NAVAX Help Builder

Online Help tool for Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central Extensions.

Current Version: 3.1.0 as of Business Central 3.

☰ Contents

General

• NAVAX Help Builder
  NAVAX Help Builder was mainly designed to create Online Help for Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central Extensions. However, it is also possible to create Online Help that is not related to Business Central. An example of this is the help you are reading right now...

Preparations

• How the Help Builder works
  Every help project basically consists of a collection of normal text files in which the help text for the different help topics is stored. These files are stored or uploaded on the Help Builder server (i.e. on navax.app). If the online help for a help topic is then called, the Help Builder prepares the help topic accordingly and the result is displayed in the browser...
• Set up AL Extension
  So that the online help can be called from a Business Central Extension by the user, the links to the online help must be specified in the app.json of the Extension...
• Set up Visual Studio Code
  The help should be written in Visual Studio Code. It is also possible to write the help with another tool, but then no supporting functions are available...

Write Help

• Basics

• • Create Topics
    The Help Builder requires that the individual help files for each language are grouped together in one folder (2 characters, lower case)...
  • Create Table of Contents
    Every help project needs a table of contents which is created in a separate file named index.nchb...
  • Topic Links & External Links
  • Index-driven Approach
    Until now, the text to be displayed for topic headers and topic links was always specified directly in the help topic...
  • Topic Redirections
    Redirections of help topics can be realized by specifying another help file in the first line of a help file. In order for the Help Builder to recognize the redirection, the file extension .nchb must be specified...
  • Create Release Notes
    Release Notes can be added using the _ReleaseNotes snippets...
  • Spell Check
    For spell checking the Visual Studio Code Extension Code Spell Checker is recommended...

• Suggest Help Text

• • Suggest Help Text from AL File
    Via the Suggest Help Text from AL File Command a help topic can be generated from an AL object (page, pageextension, report oder xmlport). The help text will be suggested based on the object structure and the tooltips, which can then be used as a starting point for the help topic...
  • Ghostwriter
    With the NCHB Ghostwriter, a suggestion for a complete online help or for newly added AL objects can be created within a very short time...

• Extended

• • Notes
    Notes can be added using the _Note snippets...
  • Lists
    Bulleted lists can be added using the snippet _List...
  • Tables
    Tables can be added using the _Table snippets...
  • Images
    Images can be added using the _Image snippet...
  • Animated Images (GIF)
    If animated images are inserted (file extension .gif), basically the same things must be observed as for normal ...
  • Videos
    Videos can be linked either indirectly via navax.app or directly (not recommended)...
  • Page Breaks
    When printing the help or when creating a PDF, a page break is inserted for each help topic...
  • Display Screen/Print
    With <span class=hideonprint> or <span class=hideonscreen> elements can be displayed either only on the screen or only when printing...
  • Source Code
    Source Code can be added using the _SourceCode snippets...

Upload Help

• Upload Help to navax.app
  In order for the help to be available online, the help project must be uploaded to navax.app...

Appendix

• Release Notes