HelpProvider Class
Provides pop-up or online Help for controls.
For a list of all members of this type, see HelpProvider Members.
System.Object
System.MarshalByRefObject
System.ComponentModel.Component
System.Windows.Forms.HelpProvider
[Visual Basic] Public Class HelpProvider Inherits Component Implements IExtenderProvider [C#] public class HelpProvider : Component, IExtenderProvider [C++] public __gc class HelpProvider : public Component, IExtenderProvider [JScript] public class HelpProvider extends Component implements IExtenderProvider
Thread Safety
Any public static (Shared in Visual Basic) members of this type are thread safe. Any instance members are not guaranteed to be thread safe.
Remarks
Each instance of HelpProvider maintains a collection of references to controls associated with it. To associate a Help file with the HelpProvider object, set the HelpNamespace property. You specify the type of Help provided by calling SetHelpNavigator and providing a HelpNavigator value for the specified control. You provide the keyword or topic for the Help by calling SetHelpKeyword.
To associate a specific Help string with a control, use the SetHelpString method. The string that you associate with a control using this method is displayed in a pop-up window when the user presses the F1 key while the control has focus.
If HelpNamespace has not been set, you must use SetHelpString to provide the Help text. If you have set both HelpNamespace and the Help string, Help based on the HelpNamespace will take precedence.
HelpProvider calls methods on Help to provide help functionality.
Example
[Visual Basic, C#, C++] The following example demonstrates using the the HelpProvider class to display context-sensitive Help on a form containing four address fields. The example uses the SetHelpString to set the Help ToolTip text. When using the context-sensitive Help button and clicking the Help cursor on an address field, the Help ToolTip appears with the specified text. When pressing the F1 key with the focus in an address field, the mspaint.chm Help file is displayed because the HelpNamespace property has been set to mspaint.chm. The HelpProvider. SetShowHelp method is called for each address control to identify that it has Help content available.
[Visual Basic] Imports System Imports System.Drawing Imports System.Windows.Forms Public Class Form1 Inherits System.Windows.Forms.Form Private addressTextBox As System.Windows.Forms.TextBox Private label2 As System.Windows.Forms.Label Private cityTextBox As System.Windows.Forms.TextBox Private label3 As System.Windows.Forms.Label Private stateTextBox As System.Windows.Forms.TextBox Private zipTextBox As System.Windows.Forms.TextBox Private helpProvider1 As System.Windows.Forms.HelpProvider Private helpLabel As System.Windows.Forms.Label <STAThread()> _ Shared Sub Main() Application.Run(New Form1()) End Sub 'Main Public Sub New() Me.addressTextBox = New System.Windows.Forms.TextBox() Me.helpLabel = New System.Windows.Forms.Label() Me.label2 = New System.Windows.Forms.Label() Me.cityTextBox = New System.Windows.Forms.TextBox() Me.label3 = New System.Windows.Forms.Label() Me.stateTextBox = New System.Windows.Forms.TextBox() Me.zipTextBox = New System.Windows.Forms.TextBox() ' Help Label Me.helpLabel.Location = New System.Drawing.Point(8, 80) Me.helpLabel.Size = New System.Drawing.Size(272, 72) Me.helpLabel.TabIndex = 1 Me.helpLabel.Text = "Click the Help button in the title bar, then click a control " & _ "to see a Help tooltip for the control. Click on a control and press F1 to invoke " & _ "the Help system with a sample Help file." ' Address Label Me.label2.Location = New System.Drawing.Point(16, 8) Me.label2.Size = New System.Drawing.Size(100, 16) Me.label2.Text = "Address:" ' Comma Label Me.label3.Location = New System.Drawing.Point(136, 56) Me.label3.Size = New System.Drawing.Size(16, 16) Me.label3.Text = "," ' Creates the HelpProvider. Me.helpProvider1 = New System.Windows.Forms.HelpProvider() ' Tell the HelpProvider what controls to provide Help for, and ' what the Help string is. Me.helpProvider1.SetHelpString(Me.addressTextBox, "Enter the street address in this text box.") Me.helpProvider1.SetShowHelp(Me.addressTextBox, True) Me.helpProvider1.SetHelpString(Me.cityTextBox, "Enter the city here.") Me.helpProvider1.SetShowHelp(Me.cityTextBox, True) Me.helpProvider1.SetHelpString(Me.stateTextBox, "Enter the state in this text box.") Me.helpProvider1.SetShowHelp(Me.stateTextBox, True) Me.helpProvider1.SetHelpString(Me.zipTextBox, "Enter the zip code here.") Me.helpProvider1.SetShowHelp(Me.zipTextBox, True) ' Sets what the Help file will be for the HelpProvider. Me.helpProvider1.HelpNamespace = "mspaint.chm" ' Set properties for the different address fields. ' Address TextBox Me.addressTextBox.Location = New System.Drawing.Point(16, 24) Me.addressTextBox.Size = New System.Drawing.Size(264, 20) Me.addressTextBox.TabIndex = 0 Me.addressTextBox.Text = "" ' City TextBox Me.cityTextBox.Location = New System.Drawing.Point(16, 48) Me.cityTextBox.Size = New System.Drawing.Size(120, 20) Me.cityTextBox.TabIndex = 3 Me.cityTextBox.Text = "" ' State TextBox Me.stateTextBox.Location = New System.Drawing.Point(152, 48) Me.stateTextBox.MaxLength = 2 Me.stateTextBox.Size = New System.Drawing.Size(32, 20) Me.stateTextBox.TabIndex = 5 Me.stateTextBox.Text = "" ' Zip TextBox Me.zipTextBox.Location = New System.Drawing.Point(192, 48) Me.zipTextBox.Size = New System.Drawing.Size(88, 20) Me.zipTextBox.TabIndex = 6 Me.zipTextBox.Text = "" ' Add the controls to the form. Me.Controls.AddRange(New System.Windows.Forms.Control() { Me.zipTextBox, _ Me.stateTextBox, Me.label3, _ Me.cityTextBox, Me.label2, _ Me.helpLabel, Me.addressTextBox}) ' Set the form to look like a dialog, and show the HelpButton. Me.FormBorderStyle = System.Windows.Forms.FormBorderStyle.FixedDialog Me.HelpButton = True Me.MaximizeBox = False Me.MinimizeBox = False Me.ClientSize = New System.Drawing.Size(292, 160) Me.Text = "Help Provider Demonstration" End Sub 'New End Class 'Form1 [C#] using System; using System.Drawing; using System.Windows.Forms; public class Form1 : System.Windows.Forms.Form { private System.Windows.Forms.TextBox addressTextBox; private System.Windows.Forms.Label label2; private System.Windows.Forms.TextBox cityTextBox; private System.Windows.Forms.Label label3; private System.Windows.Forms.TextBox stateTextBox; private System.Windows.Forms.TextBox zipTextBox; private System.Windows.Forms.HelpProvider helpProvider1; private System.Windows.Forms.Label helpLabel; [STAThread] static void Main() { Application.Run(new Form1()); } public Form1() { this.addressTextBox = new System.Windows.Forms.TextBox(); this.helpLabel = new System.Windows.Forms.Label(); this.label2 = new System.Windows.Forms.Label(); this.cityTextBox = new System.Windows.Forms.TextBox(); this.label3 = new System.Windows.Forms.Label(); this.stateTextBox = new System.Windows.Forms.TextBox(); this.zipTextBox = new System.Windows.Forms.TextBox(); // Help Label this.helpLabel.BorderStyle = System.Windows.Forms.BorderStyle.Fixed3D; this.helpLabel.Location = new System.Drawing.Point(8, 80); this.helpLabel.Size = new System.Drawing.Size(272, 72); this.helpLabel.Text = "Click the Help button in the title bar, then click a