Want to add Help file

MIT App Inventor Help
1

In what ways can a text or paged PDF help file be added + displayed for the user of an app?

2

Add it (html formatted text) to the about screen section on Screen1 properties

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  1. I do not know how to invoke the About Screen and display it from the app
    2.I want the app user to have access to help text at various points using a Help button and return the user to to the app from where the Help was called.
  2. I also want to display a global help text file when the app starts and the app screen is opened
5

Put text in here
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Available from the three dot menu (About this application) if you are using device default theme:
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or from anywhere if you use the aboutScreen block and a notifier - you can change the content top anything you want....
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If you do not want to display the italicised MIT text then do this at the end of your text:

<strong>HELP</strong><p>This is my Help file</p><!--

You can of course just use text blocks to do much the same with a notifier.

6

Many thanks for the useful tips and showing how a Notifier can be added and used.
I was using the classic theme, which shows a title bar which is narrowest of the theme choices and does not display the three dots 'system menu' access, whereas the default theme displays the three dots but at the expense of a wider title bar, to accomodate larger font text and which therefore eats into the useable app screen space, meaning I have to adjust user interface table and button sizes on my main screen. I guess you can't have everything! I was not aware of the effect choosing a screen theme could have, the most important being whether the three dot system menu is visible and accessible or not.
Anyway, thanks again.

7

You could always make your own title bar:

Who Needs a Sidebar Anyway ?

8

You could simply have a dedicated screen or virtual screen (scrolling). Using Textboxes, the App can scroll the related text into view too.

Another dedicated screen method of display is to have an HTML page, using a WebView component (no internet required). This has the advantage of nicely combining text and images and can be updated as just one file.

Some developers have the help on their website. The advantage there is that the User can follow the help on a computer while using their phone. Plus, the User could be tempted to peruse the other Apps on offer.......