IMultiItemEx.ItemHelpContextID Property

The help context ID associated with the item specified by the index.

[Visual Basic .NET]
Public Function get_ItemHelpContextID ( _
    ByVal index As Integer _
) As Integer

[C#]
public int get_ItemHelpContextID (
    int index
);

[C++]
HRESULT get_ItemHelpContextID(
  long index,
  long* ID
);

[C++]
Parameters
index [in]
  index is a parameter of type long
ID [out, retval]
  ID is a parameter of type long

Product Availability

Description

The ItemHelpContextID property is used to specify the mapped numeric value of the topic ID of the context sensitive help topic for the specified item in your custom MultiItem. Specify the name of your help file in the IMultiItem.HelpFile or IMultiItemEx.ItemHelpFile property.

Index specifies the index of the current item on the multiItem.

Remarks

If you set both the ItemHelpFile (or IMultiItem.HelpFile) and ItemHelpContextID properties, then an end-user of your command can use the "What's This?" command in ArcMap or ArcCatalog to get help on your command. Note, if you want your What's This help to look and behave the same as the standard ArcGIS commands, then you should create a WinHelp file instead of a HTMLHelp file.

If you have a WinHelp file (*.hlp), set IMultiItem.HelpFile or IMultiItemEx.ItemHelpFile to the name of the help file containing the topic that describes the command and set IMultiItem.ItemHelpContextID to the topic ID's mapped numeric value. The topic ID is the so-called # footnote in the RTF file you include in your WinHelp file. You can use Help Workshop to add this numeric value by opening the HPJ file, clicking Map and then clicking Add (to add the mapping for an individual topic). See the help topic "To enable a program to display an individual Help topic" in the Help Workshop's help file.

If you have an HTMLHelp file (*.chm) the procedure is similar; specifiy the
.chm file as IMultiItem.HelpFile or IMultiItemEx.ItemHelpFile and the mapped numeric value as
IMultiItem.ItemHelpContextID. Popup topics are problematic with HTMLHelp, but the help topic will display in a default or user-defined window.

As part of your deployment strategy register the name of the WinHelp file (*.hlp) as a new string value in:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\Help

Or if you're working with a HTMLHelp file (*.chm) register its name as a new string value in:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\HTMLHelp.

See Also