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InstallationMSHelpViewerdocs

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14 views8 pages

InstallationMSHelpViewerdocs

Uploaded by

Yantao Wu
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© © All Rights Reserved
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Using the Microsoft Help Viewer

Initializing Help System Functionality


Help System Register and Unregister Requirements
Viewing Visual Studio Integrated Documentation
Manually Installing Product Manifest
Resolving Errors and Unexpected Results

This document addresses various requirements, procedures, and issues for implementing and activating
the Visual Studio Help system. Display connectivity must first be established with the Microsoft Help
Viewer, installed by default, beginning with Visual Studio 2010 in the C:\Program Files\Microsoft Help
Viewer\v1.0 folder.

Microsoft refers to completing this connectivity as setting the local help store content.

First Time Use of Visual Studio 2010 Help System


Steps for implementing the help system for Microsoft’s Help Viewer in Visual Studio for its first use:

1. Open Visual Studio and click Help > Manage Help Settings to display:

2. Select Choose online or local help to display the following dialog. If the online help option is
selected, you will not be able to display Intergraph’s documentation or any other local
documentation on your system with the Help Viewer. Therefore, make sure the second option is
selected. Also note whether the local help store has been set. The Library location should be set
according to your machine’s installation for the library. This following image shows the default
path on an XP system. For Windows 7, you will browse to the \Help Library folder as so
installed.
3. Finally, click OK and completely exit Visual Studio. Make sure all files related to Visual Studio
are also closed.

.NET API Documentation Registration and Unregistration


If you use SP3DDeliverZips.exe to download development builds to your system, then you should have
any available valid .NET documentation already included on your working system. Also, using
RegisterApps.exe for registration/unregistration for full development updates on your system provides
the same necessary functionality for our .NET integrated API documentation.

Browse to a folder of .NET documentation. For Smart 3D, you can find .NET API files in \SOM folders
for all the current entities (K:\CommonRoute, HangersAndSupports, Planning; M:\CommonApp for
CommonMiddle and CommonClient, Drawings, Equipment, ProjectMgmt for client BatchServices,
RefData for Client and Middle, Reports, ShipRefData, SP3DSPRDClient for internal Src,
SystemsAndSpecs; S:\Compartmentation, GridSystem, ShipStructure, SmartPlantStructure for Middle
and Symbols, StructManufacturing, StructuralAnalysis for ModelExchange and Middle). In each of those
sections, you can browse to the \MSHelpViewer folder to find its associated compiled documentation.

For example, in \CommonApp\SOM\Middle\CommonMiddle\Programming\MSHelpViewer, the following


files are available:

CommonMiddle.cab (compiled help .mshc in a digitally signed CAB)


helpcontentsetup.msha (product manifest)
HelpLibManagerLauncher.exe (communicates with HelpLibManager)
register_CommonMiddle.bat
unregister_CommonMiddle.bat

You can always fetch from TFS the latest of these files or any other set to your local system.
Important: When not using SP3DDeliverZips and RegisterApps to update local sets of this
documentation, you must perform manual unregistration/registration. If you already have a set on your
local system:

1. Run the unregister_<name>.bat file. Always make sure you have unregistered your existing set
of .NET documentation before registration and trying to view an updated set with Visual Studio.
Otherwise, the set may not update properly with the HelpLibManager. In that case, you would
not see changes from the previously registered content.
2. Fetch a new set of files.
3. Run the register_<name>.bat file.

Viewing Visual Studio Integrated Documentation


1. Open Visual Studio.
2. Click Help > View Help to launch the Microsoft Help Viewer shown below.

The viewer should display default Microsoft documentation and any other Intergraph documentation you
have installed on your system.

Note: Scroll to the lower area on the left side of the viewer for the tabbed items (Contents, Index,
Favorites, and Results), as shown below. Sometimes you may think the Help Viewer isn’t displaying
your documentation correctly. Make sure the appropriate tab is selected for your expected display.
Manual Installation of the Product Manifest
If for any reason you need to manually install the product manifest (helpcontentsetup.msha), following
are steps in which to accomplish this. If you do not see your documentation displayed in the Contents tab
of the Help Viewer, and you have completed registration correctly, follow these steps:

1. In Visual Studio, click Help > Manage Help Settings to display the following:

2. Select Install content from disk to display the following:


3. Browse to the location of helpcontentsetup.msha for your help documentation. For example, for
CommonMiddle, you would browse to the folder location described previously at \CommonApp\
SOM\Middle\CommonMiddle\Programming\MSHelpViewer.

4. Click Next to display the following:

5. In this dialog you can scroll to see all other integrated documentation already installed on your
system. Click Add in the Actions column (Note: If your documentation title is displayed, and
Add is not shown, your documentation is already installed.) to display the following:
6. Click Update. If your documentation for the MSHC file is wrapped correctly into the signed
CAB file, you will see the following dialog. Note: If you are installing the MSHC file outside of
the CAB file, you would see the security alert without the Intergraph safe content information, as
seen below.

7. Click Yes for Intergraph documentation, to display the following:


When updating is finished, the following dialog is displayed:

8. Click Finish. Exit from the Help Library Manager.


9. Repeat previous steps for Help > View Help.

Troubleshooting Errors and Unexpected Results


If you have installation issues the following steps can provide resolution.
1. If after completing any of the previous steps expected results do not appear, exit Visual Studio
completely to allow any updates to reset or complete in its underlying platform.
2. Check to see if the Help Agent is running. You can find this in your Windows tray at the lower
right of your screen among the other active icons by hovering over each.
3. Right click and then click Exit. It can cause a disruption in the help displaying updates.

4. In the case of registration, repeat the unregister step, then register, to see if new documentation is
displayed in the Help Viewer.
5. Lastly, reboot your system if you think an overall Microsoft issue might be the problem.

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