XMLLinks\1033

   Tip
   The folder name 1033 is the codepage/language code ID (LCID).

2. In this folder, create a new text file and name it CustomHelp.xml.

3. In this new file, add the following:

   <?xml version='1.0' encoding="utf-8" ?>
   <DynamicHelp xmlns="http://msdn.microsoft.com/vsdata/xsd/vsdh.xsd">
     <LinkGroup ID="customhelp" Title="Custom Help Topics" Priority="2">
       <Glyph Expanded="vs:/ctxmsc_show.gif" Collapsed="vs:/ctxmsc_hide.gif/" />
     </LinkGroup>
   </DynamicHelp>

   The name of the new linkgroup in this example is customhelp, and links in this group will display in the dynamic help window under Custom Help Topics. You will learn how to add links to this group in the next procedure.\

   Note
   If you want your topics to be available via F1 help as well as dynamic help, you must not add them to a custom linkgroup. Rather, they must be added to the 'help' linkgroup. For more information, see How to: Provide F1 Help for Visual Studio Templates and Policy.

   Note
   For more information on the meanings of custom context file items see Custom Context Files and Displaying Help Topics.

• In the CustomHelp.xml file, insert the content shown below in bold after the </LinkGroup> tag:

  </LinkGroup>
  <Context>
      <Keywords>
          <KItem Name="WinUI" /> 
          <KItem Name="VBC" /> 
          <KItem Name="Policy" /> 
      </Keywords>
      <Links>
          <LItem URL="c:\Guidance\CustomGuidance.htm" LinkGroup="customhelp">
                  WinUI Development Notes
          </LItem> 
      </Links>
  </Context>

Note
In this case you do not need an Attributes node. For more information, see the Attributes Node subheading below.

Note
The WinUI, VBC, and Policy keywords used here are illustrative examples, and should be replaced by keywords appropriate to your project. For more information on defining keywords, see How to: Display Help Topics for Visual Studio Templates and Policy in the Dynamic Help Window.

Note
For more information on the meanings of custom context file items see Custom Context Files and Displaying Help Topics.

The following example shows a complete custom context file for an imaginary Templates and Policy Project.

<?xml version='1.0' encoding="utf-8" ?>
<DynamicHelp xmlns="http://msdn.microsoft.com/vsdata/xsd/vsdh.xsd">
  <LinkGroup ID="customhelp" Title="Custom Help Topics" Priority="2">
    <Glyph Static="vs:/ctxmsc.gif"/>
  </Linkgroup>
<Context>
    <Keywords>
      <KItem Name="VBC" /> 
      <KItem Name="WinUI" /> 
      <KItem Name="Policy" /> 
    </Keywords>
    <Links>
        <LItem URL="c:\Guidance\CustomGuidance.htm" LinkGroup="customhelp">WinUI Development Notes</LItem> 
    </Links>
</Context>
</DynamicHelp>

Although it is not shown above, you can add a node to your own context file that enhances the level of control over the contents of the Dynamic Help window. AItem entries in an Attributes node limit the list identified by Keywords to only those that contain all specified AItem entries. AItem entries correspond to ContextAttribute nodes defined in the .vspolicy file. A typical Attributes node would be inserted in the preceding example in the following manner.

<?xml version='1.0' encoding="utf-8" ?>
<DynamicHelp xmlns="http://msdn.microsoft.com/vsdata/xsd/vsdh.xsd">
  <LinkGroup ID="customhelp" Title="Custom Help Topics" Priority="2">
    <Glyph Static="vs:/ctxmsc.gif"/>
  </LinkGroup>
<Context>
    <Keywords>
      <KItem Name="VBC" /> 
      <KItem Name="WinUI" /> 
      <KItem Name="Policy" /> 
    </Keywords>
    <Attributes>
      <AItem Name="DevLang" Value="VB" /> 
      <AItem Name="DevLang" Value="VC" /> 
    </Attributes>
    <Links>
        <LItem URL="c:\public\CustomWinUI.htm" LinkGroup="customhelp">WinUI Development Notes</LItem> 
    </Links>
</Context>
</DynamicHelp>

Attributes provide a mechanism to display topics in the Dynamic Help window that are particularly pertinent to a specific Element. If you are working within a large help system in which the same keyword is used to pull in topics that do not apply to your particular project, using the Attributes node can be very helpful. In the example above, you might want to create a help topic that applies only to the projects that are developed in either Visual Basic or Visual C++ ("VB" and "VC" above, respectively). If the topic only applies to Visual Basic and you have other developers working in languages that would have no interest in a Visual Basic topic, identifying "VB" in an Attributes node would provide a way to eliminate information that non-Visual Basic developers would find unnecessary.

Attributes provide a mechanism for differentiating between Help topics when those topics share one or more common keywords. This is particularly useful when you associate Help topics with the F1 key. For more information, see How to: Provide F1 Help for Visual Studio Templates and Policy.