What Is Microsoft HTML Help?

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This content is no longer actively maintained. It is provided as is, for anyone who may still be using these technologies, with no warranties or claims of accuracy with regard to the most recent product version or service release.

Microsoft HTML Help is Microsoft's next-generation online Help authoring system. It is designed for use by authors or developers who create Help for software programs, multimedia titles, intranets, extranets, or the Internet. Topics in an HTML Help online Help system are authored as standard HTML files, which you can create with the editor in HTML Help Workshop or with any other HTML authoring tool, such as Microsoft Word or Microsoft FrontPage.

The HTML Help Viewer uses the layout engine components of Microsoft Internet Explorer (Shdocvw.dll hosting Mshtml.dll) to display Help topics. As a result, Microsoft HTML Help topics can use the same technologies supported by Internet Explorer, such as HTML (including DHTML when the layout engine components for Internet Explorer version 4.0 or later are installed), ActiveX controls and documents, Java applets, scripting, HTML image formats (.jpeg, .gif, .png), and even video and audio.

Redistributing HTML Help Components

To display HTML Help, a user's computer must have both HTML Help components and Microsoft Internet Explorer layout engine components installed. If you are creating an Access run-time application and installing it on a computer that does not have Office 2000 installed, the components necessary to display HTML Help may not available. All the components necessary to display HTML Help are installed with any of the following:

  • Microsoft Office 2000

  • Microsoft Internet Explorer version 4.0 or later

  • Microsoft Windows 98

  • Microsoft Windows NT Server or Windows NT Workstation version 5.0

If none of these are available on a user's computer, you will need to redistribute some or all of the components necessary to display HTML Help.

If users have Internet Explorer version 3.02 installed, and the HTML Help system you are distributing doesn't require DHTML or other functionality supported only by Internet Explorer 4.0 or later, you can use the HTML Help Update component (Hhupd.exe) to redistribute HTML Help. In this case, if you use Hhupd.exe to install HTML Help, HTML Help will use the layout engine components of Internet Explorer 3.02. The HTML Help Update component is available from the HTML Help Web site at http://msdn.microsoft.com/workshop/author/htmlhelp/default.asp.

If the Help system you are distributing requires functionality available only from the layout engine components of Internet Explorer 4.0 or later, users must install the appropriate version of Internet Explorer in order to install both HTML Help and the necessary layout engine components. If you need to redistribute and install Internet Explorer, you can do so by using the Microsoft Internet Explorer Administration Kit (IEAK). For information about obtaining this kit, see the Internet Explorer Administration Kit Web site at http://ieak.microsoft.com/.