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The HELPKEY Field

This field is used to specify a help file and a module within it at which multi-line help text for the parameter may be found7. Text read from a help file is known as multi-line help although it could in fact be only one line.

The field is of the form:

helpkey help_specifier
where help_specifier is a character string of the form:
filename key1 key2 etc...
specifying that the text to be displayed may be found in the help file filename and the module defined by key1 key2 etc... (but see also the HELPLIB Specification, Section [*]). For more information on multi-line help and a discussion of help filenames, see Appendix [*].

help_specifier may also be * or '*', in which case a default value of:

interface_name PARAMETERS parameter_name
will be used, where interface_name is the name specified in the current INTERFACE field. (Use of this default implies that there is an associated HELPLIB Specification.)

If the user is prompted for a parameter value, and responds with `??', the specified text is displayed at the terminal and the user will be left in the help system and prompted for further topics of interest.

If the user responds with `?' and there is no HELP field specified for the parameter the effect is the same except that the user will be re-prompted for the parameter value immediately (except from SMSICL).





next up previous 63
Next: Example
Up: The Parameter Specification
Previous: Run-time Modification of PPATH Action

ADAM Interface Module Reference Manual
Starlink User Note 115
A J Chipperfield, B D Kelly, S L Wright
3 September 2002
E-mail:ussc@star.rl.ac.uk

Copyright © 2002 Council for the Central Laboratory of the Research Councils