HelpStudio Ant Task

Description

This task allows for HelpStudio projects to be created via Ant. To use it, put the HelpStudioAnt-<version>.jar file in an accessible location and add the following to your Ant script:

    <taskdef name="helpstudio" classname="net.sf.helpstudioant.Task" classpath="HelpStudioAnt-<version>.jar"/>

At the moment, it is not possible to use spaces in build profiles or booklet names due to automatic escaping through Ant that HelpStudio cannot handle. For more information on the command line options, please see the HelpStudio documentation. You may download files or ask questions on the forum by visiting the project summary page.

HelpStudioAnt will check if the outputfile is uptodate if you set the checkAgainst attribute. This will normally be the same as the outputfile. However, as HelpStudioAnt has no knowledge of the internal structure of your help project, it is not possible to say if the changed resources would be included in the output. In case you just use the html output and donīt compile a help file, you should set this attribute to some file that gets generated, e.g. webframe.html (Help 1.x).

Parameters

Attribute Description Required Default
executable The path/name to the HelpStudio executable. If you have the executable on the %PATH%, you can omit the path here. If you donīt specify the name either, HelpStudioAnt will use the internal default value. no, if present on %PATH% helpstudio3.exe
projectfile The path and filename of the projectfile yes  
buildprofile The name of the buildprofile to create. Since HelpStudio 3.5.0.0, you can use "all" to build all build profiles. (Currently, no spaces allowed) Exactly one of these  
booklet The name of the booklet to create. Since HelpStudio 3.5.0.0, you can use "all" to build all booklets. (Currently, no spaces allowed)  
silent If set to "false" shows a message box after build no true
result Shows a result page after build (Currently, HelpStudio doesnīt support this for booklets) no false
progress Shows a progress dialog during build (Currently, HelpStudio doesnīt support this for booklets) no false
nodx Donīt build Document!X content no false
outputdir Sets the output directory (only available for build profiles). If not set, the directory specified in the HelpStudio project will be used. (Currently, no spaces allowed) no  
outputfile Sets the output filename. If not set, the filename specified in the HelpStudio project will be used. HelpStudio will use the project fileīs directory if you donīt explicitly specify the path within this property. This setting is ignored by HelpStudio when building multiple locales. (Currently, no spaces allowed) no  
checkagainst Specifies the file to use as a target file when checking if output is uptodate. no  
builddirname Specifies the name of the build directory for build profile output. You should use this if you changed the default output directory so HelpStudioAnt is able to ignore this directory when checking if output is uptodate. no "Build"
localeid Specifies the locale id to be built. Broken in HelpStudio till 3.5.0.0. Specifying locale id 0 will compile the default one. Leaving out this setting will build all locales that are defined. You can see the appropriate ids when you compile the project with HelpStudio manually and then open the output folder. no all
failonerror Stop the buildprocess if HelpStudio exits with a returncode other than 0 or other errors occur no true
debug Prints out debugging information no false

Examples

Creates the booklet "manual" from the project "myproject"

<helpstudio 
	executable="c:/program files/innovasys/helpstudio3/bin/HelpStudio3.exe"
	projectfile="c:/projects/myproject.hsp"
	booklet="manual"
	/>

Creates the build profile "Default" and shows progress and a result page.

<helpstudio 
	executable="c:/program files/innovasys/helpstudio3/bin/HelpStudio3.exe"
	projectfile="c:/projects/myproject.hsp"
	buildprofile="Default"
	progress="true"
	result="true"
	/>

Creates a booklet if the output is not uptodate.

<helpstudio 
	executable="c:/program files/innovasys/helpstudio3/bin/HelpStudio3.exe"
	projectfile="c:/projects/myproject.hsp"
	booklet="manual"
	checkAgainst="c:/projects/docs/output/build/manual.pdf"
	/>

Creates a build profile if the output is not uptodate.

<helpstudio 
	executable="c:/program files/innovasys/helpstudio3/bin/HelpStudio3.exe"
	projectfile="c:/projects/myproject.hsp"
	buildprofile="Default"
	checkAgainst="c:/projects/docs/output/build/help.chm"
	/>


Copyright © 2006-2009 Lars Monsees. All rights reserved.
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