Linking VIs to Custom Documentation

Provide custom documentation from the Context Help window by linking a VI to a web-based or local help file. (Windows) You can use any file type except text files for custom documentation. (macOS and Linux) You can use only HTML (.html and .htm) and PDF files for custom documentation.

Note Note  (Linux) To use a PDF file for custom documentation, you must have one of the following PDF viewers installed:
  • Acroread
  • Xpdf
  • KPDF
  • GGV

Complete the following steps to link a VI to a custom help file:

  1. Select File»VI Properties to display the VI Properties dialog box.
  2. Select Documentation from the Category pull-down menu.
  3. Select Local Help File or Web-based Help from the drop down menu.
  4. If you select Local Help File in step 3, complete the following steps to link a VI to a local help file:
    1. Click the Browse button.
    2. Navigate to the custom help file you want to link to and click the OK button. The file path appears in the Help path text box.
    3. If Help path contains a path or symbolic path to a .htm or .html file, LabVIEW ignores the Help tag text box. If Help path contains a path to a compiled help file (.chm or .hlp), use the Help tag text box to link the VI to a specific topic in that help file:
      • For .chm files, you can enter a .htm or .html filename or an index keyword in the Help tag text box. The .htm or .html filename must match the name of an individual, uncompiled HTML file in the HTML Help project. To link to a bookmark within an HTML file, add # followed by the name of the bookmark to the end of the filename. If you enter an index keyword in the Help tag text box, the index keyword must match a keyword in the index of the HTML Help project.

        If you want to link to a .chm file on Windows and link to the uncompiled HTML files on macOS and Linux, enter the HTML filename in the Help tag text box. (Windows) LabVIEW links to the HTML file inside the .chm file. (macOS and Linux) LabVIEW links to the HTML file, which must be in the help\html\help.chm directory, where help.chm is the .chm filename you entered in the Help path text box in step 4.
      • For .hlp files, you can enter an index keyword in the Help tag text box. The index keyword must match a keyword in the index of the WinHelp or HyperHelp project.
    You also can use the Help functions on the Help palette or the Document Path and Document Tag properties to link from VIs to custom help files programmatically.
  5. If you select to link a VI to a web-based help file, enter the URL of a web-based help file in the Help URL text box. The file you specify links from the Detailed help link and Detailed help button in the Context Help window for the VI. You also can use the Use Web URL and Document Web URL properties to link a VI to web-based documentation programmatically.
  6. Click the OK button to save the changes. When you move the cursor over the VI icon, a blue Detailed help link appears in the Context Help window, and the Detailed help button is enabled.
  7. Click the blue link or the Detailed help button in the Context Help window to test the link from the VI to the HTML or compiled help file. You also can place the VI on a block diagram, right-click the VI icon, and select Help from the shortcut menu.
Note Note  If you link from VIs to HTML files or compiled help files and you use the VIs to build a stand-alone application, you must include the files as source files when you build the application.