Using training card help, an application can display a sequence of instructions to guide the user through the steps of a task. A training card typically consists of text that explains a particular step and authorable buttons associated with TCard macros that allow the user to tell the application what to do next. Training cards may only be displayed in secondary windows and must not contain hot links to other topics in the help file.
An application initiates the training card instance of Windows Help by calling the WinHelp function and specifying the HELP_TCARD command in combination with another command such as HELP_CONTEXT. Subsequently, when the user clicks an authorable button in the training card, clicks a hot spot assigned to the TCard macro, or closes the training card, Windows Help notifies the application by sending it a WM_TCARD message. The wParam parameter identifies the button or user action, and the lParam parameter contains additional data, the meaning of which depends on the value of wParam.