ruby script/plugin install svn://rubyforge.org//var/svn/helpengine

Usage
===========
The HelpEngine is based around a database and two helper methods. In order to add a help topic:

1. Navigate your browser to /help. This brings up the HelpEngine scaffolding.

2. Click 'New Help' to bring up the create help screen. The name section is used for identification purposes - its contents will not be rendered in the browser. Name is case-insensitive. The body section contains the output which is revealed when the user clicks on the help link. The body is HTML-friendly, and does not need to contain a close/collapse link as one is provided by default through the helper methods.

3. Click Create. Your new entry should be at the bottom of the help list. If you input HTML into the body of your help message, it will display the HTML code here rather than the rendered output.

4. Open the view you wish to add help to. You'll need to add two lines to your file

    <%= link_to_help 'link', 'name' %>

where link is the text/image the user will click on to open help, and name is the name of your new help topic. This method creates the link the user should click on.

    <%= area_for_help %>

This method creates the area where the help box appears. By default, all link_to_help links share this help box. You can create multiple help boxes for specific topics - see the documentation on help_helper.rb for more details.

5. Save the view.

Now when that view opens, there should be a new link. When clicked on, the body of the help message will slide open where the area_for_help method is placed. If the link is clicked on again, the help box flashes yellow to provide a visual clue to the user. Note the close link at the bottom of the help box which slides the box closed.

For a full explanation of usage along with examples and options, see HelpHelper.

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