Installing Jelp is easy. After you purchase the software from CreativeSoft (www.jelp.com), they will send you a password with a URL, as well as instructions for downloading the product from their web site. The important thing to remember about setting up Jelp is that you'll need to install the Java Development Kit (JDK) on your computer (http://www.javasoft.com) and ensure that your CLASSPATH is set correctly.

Setting your CLASPATH. CLASSPATH refers to the environment variable used by the Java Virtual Machine (JVM) to locate the necessary class files at run time. In Windows NT, you can set this variable from the Environment tab in the System Properties dialog box. The value for your CLASSPATH should contain the JDK's classes.zip file, the Jelp directory, the jelpviewer.zip file, and the jelppublisher.zip file. A sample CLASSPATH is shown below:

c:\jdk1.1.6\lib\classes.zip;c:\jelp;c:\jelp\jelpviewer.zip;c:\jelp\jelppublisher.zip
Your programmer's will not need the jelppublisher.zip file in their CLASSPATH. This component is only used by the help author to create the deliverable booklet.

Setting your system path. Finally, you'll need to ensure that your system path points to the JDK's bin directory. To set this path, display the System Properties dialog box, click Path in the System Variables list, and then make sure that the JDK's bin directory is included in the path.