Exception.HelpLink Property

Definition

Gets or sets a link to the help file associated with this exception.

C#
public virtual string HelpLink { get; set; }
C#
public virtual string? HelpLink { get; set; }

Property Value

The Uniform Resource Name (URN) or Uniform Resource Locator (URL).

Implements

Examples

The following code example throws an Exception that sets the HelpLink property in its constructor and then catches the exception and displays HelpLink.

C#
// Example for the Exception.HelpLink, Exception.Source,
// Exception.StackTrace, and Exception.TargetSite properties.
using System;

namespace NDP_UE_CS
{
    // Derive an exception; the constructor sets the HelpLink and
    // Source properties.
    class LogTableOverflowException : Exception
    {
        const string overflowMessage = "The log table has overflowed.";

        public LogTableOverflowException(
            string auxMessage, Exception inner ) :
                base( String.Format( "{0} - {1}",
                    overflowMessage, auxMessage ), inner )
        {
            this.HelpLink = "https://learn.microsoft.com";
            this.Source = "Exception_Class_Samples";
        }
    }

    class LogTable
    {
        public LogTable( int numElements )
        {
            logArea = new string[ numElements ];
            elemInUse = 0;
        }

        protected string[ ] logArea;
        protected int       elemInUse;

        // The AddRecord method throws a derived exception if
        // the array bounds exception is caught.
        public    int       AddRecord( string newRecord )
        {
            try
            {
                logArea[ elemInUse ] = newRecord;
                return elemInUse++;
            }
            catch( Exception e )
            {
                throw new LogTableOverflowException(
                    String.Format( "Record \"{0}\" was not logged.",
                        newRecord ), e );
            }
        }
    }

    class OverflowDemo
    {
        // Create a log table and force an overflow.
        public static void Main()
        {
            LogTable log = new LogTable( 4 );

            Console.WriteLine(
                "This example of \n   Exception.Message, \n" +
                "   Exception.HelpLink, \n   Exception.Source, \n" +
                "   Exception.StackTrace, and \n   Exception." +
                "TargetSite \ngenerates the following output." );

            try
            {
                for( int count = 1; ; count++ )
                {
                    log.AddRecord(
                        String.Format(
                            "Log record number {0}", count ) );
                }
            }
            catch( Exception ex )
            {
                Console.WriteLine( "\nMessage ---\n{0}", ex.Message );
                Console.WriteLine(
                    "\nHelpLink ---\n{0}", ex.HelpLink );
                Console.WriteLine( "\nSource ---\n{0}", ex.Source );
                Console.WriteLine(
                    "\nStackTrace ---\n{0}", ex.StackTrace );
                Console.WriteLine(
                    "\nTargetSite ---\n{0}", ex.TargetSite );
            }
        }
    }
}

/*
This example of
   Exception.Message,
   Exception.HelpLink,
   Exception.Source,
   Exception.StackTrace, and
   Exception.TargetSite
generates the following output.

Message ---
The log table has overflowed. - Record "Log record number 5" was not logged.

HelpLink ---
https://learn.microsoft.com

Source ---
Exception_Class_Samples

StackTrace ---
   at NDP_UE_CS.LogTable.AddRecord(String newRecord)
   at NDP_UE_CS.OverflowDemo.Main()

TargetSite ---
Int32 AddRecord(System.String)
*/

Remarks

The return value, which represents a help file, is a URN or URL. For example, the HelpLink value could be:

"file:///C:/Applications/Bazzal/help.html#ErrorNum42"

Applies to

Product Versions
.NET Core 1.0, Core 1.1, Core 2.0, Core 2.1, Core 2.2, Core 3.0, Core 3.1, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
.NET Framework 1.1, 2.0, 3.0, 3.5, 4.0, 4.5, 4.5.1, 4.5.2, 4.6, 4.6.1, 4.6.2, 4.7, 4.7.1, 4.7.2, 4.8, 4.8.1
.NET Standard 1.0, 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5, 1.6, 2.0, 2.1
UWP 10.0