A Windows 10 'hack' for WinHelp
Any developer or technical writer, working with Windows, is well aware that WinHelp was discontinued by Microsoft with the launch of Windows Vista. However, Microsoft continued to offer tacit support for WinHelp by making the WinHelp files available all the way through Windows 8.1 .
With the release of Windows 10, Microsoft explicitly ended the life of WinHelp. If you try to launch a *.hlp file by double-clicking on it, you will be met with a browser opening to display the error below.
However, it is indeed possible to open and view WinHelp files (*.hlp) on Windows 10. The first step is to have the winhlp32.exe on your PC. You can still get this file from a number of sources. The easiest way is to find is a machine that is still running Windows Xp.
It's easiest to place the winhlp32.exe file in a separate folder along with the contents file (*.cnt) and the actual WinHelp file (*.hlp). For WinHelp files developed with RoboHelp, make sure to have the RoboHelp files 'RoboEx32.dll' and 'INETWH32.dll' present in the same folder as winhlp32.exe.
There are two separate 'hacks' for being able to view the WinHelp files on Windows 10.
1) Drag the *.hlp file and drop it on the winhlp32.exe file. WinHelp will open the file and you'll be able to view it and interact with it as you did on previous versions of Windows.
2) The other option is to use the Shell command of a scripting language to automatically open the *.hlp file with WinHelp. Below is a VBScript file that will do just that.
While the need to view and interact with WinHelp files may not be common, for those who do need to, in order to protect intellectual property as well update legacy software, the 'hacks' provided give them the ability to get the job done.
Engineering scientist with an MBA. I've worked in a huge variety of sectors managing innovation, mostly by keeping focused on a minimum set of customer demands to get to market early.
6 年It was so. Error 1037 lies beyond. I needed another solution.
Engineering scientist with an MBA. I've worked in a huge variety of sectors managing innovation, mostly by keeping focused on a minimum set of customer demands to get to market early.
6 年The way you've written this suggests that it is a way to open *.hlp files as a totality, not to display context dependent help. Have I read this correctly? I don't want to apply an invalid solution that complicates my next attempt to find an answer.