HOW TO: How do I add help to my add-in?

Reference: Q0009

Article Last Modified on 21-Dec-2005

The information in this article applies to:

XLL+ for Visual Studio 6 - 3, 4.1, 4.2, 4.3.1
XLL+ for Visual Studio .NET - 3, 4.1, 4.2, 4.3.1
Excel - all versions

How do I add help to my add-in?

Questions

The Excel Formula Wizard has a help button which allows the user to view help on the currently selected function. How do I connect my help to the button? And how do I create a help file that will work within Excel?

Answer

You can use the XLL+ Help Generator to do most of the work.

The Help generator will do the following:

Create an MS Help help project containing all the framework files required for a help project.
Create a text file containing a help page for each add-in function, including all the function and argument descriptions that have been entered using the XLL+ Function Wizard.
Create C++ code which can be added to your project. This code connects each of your add-in functions to its help page.