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Adding Boilerplate Pages

A common help template customization is adding help pages to the driver help file. Because these specialized pages often discuss general topics, they are often reused across multiple driver projects. Hence, they are referred to as boilerplate help pages. Nimbus uses this terminology even if the help pages are only used in a single driver help project. The section below on replacement tags explains a special feature that is useful in authoring boilerplate content that will be shared amongst multiple drivers. The procedure for integrating boilerplate help pages is identical for shared pages and driver-specific pages.

Note Note

The procedure below uses the file names for IVI.NET driver help projects. The procedure and file names for IVI-COM and IVI-C driver help projects are similar.

To add help pages to a driver help file

  1. From Solution Explorer, navigate to the Template\Html\Boilerplate folder of the driver help project (<projectName>Help).

  2. To add an existing HTML file right click on the Boilerplate node, and choose Add Existing Item... and navigate to the desired file.

    To add a new HTML file right click on the Boilerplate node, and choose Add New Item... and choose HTML Page from the New Item Dialog.

  3. To ensure the style of the new page is consistent with other pages in the help template, it is generally easier to copy the content of another help page in the template and use it as a starting point for the new page.

  4. Add a <HelpTOCNode> to the help template manifest file (Manifest.xml) that points to the new page. Note that the Resource attribute just lists the file name.

  5. If the added page references a script file (.js) or a graphics file (such as a .jpg or a .bmp), perform the following steps:

    1. Add the file to either the Graphics, Icons, or Scripts subfolder of the help project's Template folder.

    2. In the Manifest.xml file, add an entry under the <AdditionalFiles> element, as in the example below:

      XML
      Copy
      <!-- Manifest.xml-->

<AdditionalFiles>

  <Binary OutputDir="Graphics" Resource="MyDiagram.jpg"/>
Using replacement tags in boilerplate help pages

If help pages are to be reused between different drivers, it is important to not hard-code into the pages any references to a specific driver, such as the project name or the driver output file name. Instead, special replacement tags can be used in the HTML itself and Nimbus will automatically replace the tags with the appropriate values for the driver when the help project is built.

The example HTML below uses the $$DRIVER_NAME$$ replacement tag in some introductory text. This would be replaced with a name such as Acme4321 when the help project is built.

XML
Copy
<!-- MyFile.html -->

<div class="introduction">
  <p>
    Because the $$DRIVER_NAME$$ driver is a standard .NET assembly, it may be accessed from
    COM-aware native applications written in languages such C++ and Visual Basic.
  </p>
</div>

Nimbus supplies a number of replacement tags that can be used when authoring help pages. The complete list of supported replacement tags for each type of IVI driver is given in the table below:

Replacement Tag

Driver Type

Description

$$INSTR_PREFIX$$

IVI-COM, IVI-C

IVI-C prefix.

Example: Acme

$$INSTR_PREFIX_UPPER$$

IVI-COM, IVI-C

IVI-C prefix in all uppercase.

Example: ACME

$$INSTR_PREFIX_LOWER$$

IVI-COM, IVI-C

IVI-C prefix in all lowercase.

Example: acme

$$PIA_FILENAME_NO_EXT$$

IVI-COM, IVI-C

Name of the primary interop assembly file without the extension.

Example: Acme.Acme4321.Interop

$$DRIVER_DLL_FILENAME_NO_EXT$$

IVI-COM, IVI-C

Driver DLL filename without the extension.

Example: Acme4321

$$SUPPORTED_MODELS$$

All

Comma-separated list of supported instrument models.

$$IVI_CLASS_NAME$$

All

Name of supported instrument class.

Example: IviScope

$$IVI_CLASS_NAME_UPPER$$

All

Name of supported instrument class in all uppercase.

Example: IVISCOPE

$$IVI_CLASS_NAME_LOWER$$

All

Name of supported instrument class in all lowercase.

Example: iviscope

$$COMPANY$$

All

Name of the driver vendor as listed in the Driver Settings Editor.

$$DRIVER_NAME$$

All

Name of the driver.

Example: Acme4321

$$DRIVER_NAMESPACE$$

IVI.NET, IVI-COM

For IVI.NET, .NET namespace for the driver assembly.

Example: Acme.Acme4321

For IVI-COM, .NET namespace for the driver's primary interop assembly.

Example: Acme.Acme4321.Interop

$$DRIVER_DESCRIPTION$$

All

Description text taken from the Driver Settings Editor.

$$VERSION_TWO_DIGIT$$

All

Two-digit version number.

Example: 5.1

$$VERSION_THREE_DIGIT$$

All

Three-digit version number.

Example: 5.1.2

$$VERSION_FOUR_DIGIT$$

All

Four-digit version number.

Example: 5.1.2.3

$$VERSION_MAJOR$$

All

Major version number.

$$VERSION_MINOR$$

All

Minor version number.

See Also

Download a complete CHM version of this documentation here.