Add contextual help for fields in OS App

[aaron-boranian]

Problem: Currently there is no direct way to get a description of an input field. You have to pull up the E+ Input/Output guide (you have to download it from energyplus.net since as of 8.3 it doesn’t ship with E+ anymore or look online)

Rationale: Adding contextual help would greatly help in having a streamlined workflow, staying in the OS App as much as possible.

Solution: Add contextual help directly in the GUI (hovering on the field, or a button, or something) or something that pulls the relevant Input/Output reference section in a PDF or online

Context: For example, if looking at a Chiller:Electric:EIR, there are a lot of fields. Let’s pick one at random: “Minimum Part Load Ratio”. It would be nice to be able to see either directly in the GUI (or have access to an online documentation at the proper section) what the Input/Output reference has to say about this input field:
“This numeric field contains the chiller’s minimum part-load ratio. The expected range is between 0 and 1. Below this part-load ratio, the compressor cycles on and off to meet the cooling load. The Minimum Part Load Ratio must be less than or equal to the Maximum Part Load Ratio. The default value is 0.1.”

Migrated from UserVoice

[MingboPeng]

Is there a plan to make anything like database, json or any other format for Input/Output reference?