Welcome
Welcome to Help-to-Source

Help-to-Source converts a Windows Help (HLP) file into its component source files. Help-to-Source recreates the original Help file’s font types, font sizes, formatting, colors, tables, graphics, jumps, popups, and macros.

Help-to-Source can convert Windows Help files created with the WinHelp 3 Help compilers (HC30.EXE, HC31.EXE, and HCP.EXE) and the WinHelp 4 Help compiler, HCW.EXE. Help-to-Source works with RoboHELP to allow you to choose an HLP file and open it directly into RoboHELP for editing.

There are many scenarios in which you will find Help-to-Source valuable:

•	When the source files for your Help system are not available (e.g. lost, misplaced, not archived properly), and you need to update it. Help-to-Source is available right from within RoboHELP and will assist you in obtaining the source files you need and launching them in RoboHELP. This saves you from having to type in all the text, recreate the original graphics and recreate jumps, popups and macros.

•	When you want to create formatted print documentation from an HLP file. You can start Help-to-Source from within RoboHELP, then use RoboHELP’s Create Printed Documentation feature to save it as documentation.

•	When you have the HLP file source but you did not archive the bitmaps. You can convert the HLP file, automatically recreating the original graphics in their native formats (BMP, SHG, and WMF).

•	When you need part of the text from your HLP file. You can convert the HLP file into an RTF file, then read the RTF file into any standard word processor and use the text that you need.

Users of Help-to-Source must be sure they are working in accordance with copyright law and the license terms of other software packages.

See Also

Starting Help-to-Source

System requirements

Files generated by Help-to-Source

Time required for conversions


Files Generated by Help-to-Source

Help-to-Source generated the following files:

File Type	Description

RTF	Rich Text Format

HPJ	Help Project

CNT*	Contents file

HH*	Map file for C/C++

INC*	Map file for Pascal

BAS*	Map file for Visual Basic

BMP*	Windows bitmap

SHG*	Segmented Hotspot Graphic

WMF*	Windows Metafile

AVI*	Video

WAV*	Sound

* Created if this feature was part of the HLP file.


Help-to-Source Wizard File Information

What Help file to convert

Type the path and name of the HLP file or click [image]  to find the HLP file.

What path and file name for the converted source

Type the path and file name or click [image]  to browse and specify a path.


Help-to-Source Options

Topic IDs

Based on topic titles

Use this option for most Help systems. This option provides for topic IDs that are meaningful character strings that you can read. The only time you may not want to use this option is if you have a lot of macros in the HLP file and you do not have a CNT file. In that case, if you choose this option, you will need to find and re-link any Help macros that refer to topic Ids in the Help system.

You can use the RoboHELP Explorer Broken Links folder to find any broken macros, or use Word’s Search function to find the macros so that you can relink them.

Based on hash codes

If the Help system contains a large number of macro calls and does not have a CNT file, hash codes is the preferred option since this will allow macros that refer to the original topic ID to work correctly. It means that the topic IDs will be hexadecimal numbers however, rather than character strings.

Hotspot text color

Color hotspot text green allows you to easily see hotspot text. If you do not select this option, hotspot text will be black.

Map files

If the original HLP file contained context-sensitive Help, you can generate the map file. Select the type of map file to be created (based on the application development tool used for the program you are documenting). The resulting map file is filename.xxx, where filename you entered in the first screen of Help-to-Source and xxx is the extension based on the file type selected.


Starting Help-to-Source

Help-to-Source is a RoboHELP Office tool. If you have RoboHELP Office, you can start Help-to-Source from within RoboHELP or as a standalone tool.

To start Help-to-Source from RoboHELP

1.	If RoboHELP is not currently open, click the RoboHELP icon to start RoboHELP then click Create a New Help project.

OR

If RoboHELP is running, from the RoboHELP Explorer File menu, choose New.

