How to Invoke Search in Windows Help from Visual Basic Program (86771)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Visual Basic Standard Edition for Windows 2.0
  • Microsoft Visual Basic Standard Edition for Windows 3.0
  • Microsoft Visual Basic Professional Edition for Windows 2.0
  • Microsoft Visual Basic Professional Edition for Windows 3.0
  • Microsoft Visual Basic Standard Edition for Windows 1.0
  • Microsoft Windows 3.0
  • Microsoft Windows 3.1
This article was previously published under Q86771

SUMMARY

You can invoke the Search feature of the Windows version 3.0 and 3.1 Help engine from a Visual Basic program. To do this, call the Windows API function WinHelp and pass the constant HELP_PARTIALKEY (&H105) as the wCommand parameter and any string that is a NON-valid topic as the dwData parameter.

MORE INFORMATION

Step-by-Step Example

  1. Start Visual Basic or from the File menu, choose New Project (ALT, F, N) if Visual Basic is already running. Form1 is created by default.
  2. In GLOBAL.BAS (or the .BAS file of your choice in Visual Basic version 2.0), add this code: 
       Global Const HELP_PARTIALKEY = &H105
   ' Enter the following Declare statement entirely on one, single line.
   Declare Function WinHelp Lib "User"(ByVal hWnd As Integer,
      ByVal lpHelpFile As String, ByVal wCommand As Integer,
      ByVal dwData As Any) As Integer
  3. In the Form1 Click event procedure, add this code: 
       Sub Form_Click ()
      DummyVal$ = ""
      ' Enter the following function call entirely on one, single line:
      Temp% = WinHelp(Form1.hWnd, "c:\Windows\winhelp.hlp",
         HELP_PARTIALKEY, DummyVal$)
   End Sub
  4. Press F5 to run this example. Click the form.
Modification Type:MajorLast Reviewed:12/12/2003
Keywords:KB86771
©2003 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.