Help file generating method and apparatus

• US 7,861,162 B2
• Filed: 11/15/2004
• Issued: 12/28/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 11/14/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: HP Printing Korea Co., Ltd. (HP Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Smirnov, Dmitry Evgenievich, Lee, Seung-wan
• Primary Examiner(s): Huynh; Cong-Lac
• Application Number:
  US10/986,883
• Publication Number:
  US 20050125729A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,234 Days
• Field of Search: 715/500, 715/530, 715/531, 715/705, 715/714, 715/200, 715/255
• US Class Current: 715/255
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/143 Markup, e.g. Standard Generalized Markup Language [SGML] or Document Type Definition [DTD]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/30 Creation or generation of source code
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/453 Help systems

Abstract

A method of generating a help file used commonly in different models of image forming apparatuses includes reading a setting value indicating a function provided by one of the image forming apparatuses, setting a field value of a parameter corresponding to the read setting value, and configuring a help message based on the set field value of the parameter. A system to generate a help message includes a configuration module to determine identification information regarding each of a plurality of functions of an object included in one of software versions and characteristic data regarding the software version, and a universal help file including function descriptions for all of the software versions provided in a computer, receiving the identification information and the characteristic data, and generating the help message regarding the object using the function descriptions according to the identification information and the characteristic data. The function descriptions include a section filled with the characteristic data.

Claims

1. A system for generating a help message in a computer, the system comprising:

an interface unit connected to an external device and configured to have a configuration module to determine identification information regarding each of a plurality of functions of a particular one of a plurality of objects included in a particular one of a plurality of software versions, and characteristic data regarding the particular software version; and

a universal help file unit to communicate with the interface unit and to store a universal help file including all of the function descriptions corresponding to the plurality of software versions provided in the computer, to receive the identification information and the characteristic data, and to generate a help message to be displayed in a display unit regarding the particular object using the function descriptions according to the identification information and the characteristic data,

wherein the function descriptions comprise a section filled with the characteristic data.

2. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

a control module to receive the identification information and the characteristic data from the configuration module and transmitting them to the universal help file unit.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein:

the universal help file comprises a plurality of file fragments corresponding to the plurality of objects, each of the file fragments comprising a help message generator and the function descriptions corresponding to the software versions, the help message generator generating the help message regarding the particular object using the function descriptions according to the identification information and the characteristic data; and

the control module selects one of the file fragments corresponding to the particular object based on the identification information and the characteristic data, and transmits the identification information and the characteristic data to the selected file fragment.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein the help message generator deletes descriptions of functions that the particular object does not have, according to the identification information, and inserts the characteristic data into a section of the function descriptions to generate the help message.

5. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

an input device to request to provide the help message regarding the particular object included in the particular software version.

6. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

a display device to display the help message generated by the universal help file.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the characteristic data comprises at least one of a name and an Internet address of a manufacturer of the particular software version.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of software versions are formed in software, and the software comprises a printer driver.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the universal help file generates the help file according to a setting value indicating one of the functions provided by one of a plurality of image forming apparatuses.

10. A method of generating a help message for an object of a software version in a system including a computer, the method comprising:

receiving a request to provide a help message regarding a particular one of a plurality of objects included in a particular one of a plurality of software versions;

determining identification information regarding each of a plurality of functions of the particular object, and characteristic data regarding the particular software version; and

generating the help message regarding the particular object using one or more function descriptions according to the identification information and the characteristic data in a universal help file,

wherein the universal help file includes a plurality of function descriptions corresponding to the plurality of software versions provided in the computer.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the generating of the help message comprises:

deleting descriptions of functions that the object does not have from the function descriptions according to the identification information; and

inserting the characteristic data into a corresponding section in the function descriptions.

12. The method of claim 10, further comprising displaying the generated help message.

13. The method of claim 10, wherein the generating of the help message comprises:

forming the help message according to a setting value indicating a function provided by one of a plurality of image forming apparatuses.