Compiled help files

[xoggoth]

Used MS Help Workshop and help file looks groovy. If I copy to desktop it runs fine. If I upload to website and then download again from website to desktop it doesn't work and Windiff reports a block at the end is different.

WTF?????

Anybody used the darn thing know why? Think it's summit about an ocx file but the help is as clear as mud.

[Captain Dispensable]

Probably a unix server you're uploading to/downloading from. They hate MS products.

BTW AFAIK (which is pretty much Jack) MS Compiled Help doesn't work on Vista and is going the way of the dildo, sorry dodo.

[darmstadt]

BTW AFAIK (which is pretty much Jack) MS Compiled Help doesn't work on Vista and is going the way of the dildo, sorry dodo.

It does but you need to do some wotk. Get a copy of htmlhelp:

A short description on how to create the help files for vista in the new format.

1.: get the HTML workshop program
2.: install it with doubleclick on the standard path wherever you want it.
3.: open it up by double click on the icon in the menue (leave the image editor where it is) just open up start\program files\HTML Help Workshop
4.: click on file -> new
5.: select project ( this is only the first time to create your new project. You may open up your project once created and edit within the help project or create a new project everytime you made changes on the cmvc help files the old style)
6.:checkmark the convert checkbox to convert the old hpj project to the new format hhp
7.: select the input source ( this is the hpj file within each old hlp project)
8.: select the output directory ( this is where you want to store your new html project files best is to select a new and well named directory)
9 .: click on next
10.: click on finish ( and it opens up and converts the hpj project to a format that could afterwards easily be tweaked within the html help workshop utility)

but .... its not nessessary for the convert only process.

11.: select change project options - it is the first button left side- > type in the Title ( this is the word which should be displayed on the blue line of the help window)
12.: you may select a html page that is the first highlighted one for cursor position by selecting the default file. select the language. leave everything else as it is.
13.: click on ok
14 .:click on the last button left side which means save all files and compile . After a while you can see in your output directory the .chm file you named.

eh voila this is your new chm format file to use.

next time you can either convert new and edit the help files from the cmvc input source, so that there is only one source to be maintained or if you want to tweak something within the new files you can invoke your newly created project which was saved under the new location.
basicly this is only the converting method iI described but the HTML Help workshop is a wizard utility to create and maintain helpfiles and has more features than just converting from one format to the other.

[chicane]

Used MS Help Compiler and help file looks groovy. If I copy to desktop it runs fine. If I upload to website and then download again from website to desktop it doesn't work and Windiff reports a block at the end is different.

Are you uploading and downloading using FTP? Have you set the file type to binary?

[xoggoth]

Cheers. I meant Help Workshop not Help Compiler. Just converted to new HTML format.

FTP was auto but did it again in binary just to be sure, same result.