Getting help

How help works

SCOhelp operates in two modes -- ``stand-alone mode'' and ``context-sensitive help mode''. These modes refer to the way you start the SCOhelp client.

stand-alone

SCOhelp starts in stand-alone mode when you enter scohelp at an xterm command line.

In stand-alone mode, SCOhelp functions as a stand-alone graphical application -- an online documentation browser. In this mode, SCOhelp does not function as a help server for other clients. This means that if you request help from some other client, SCOhelp starts a second help application that functions as a help server.

context-sensitive help

SCOhelp starts in context-sensitive help mode when you request help from any SCO manager or client, for example, by pressing <F1> or clicking on a Help button in the SCOadmin Filesystem Manager.

NOTE: In context-sensitive help mode, scohelp starts with the -cshelpservermode option, which starts the scohelpd context-sensitive help server. For more information about scohelpd and context-sensitive help, see the Using the UnixWare 7 Context-Sensitive Help API document available from Skunkware.

If you select File Close from the SCOhelp window, only the current SCOhelp window closes. If you select File Exit, all the current SCOhelp windows close.

WARNING: This might also exit other Netscape Communicator windows you have open.

A subsequent help request from an application starts a new SCOhelp browser window.

NOTE: Requesting help from another application starts a separate SCOhelp window that is associated with the second application. The SCOhelp processes remain running until all applications that have requested help exit.

When you start SCOhelp (in either stand-alone or context-sensitive help mode), SCOhelp uses a URL (Uniform Resource Locator) to access information. URLs take the general form:

http://danton.sco.com:457/INST_install/_Network_Installation.html

http: the type of URL (Hyper-Text Transfer Protocol)
danton.sco.com:457: the system name and port number of the scohelphttpd server
INST_install: the topic
_Network_Installation.html: the topic file in INST_install

When a context-sensitive help request is made, scohelp passes a topic name and filename to the scohelpd context-sensitive help server (scohelp starts with the -cshelpservermode option). By default, the help server is located on the local system, but it can be located on any system on the network (local or external). See ``Using context-sensitive help on a document server system''.

scohelpd prepends DocumentRoot to the help request and delivers the document (if found). That document in turn contains hyperlinks (more URLs) to the other topic files contained in the online documentation. This process is illustrated in ``The SCOhelp process''.