Create CHM HTML Help Files Easily

by: divcom2008
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Creating HTML Help (.CHM) Files

What is HTML Help CHM Format

Today, HTML Help CHM is the standard help format in the Windows world. An HTML Help system is completely stand-alone and can be distributed as a single file (for example, "My_Help_File.CHM"). Thus, a CHM file is practically a kind of the portable formats for user manuals, which can be opened on all Windows-based computers since Windows 98. In other words, any Windows user is able to display such a file under Windows 98, ME, 2000, XP, and Vista.

An HTML Help CHM file includes all the features to provide the end-user with easily navigated and comprehensive Help. You are probably familiar with the HTML Help viewer, which has the TOC, keyword Index, and the Search tab, located on the navigation pane to the left side from the topic text.

Tools Allowing You to Create CHM HTML Help Documentation

In fact, there are various tools in the marketplace from primitive applications to complex and expensive systems for writing help files that support HTML Help as an output format. However, the common problem of those products is their non-intuitive and sluggish interface, complexity, and high price of about $999 per license or even more! Moreover, you will have to spend a lot of time on learning the product before you are able to create even a simple CHM file for your software product. Now you may be asking if there is another solution to make the process of creating CHM files an easier way. Fortunately, the answer is "yes".

HelpSmith, a product developed by Divcom Software, has an alternative vision of creating CHM HTML Help files and technical documentation. If you download and try HelpSmith available on the vendor's web site, you will be surprised by its straightforward and easy-to-use user interface. There's actually NO learning curve like in many other help authoring products making you spend weeks to figure out how to add new help topic. Once you have installed HelpSmith on your computer, you can type "Hello, World", click a button and here is it - your first help file in the HTML Help format. Then you can easily add new help topics, create hyperlinks, help windows, insert graphical files and everything the HTML Help system allows you to do; the process of working is actually as simple as working with Microsoft Office applications.

How to create CHM HTML Help with HelpSmith

Thus, HelpSmith allows you to easily create CHM HTML Help files. Based upon the WYSIWYG ("What-You-See-Is-What-You-Get") principle, HelpSmith provides you with a powerful word processor making the biggest part of working on a help file - writing and editing help topics - a pleasure to do. Use graphical images, insert full-featured tables, create hyperlinks, finally, and check spelling as you type just like in Microsoft Word. Also, you will be able to create the tree-type contents and the alphabetical index for your CHM help system just in several minutes. Among other important HelpSmith features are the abilities to create printed manual and Web Help documentation from the single help project.

MS HTML Help Compiler

CHM is not an open file format. So how do help authoring tools allow you to create it? Like other help authoring tools, HelpSmith uses the HHC.EXE compiler to create CHM Files from your original source help project. The HHC.EXE HTML Help compiler is freely available with the Microsoft HTML Help Workshop package which can be downloaded from the product's home page. To link HHC.EXE with HelpSmith:

• On the Tools menu, click the Options command.
• Select "General\Compilers".
• Set the full path to the "HHC.EXE" file on your computer (e.g., "c:\Program Files\HTML Help Workshop\HHC.exe").
• Then click "OK" to save the modified options.

That is done; the process of working with HHC.EXE is completely transparent to you, making the creation of CHM HTML Help files easy as never before.

About the Author

Eugene Ivanov is a help authoring specialist, technical writing blogger, and a software developer at http://www.helpsmith.com, a company producing help authoring tools for technical authors and programmers.

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