[Qt-interest] How to create Qt help files?

[Till Oliver Knoll]

Sorry, sent too early before, so again:


> Am 13.03.2011 um 15:02 schrieb Sami Maisniemi <sami.maisniemi at katelabs.com>:
> 
>> Hi all,
>> 
>> I have been using Natural Docs to create documentation. However, I would like to generate Qt help files, because it seems to be the best way 
> 
> I think you are confusing two things here, no? To my knowledge Doxygen - like Natural Docs I guess - is used to generate "documentation out of specifically formated documented source code", such as in
> 
> /!*
>  * My method with param \p foo.
>  *
>  * \param foo indicates \em foo

... and so on. What you get is something like the Qt docs.

JavaDoc is also doing this, extracting comments from source code, interpreting special tags (or some plain HTML 4.x tags) and generating documentation (in HTML, PS, LaTex, ...).

However what you refer to "Qt Help files" is probably what you see with e.g. the Qt Assistant, or the "Qt online help system".

Basically there is a "Qt help system compiler" (qcollectiongenerator) which takes a bunch of HTML files which are referenced by some XML files ("table of content", source HTML files, input directories for e.g. referenced images etc.) and generates a "Qt help file" out of it. This help file can then be displayed in the Qt Assistant or in your Qt application as "online help system".


Now when you say Doxygen documentation mentions "qcollectiongenerator" it  is very well possible that it automates these TWO steps: extracting the documentation from the source AND passing these HTML files to the collector and generating the necessary XML files. But I am not aware of such a functionality (simply because I have never used it, so it might very well be implemented!)


I guess qcollectiongenerator is part of the "Qt help/assistant" package - so if your Linux distro does not install that by default try re-installing that package.

Also refer to the Qt docs inspired - e.g. with the Qt assistant - which have been extracted with a Trolltech in-house documentation tool - by which Doxygen was inspired - and compiled into "Qt Online Help" format with the qcollectiongenerator, see "Creating a Custom Help Collection File" (in "Using Qt Assistant as a Custom Help Viewer"). Clear so far? ;)

Cheers, Oliver
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