OL2000: Adding Help Files to an Outlook Custom Form

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NOTE: This article assumes a working knowledge of customizing Outlook forms, including Visual Basic Scripting Edition (VBScript), field, and control usage. Because each custom solution has different requirements in order to achieve the desired end result, the workaround below is offered as a starting point for achieving the end result, and should be implemented in a way that best suits the solution's needs.

The Outlook object model does not provide a method for displaying Help files, and the standard controls that are available for Outlook are not designed to display Help files.

You can work around this limitation by using one of the following two Methods.

Method 1: Create a "Help" Page on the Form

To add a page of explanatory text to your form, follow these steps:

1. Click to select the page you want to add text to.
2. On the Form menu, click Rename Page.
3. In the Page Name box, type Help, and then click OK.
4. Drag a text box control from the Control Toolbox to the form.
5. Right-click the text box control, and on the shortcut menu click Properties.
6. On the Display page, click to select the Multi-line check box.
7. Type the explanatory text you want in the text box control.
8. Right-click the text box control, and on the shortcut menu click Properties.
9. On the Display page, click to select the Read Only check box, and then set any other display attributes as needed.

Because a Help file cannot be associated with a form, you cannot use the HelpContextId property to create Help for an Outlook form. If the Compose page is different from the Read page, you may need to create separate Help pages.

Method 2: Use a Custom ActiveX Component

Create an ActiveX component using Microsoft Visual Basic and have this component (formerly known as an OLE Automation server) display the Help file. Using this approach, you can:

1. Place a command button control on the form.
2. Set the caption of the control to "Help."
3. Create a CommandButton_Click Sub procedure in VBScript to run VBScript code when the user clicks the button.
4. Have the code use the CreateObject method to access your custom ActiveX component.