F1 Keywords Overview
F1 keywords are unique strings that are part of the metadata for Help topics. Each F1 keyword identifies a corresponding Help topic when a user presses F1 or views the Dynamic Help window.
An F1 keyword includes:
An identifier for your product.
Information about how the user reached the component for which they are requesting F1 Help.
The name of the component.
Use the following form for F1 keywords:
ProductAbbreviation.HowIGotHere.WhereIAmWhenPressingF1
More than one F1 keyword might show up in the Dynamic Help window. For example, an F1 keyword for an editor and a tool window might both be in the active selection context. Similarly, if you add an F1 keyword for a selection in a command window, then both the command and command window F1 keywords are shown in the Dynamic Help window. The F1 keyword used for an F1 lookup is the F1 keyword with the highest priority.
The following table lists a set of example F1 keywords from Visual C++.
Location |
F1 keyword |
|---|---|
File/New/New Project |
vc.new.proj |
File/Add/Existing Project |
vc.add.exist.proj |
[Solution]Property Pages |
vc.solution.properties |
Debugger Breakpoints Window |
vc.debug.breakpoints |
Debugger Callstack Window |
vc.debug.callstack |
Version Editor |
vc.editors.version |
Binary Editor |
vc.editors.binary |
Both F1 and lookup keywords are displayed in the Dynamic Help window. When a user presses F1, priority is given to F1 keywords. Only provide one F1 keyword per component or item. To show several topics for a component, add a lookup keyword to the context bag along with an F1 keyword. The lookup keyword is shown in the Dynamic Help window and corresponds to general topics, while the F1 keyword corresponds to a specific topic.
If no F1 keyword is assigned to an item or component, then the system searches for the next F1 keyword in line, which is of lesser relevance. For example, if a user presses F1 on a hierarchy item that has no F1 keyword, the system returns the F1 topic for the hierarchy root, if it exists.