Help on Help

The latest up-to-date Help is available on the Micro Focus SupportLine Web site. Alternatively, you can display the Help locally from the Help menu in the IDE.

Help in Microsoft Visual Studio

The Microsoft Help on using Visual Studio is comprehensive and detailed and includes many samples as well as extensive reference material and more. If you are new to Visual Studio, we recommend that you explore the Microsoft Help and follow the tours and introductory material there.

By default, this product is configured to display the product help available online on the Micro Focus SupportLine Web site: https://www.microfocus.com/support-and-services/documentation/. To view the product help:

Either click Help > View Help or press F1 inside the IDE.
This opens the Visual COBOL help or Microsoft's MSDN depending on which keyword in the editor or part of the UI you are querying.

Optionally, you can install the Visual COBOL Help locally on your machine. For instructions, see Viewing the Product Help in the installation notes or in your Release Notes.

COBOL Help within the IDE

Tips on getting Help on COBOL when using the IDE:

COBOL syntax, library routines and Compiler directives. In the COBOL editor, put the cursor anywhere within the reserved word, routine or directive, and then press F1.
Error messages. In the output pane, put the cursor on the error message number and press F1.
Tooltips. Hover over an item in the COBOL code or over a field or control, by leaving the mouse pointer on it for a moment. A brief description of it may be displayed, either beside it or at the bottom of the window.

Note: Context help in the IDE that is provided as context help files, .HLP, might not work on versions of Windows such as Vista or later. This is because .HLP files require the Windows Help Program (WinHlp32.exe) which is not available in these versions of Windows. You need to install the Windows Help Program separately - click here to download the program.

Release Notes

The Release Notes accompany major releases and updates. They are available from the Product Updates section on the Micro Focus SupportLine Web site and your EPD email. On Windows, a link to the release notes is available from the startup screen during installation.

The Release Notes include information about new features for the release, system requirements and installation instructions, known technical issues, information about the issues that are resolved in the current release, and any changes in behavior that could potentially affect existing applications.

Readmes

This documentation includes two types of readmes:

Patch Update readmes contain information about issues that are resolved in a Patch Update, changes in behavior that could potentially affect existing applications, and any specific Patch Update installation procedures.
Samples' readmes contain information about how to install and execute a sample.

Unless otherwise stated, references to a "readme" will refer to a Patch Update readme.