Helpfile for a workbook

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I want to add custom helpfiles that is only applicable to a workbook that must be destributed within our company. any sugestions?

Ensemble.

WHY?

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This is a decent guide to the practicalities of adding Helpfiles to Excel – http://www.excelguru.ca/content.php?166

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Thank You, I still need to find a way to bundle the help files with (preferably in) my workbook, as (99 + 1)% of the people using the workbook will not save the help files even if I beg them to!

Since I already have to force them to allow the use of macros before they can use the relevant sheets in the workbook I am thinking that I should build in some form of check to see if the help files is available on the pc and install them if the are not.

Any Ideas?

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If they won’t save the Help files, will they use them ?

I don’t find that many people use Help files – what seems too work better is to put the help exactly where it is needed, an example being when you enter a worksheet function name and Excel prompts you for the appropriate variables. You can also use Tooltips, cell Comments, Text Boxes, VBA Message boxes etc to provide textual and contextual support in the place and at the time it is needed, and maybe data validation to exclude inappropriate actions at the time they are made.

Help placed as I described above is also far easier to maintain than separate Help files.

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If they won’t save the Help files, will they use them ?

I don’t find that many people use Help files – what seems too work better is to put the help exactly where it is needed, an example being when you enter a worksheet function name and Excel prompts you for the appropriate variables. You can also use Tooltips, cell Comments, Text Boxes, VBA Message boxes etc to provide textual and contextual support in the place and at the time it is needed, and maybe data validation to exclude inappropriate actions at the time they are made.

Help placed as I described above is also far easier to maintain than separate Help files.

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I have built my own help files using user forms. You can make them look darn near close to a help file, make them fuctional, add clips, link to each othere, link to a specific topic right from the sheet, etc. and the will be bundled with your workbook.

HTH,
Maud

33674-clock

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Thank you, it is possibly the best way for me to go. The main reason I want to go with help files is to provide the users with graphical step by step instructions.

I sometimes feel that Users=1D10t5! For example there is one cell asking a yes/no question. the answer cell has a comment “Please select Yes or No.” It has a drop down selection of blank, Yes and No. If anything else is entered a error message pops up stating “Please select ‘Yes’ or ‘No'” with a “Rety” button. Then I get a phone call “Your form will not allow me to fill in this field”. When I ask what she want to enter there I get “X”

In the past I have tried data validation, Cell comments, displaying warnings by using a combination of conditional formatting and if statements. to no avail, the project is a claim form that must be completed, printed and signed. At the top is a messega in bold red that states “If any field remeans YELLOW, the claim will not be approved.”

If the form is not fully completed, the signiture and Authorisation blocks is blacked out with a message in yellow stating ” Some required details missing from form, please complete any fields stil yellow in” and then the first section of the form that is not correctly completed. I still receive forms printed with the error messege and the calimant and authoriser just signed elsewere on the form.

At this stage I am seriously contemplating disabling printing untill the form is correctly completed. (I am willing to bet that somebody would make a screen dump and print that).

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It worked well for me in that I made the Help Files interactive. Users were able to click while reading the materials.

In the past I have tried data validation, Cell comments, displaying warnings by using a combination of conditional formatting and if statements. to no avail

Sounds like the only thing you haven’t tried is an audible alarm. I think 100db should do the trick. Ding them with a wrong entry.

Code:

Public Declare Function sndPlaySound Lib “winmm.dll” _
Alias “sndPlaySoundA” (ByVal lpszSoundName As String, _
ByVal uFlags As Long) As Long

Public Sub Ding()
sndPlaySound “C:WINDOWSMediaDing.wav”, 1
End Sub

Use 1 if the code is to proceed while the wave file plays. Use 0 for the code to wait for the file to finish playing.

You can call this routine from an event routine. Example: Worksheet_Change event with an intersect function to monitor certain cells

HTH,
Maud

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Hi

If you have a form requiring the User to select Yes or No, perhaps you should do it with ‘radio option buttons’.
That way, the User can clearly see the choices, and easily change between them.
Other input methods might be to use Checkboxes.

zeddy

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I am willing to bet that somebody would make a screen dump and print that

If it really comes down to disabling the PrtScn key, here was a possible solution. The thread is old (for XP) but it might work for a newer OS. Scroll dawn past initial posts. Hope it doesn’t get to that point but there is always one who….

http://www.vbforums.com/showthread/?372390-RESOLVED-Turn-off-Print-Screen

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