Using screenshots in your application’s help files ensure that your program is very easy to learn. However, simple, screenshots, which just demonstrate your program working normally, are not enough. When users have problems, they prefer to avoid searching for a solution, but to instead get an answer immediately and then continue their work. Why not provide your users with that ability? How? The solution lies in using screenshots that include hotspots, which are special regions that can be clicked on by the user to display appropriate information.
Hotspot Builder is an extremely powerful application which lets you create and edit graphics files in Segmented Hyper Graphics (.SHG) format. This allows for storage of not only the graphical image, but the hotspot information as well. A .SHG file can, of course, be easily used in WinHelp (.HLP) and HTML Help (.CHM) systems. After compiling a .SHG file into a help file, the hotspots can operate as hotlinks to help topics, as pop-up links, or even as special macros.
However, Hotspot Builder is not just an editor of .SHG files; it is also a powerful tool for the creation of screenshots and for processing images. The program includes a variety of different screen capturing tools, which allow you to make efficient screenshots by capturing only the required elements—such as dialog-boxes, buttons, fields, and so on. There is no need to copy an entire window and paste it via the Windows Clipboard!
Hotspot Builder allows you to change image color-depth and also includes special features for preparing Segmented Hyper Graphics files to be used in HTML Help. The program’s straight-forward user interface, its different color schemes and internal browser for more convenient manipulation of hotspots, and its ability to be integrated with Help Development Studio (another of the Divcom Software help authoring products) make Hotspot Builder a simply indispensable member in your help authoring toolkit.
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