2.	The New Project screen appears. Select the Import tab.

3.	Double-click WinHelp (*.hlp).

To start Help-to-Source standalone

•	From the RoboHELP Office Starter, double-click the Help-to-Source icon [image].

OR

•	From the RoboHELP Explorer Tools tab, double-click the Help-to-Source icon [image].

See Also

Help-to-Source options

Files generated by Help-to-Source

Time required for conversions


Time Required for Conversions

Some large Help files can require a little time to convert. Be sure to allow Help-to-Source time to process the file. Some example conversion times on a 200 MHz Pentium with 64 MB of memory are:

A  .5 MB  HLP file takes 10-20 seconds.

A   1 MB  HLP file takes 30-40 seconds.

A   8 MB  HLP file takes 2-3 minutes.


System Requirements

Operating System

Help-to-Source is a 32-bit application that runs under Windows 95, 98, NT 4.0, and 2000.

Hard Disk Space

A typical conversion requires a minimum of two to four times the size of the HLP file in available space.


Macro Abbreviations

When a Help system is compiled, the Help compiler converts macro names to abbreviations. At this point, the original macro name no longer exists in the HLP file. When Help-to-Source converts a HLP file, it retains the macro abbreviations. These are valid macro calls and will recompile without error. For your convenience, the macros and their abbreviations are listed here.

AddAccelerator = AA

Alink = AL

Annotate = AN

AppendItem = AI

BackFlush = BF

ChangeButtonBinding = CBB

ChangeEnable = CE

ChangeItemBinding = CIB

CheckItem = CI

CloseSecondarys = CS

CloseWindow = CW

CopyTopic = CT

CreateButton = CB

DestroyButton = DEB

DisableButton = DB

DisableItem = DI

EnableButton = EB

EnableItem = EI

ExecFile = EF

ExecProgram = EP

FileExit = FE

FileOpen = FO

Finder = FD

Flush = FH

IfThen = IF

IfThenElse = IE

IsBook = IB

IsNotMark = NM

JumpContext = JC

JumpHash = JH

JumpID = JI

JumpKeyWord = JK

Klink = KL

Menu = MU

NoShow = NS

PopUpContext = PC

PopUpID = PI

PositionWindow = PW

RegisterRoutine = RR

SetPopUpColor = SPC

ShellExecute = SE

ShortCut = SH

UncheckItem = UI

UpdateWindow = JW


Troubleshooting Tips

These are some situations you may encounter while using Help-to-Source and some suggested remedies.

•	Cannot open temp file #x.

You may not have enough hard disk space to accommodate the document and temporary files needed to perform the conversion. A typical conversion requires a minimum of two to four times the size of the HLP file in available space. Remove some files from your hard drive to free up some space, then try the conversion again.

Note:	The TEMP environment variable (located in AUTOEXEC.BAT) determines which disk needs to have the free space (if you have more than one hard drive). If you do not have a TEMP variable, Help-to-Source stores its temporary files on the drive containing the Windows directory.

•	When scrolling through the RTF, Word occasionally GPFs or the screen freezes.

The converted file may be too big for the amount of memory on your computer system or for Word to handle. Split the file into smaller files. If you are using RoboHELP, see the RoboHELP Help file for tips on the most efficient ways to do this.

•	I am not able to convert one of the HLP files on my system.

Some DOS files have the extension .HLP. Help-to-source converts Windows Help files compiled with HC30.EXE, HC31.EXE, HCP.EXE or HCW.EXE. Also, if the Help file is corrupt it can not be converted. Make sure your Help file can be viewed in WINHELP.EXE.

•	The Help system doesn’t recompile properly.

Be sure you are using the compiler that was used to create the original Help system. This compiler is listed in the  Summary dialog that appears at the end of a conversion.

•	The compiler crashes on a particular HLP file.

