Builds and Output format

John Smith · Unread post by **John Smith** » Mon Aug 11, 2003 1:59 am

There have been request to change the User Defined Build names 1, 2, & 3. Not sure if the following as previously been suggested.

What I would like to see is all of the build names to be a list that the User builds themselves, and it to be divorced from output format entirely. (Except for the All checkbox.

If you can't see the picture, it is the topic options build list.

Then of course we need the option to compile the builds we want in the make help file dialog, similar to thus -

If you can't see the picture, it is the Make Help File and Run dialog, with an extra option box to pick the Build.

Of course the option names listed would be as defined by the User (Except for "All"). The User then picks the ouput and the build.

as a secondary wish - it would also be good that as the User enters their own builds, they could also have their own output file names.

John

Mon Aug 11, 2003 10:16 am

John,
the build-options cannot be extened in a simple way. There's a small reserve for future options but no chance to freely add new build options. The options are saved as one 4 byte integervalue, not as a list. So, what seems like a snap, a little improvement, requires in fact a substantial change in the database design.

John Smith · Unread post by **John Smith** » Mon Aug 11, 2003 3:40 pm

Alex I am assuming here that the 4 byte integer relates to the Build options, not Output Format, although currently the topic build checkboxes, list Output formats as well.

If so -There are currently 10 build options (Not including the ALL build option). Obviously the names for each integer

4 html Help
8 Winhelp (.hlp)
16 Browser based help
32 Print manual
64 PDF
128 MultiMedia Help
8192 Demo
16384 User 1
32768 User 2
65536 User 3

are hardcoded into H&M.

If those 10 options (hardcoded names) were pointed at another list (a list similar to the way we can enter Text variables), there would be no need to change the integer values. I think most would be satisfied with the ability to have 10 user named builds, and the ability to choose which one to compile and what format.

All I could see is that the Build options, do not have to be related to the Output Format, and if we were allowed to choose the build option in the Make Help dialog, it would be much more flexible and easier to use.

I realise we already have that flexibility by using command line options like thus - choose all builds for PDF, but create a CHM file.

helpman.exe "c:\Documents\MyHelp.hm3" /chm="CompiledHelp.chm" /I=64

would be nicer in the dialog, and even better if we could have our own names.

As I do not know the exact DB structure, and how closely the build options and output formats are related, and what structures they may share, I do not know how hard this may be.