control " + "to see a Help tooltip for the control. Click on a control and press F1 to invoke " + "the Help system with a sample Help file."; // Address Label this.label2.Location = new System.Drawing.Point(16, 8); this.label2.Size = new System.Drawing.Size(100, 16); this.label2.Text = "Address:"; // Comma Label this.label3.Location = new System.Drawing.Point(136, 56); this.label3.Size = new System.Drawing.Size(16, 16); this.label3.Text = ","; // Create the HelpProvider. this.helpProvider1 = new System.Windows.Forms.HelpProvider(); // Tell the HelpProvider what controls to provide help for, and // what the help string is. this.helpProvider1.SetShowHelp(this.addressTextBox, true); this.helpProvider1.SetHelpString(this.addressTextBox, "Enter the street address in this text box."); this.helpProvider1.SetShowHelp(this.cityTextBox, true); this.helpProvider1.SetHelpString(this.cityTextBox, "Enter the city here."); this.helpProvider1.SetShowHelp(this.stateTextBox, true); this.helpProvider1.SetHelpString(this.stateTextBox, "Enter the state in this text box."); this.helpProvider1.SetShowHelp(this.zipTextBox, true); this.helpProvider1.SetHelpString(this.zipTextBox, "Enter the zip code here."); // Set what the Help file will be for the HelpProvider. this.helpProvider1.HelpNamespace = "mspaint.chm"; // Sets properties for the different address fields. // Address TextBox this.addressTextBox.Location = new System.Drawing.Point(16, 24); this.addressTextBox.Size = new System.Drawing.Size(264, 20); this.addressTextBox.TabIndex = 0; this.addressTextBox.Text = ""; // City TextBox this.cityTextBox.Location = new System.Drawing.Point(16, 48); this.cityTextBox.Size = new System.Drawing.Size(120, 20); this.cityTextBox.TabIndex = 3; this.cityTextBox.Text = ""; // State TextBox this.stateTextBox.Location = new System.Drawing.Point(152, 48); this.stateTextBox.MaxLength = 2; this.stateTextBox.Size = new System.Drawing.Size(32, 20); this.stateTextBox.TabIndex = 5; this.stateTextBox.Text = ""; // Zip TextBox this.zipTextBox.Location = new System.Drawing.Point(192, 48); this.zipTextBox.Size = new System.Drawing.Size(88, 20); this.zipTextBox.TabIndex = 6; this.zipTextBox.Text = ""; // Add the controls to the form. this.Controls.AddRange(new System.Windows.Forms.Control[] { this.zipTextBox, this.stateTextBox, this.label3, this.cityTextBox, this.label2, this.helpLabel, this.addressTextBox}); // Set the form to look like a dialog, and show the HelpButton. this.FormBorderStyle = System.Windows.Forms.FormBorderStyle.FixedDialog; this.HelpButton = true; this.MaximizeBox = false; this.MinimizeBox = false; this.ClientSize = new System.Drawing.Size(292, 160); this.Text = "Help Provider Demonstration"; } } [C++] #using <mscorlib.dll> #using <System.dll> #using <System.Windows.Forms.dll> #using <System.Drawing.dll> using namespace System; using namespace System::Drawing; using namespace System::Windows::Forms; public __gc class Form1 : public System::Windows::Forms::Form { private: System::Windows::Forms::TextBox* addressTextBox; System::Windows::Forms::Label* label2; System::Windows::Forms::TextBox* cityTextBox; System::Windows::Forms::Label* label3; System::Windows::Forms::TextBox* stateTextBox; System::Windows::Forms::TextBox* zipTextBox; System::Windows::Forms::HelpProvider* helpProvider1; System::Windows::Forms::Label* helpLabel; public: Form1() { this->addressTextBox = new System::Windows::Forms::TextBox(); this->helpLabel = new System::Windows::Forms::Label(); this->label2 = new System::Windows::Forms::Label(); this->cityTextBox = new System::Windows::Forms::TextBox(); this->label3 = new System::Windows::Forms::Label(); this->stateTextBox = new System::Windows::Forms::TextBox(); this->zipTextBox = new System::Windows::Forms::TextBox(); // Help Label this->helpLabel->BorderStyle = System::Windows::Forms::BorderStyle::Fixed3D; this->helpLabel->Location = System::Drawing::Point(8, 80); this->helpLabel->Size = System::Drawing::Size(272, 72); this->helpLabel->Text = S"Click the Help button in the title bar, then click a control to see a Help tooltip for the control. Click on a control and press F1 to invoke the Help system with a sample Help file."; // Address Label this->label2->Location = System::Drawing::Point(16, 8); this->label2->Size = System::Drawing::Size(100, 16); this->label2->Text = S"Address:"; // Comma Label this->label3->Location = System::Drawing::Point(136, 56); this->label3->Size = System::Drawing::Size(16, 16); this->label3->Text = S", "; // Create the HelpProvider. this->helpProvider1 = new System::Windows::Forms::HelpProvider(); // Tell the HelpProvider what controls to provide help for, and // what the help String* is. this->helpProvider1->SetShowHelp(this->addressTextBox, true); this->helpProvider1->SetHelpString(this->addressTextBox, S"Enter the street address in this text box."); this->helpProvider1->SetShowHelp(this->cityTextBox, true); this->helpProvider1->SetHelpString(this->cityTextBox, S"Enter the city here."); this->helpProvider1->SetShowHelp(this->stateTextBox, true); this->helpProvider1->SetHelpString(this->stateTextBox, S"Enter the state in this text box."); this->helpProvider1->SetShowHelp(this->zipTextBox, true); this->helpProvider1->SetHelpString(this->zipTextBox, S"Enter the zip code here."); // Set what the Help file will be for the HelpProvider. this->helpProvider1->HelpNamespace = S"mspaint.chm"; // Sets properties for the different address fields. // Address TextBox this->addressTextBox->Location = System::Drawing::Point(16, 24); this->addressTextBox->Size = System::Drawing::Size(264, 20); this->addressTextBox->TabIndex = 0; this->addressTextBox->Text = S""; // City TextBox this->cityTextBox->Location = System::Drawing::Point(16, 48); this->cityTextBox->Size = System::Drawing::Size(120, 20); this->cityTextBox->TabIndex = 3; this->cityTextBox->Text = S""; // State TextBox this->stateTextBox->Location = System::Drawing::Point(152, 48); this->stateTextBox->MaxLength = 2; this->stateTextBox->Size = System::Drawing::Size(32, 20); this->stateTextBox->TabIndex = 5; this->stateTextBox->Text = S""; // Zip TextBox this->zipTextBox->Location = System::Drawing::Point(192, 48); this->zipTextBox->Size = System::Drawing::Size(88, 20); this->zipTextBox->TabIndex = 6; this->zipTextBox->Text = S""; // Add the controls to the form. System::Windows::Forms::Control* temp0 [] = {this->zipTextBox, this->stateTextBox, this->label3, this->cityTextBox, this->label2, this->helpLabel, this->addressTextBox}; this->Controls->AddRange(temp0); // Set the form to look like a dialog, and show the HelpButton. this->FormBorderStyle = System::Windows::Forms::FormBorderStyle::FixedDialog; this->HelpButton = true; this->MaximizeBox = false; this->MinimizeBox = false; this->ClientSize = System::Drawing::Size(292, 160); this->Text = S"Help Provider Demonstration"; } }; [STAThread] int main() { Application::Run(new Form1()); }
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Requirements
Namespace: System.Windows.Forms
Platforms: Windows 98, Windows NT 4.0, Windows Millennium Edition, Windows 2000, Windows XP Home Edition, Windows XP Professional, Windows Server 2003 family
Assembly: System.Windows.Forms (in System.Windows.Forms.dll)
See Also
HelpProvider Members | System.Windows.Forms Namespace | Help