AllText HT/Pro is a VBX control that can be used to embed a hypertext viewer in an application. The VBX will work with Visual Basic or any other development system that supports the use of VBX controls. You can use the control to display hypertext documents or allow the user to add text or create new documents. The program includes an editor for creating the hypertext documents.

Features

With this control, you can set type fonts, sizes, color and other attributes like bolding, underling and shadows. The character formatting can be applied to a word or selected block of text. The VBX supports various styles of text borders. It also includes tab and margin settings.

You can embed bmp, wmf and jpeg graphic files in a hypertext document. You can even animate these graphics or insert so that appear to be under the text.

The control can import and display both text and rtf formatted files. The final documents are stored in an Microsoft Access database. You can also cut and paste text from other applications.

Creating a hypertext link with the included editor was a little more difficult to achieve. The demo program does not include a help file. The hypertext links are based on user added number. This makes it more difficult to control the create of linked documents. You must remember both document and link identifier numbers.

The control does not include its own menus or button bar. To enable a user to add and format text or navigate a hypertext document, you must write some Visual Basic code and create your own menu or button bars. While this creates some extra work, it gives you more control over the appearance and use of the hypertext document window.

Assessment

With AllText you can create a basic set of hypertext documents with relative ease. If you are creating an EPSS with Visual Basic and want to embed hypertext documents, you might want to seriously consider the AllText VBX.

AllText may not be suitable for an application that requires a large hypertext document with an extensive set of links. Unlike the Windows help system, AllText can't display those pop-up windows that are great for displaying definitions.

You can download a demonstration version of AllText from the Bennet-Tec Information Systems, Inc. website.