Windows XP in a Nutshell

Name

Windows Help System — \windows\winhlp32.exe; winhelp.exe; hh.exe

Synopsis

Online Help system and viewer ofWinHelp and HTML files.

To Open

Start → Help and Support

Explorer → Help → Help and Support Center

Select Help or press F1 in nearly any application

Double-click any .hlp or .chm file.

Command Prompt → helpctr (Help and Support Center)

Command Prompt → winhlp32 (.hlp file viewer)

Command Prompt → hh (.chm file viewer)

Command Prompt → help (command prompt help)

Description

The Windows Help System is actually a collection of utilities and viewers that provide help in Windows XP. The first, Help and Support Center (accessible through the Start menu), is a distinct application and is documented earlier in this chapter. Most other applications, including many of the components discussed in this chapter, use one of the following two help formats:

.hlp

The traditional help file format, introduced in Windows 3.0. Old applications, and even some new ones, use this format for online documentation. Help pages look and feel somewhat like Web pages, with hyperlinks and embedded graphics. However, .hlp files are somewhat limited compared with HTML Help files, discussed below.

.chm

HTML Help is a newer format, introduced originally in Windows 98 and supported on any Windows system running Internet Explorer 3.0 or later. HTML Help-based files are actually collections of web pages (.html) that have been compiled into a single .chm package. HTML Help does everything that .hlp files do, add ...