IfThen and IfThenElse macros required quotes (‘’) for HC30.EXE and HC31.EXE, but these are invalid for HCW.EXE. Recompile using the original compiler or refer to HCW.HLP for the new IfThen and IfThenElse macro syntax.


eHelp Corporation headquarters

eHelp Corporation is the worldwide leader in Help authoring solutions. Software developers, Help authors, technical writers, and documentation experts worldwide turn to eHelp Corporation for state-of-the-art Help authoring and Internet/intranet solutions.

Corporate Headquarters

Address:	eHelp Corporation 7777 Fay Avenue, Suite 201 La Jolla, CA 92037 U.S.A.
Telephone:	1-858-551-2485
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Contact your sales representative to hear about the latest products, the Subscription Plan, training, upgrade options and prices, and more. If you have a technical question or problem, please contact Technical Support.

Contacting your eHelp Corporation Sales Representative

Sales Phone:	1-800-677-4946
International (including Canada):	1-858-459-6365
Sales Fax:	1-858-459-6366
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Sales Email:	sales@blue-sky.com
When sending email, please include your company name, city, and state to ensure your request is handled promptly.


eHelp Corporation Web site


Technical Support

At eHelp Corporation, we work hard to provide you with intuitive technical products. Additionally, we try to provide superior online and print documentation to enable you to work independently. If you have a technical question that you can’t answer with the provided tools, please contact our Technical Support department. All of our Technical Support representatives are eager to answer your questions and help you create the best Help systems possible.

Note: You must be a registered user to access eHelp Corporation support services. eHelp Corporation support services are subject to the prices, terms, and conditions in place at the time the service is used.

eHelp Corporation’s Technical Support services includes email, telephone, and Web-based support on our corporate Web site.

Help Us Help You

When contacting Technical Support via phone or email, please provide the following information for the fastest possible service:

•	Product serial number (registration number)

•	Your name, company name, and phone number

•	Exact product name and version number

•	Type of operating system (e.g., Windows 95)

•	Version of Microsoft Word (if using RoboHELP for WinHelp)

•	Browser and version (if creating HTML-based Help)

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•	Visit our Web site.

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eHelp Corporation Knowledge Base


Documentation feedback

At eHelp Corporation, we strive to produce the highest quality documentation products and welcome your feedback. If you have comments or suggestions about our online Help or printed guides, you can email us.

Please include the following information with your feedback:

•	Product name and version number

•	Printed manual or online Help

•	Topic title (for online Help)

•	Page number (for printed manual)

•	Brief description of content (for example, are you reviewing step-by-step instructions that are inaccurate, grammatical errors in a specific paragraph, information that requires clarification or more details, etc.)

•	Your suggestion for how to correct/improve documentation

Please send email messages to:

documentation@blue-sky.com

Keep in mind, this email address is only for documentation feedback; you will not receive a reply. If you have a technical question, please contact Technical Support.


Other helpful resources

A good list of resources can make all the difference in terms of support, guidance, and inspiration. As the worldwide leader in Help authoring solutions, eHelp Corporation leads the way by offering a list of helpful resources on our Web site.

You’ll find the latest Help authoring resource information – including books, periodicals, online forums, helpful Internet links, training, and more.


WinHelp 2000

We are unable to detect Internet Explorer or an Internet connection on your system, so we are unable to display eHelp Corporation’s Web site.

This Help file uses WinHelp 2000, which extends the WinHelp viewer to provide full HTML and Web functionality without leaving WinHelp. WinHelp 2000 gives you all the benefits of HTML without the risk of switching to a new Help architecture.

WinHelp 2000 uses the same display engine as Microsoft’s Internet Explorer and HTML Help, so all of the rich content of the World Wide Web can be displayed and integrated into any standard Windows Help system.

If you use a browser other than Internet Explorer, use this alternative link:

 eHelp Corporation’s Web site


PC HelpDesk

We are unable to detect ODBC with an Internet connection on your system, so we are unable to display eHelp Corporation’s Knowledge Base.

Our Knowledge Base was created using PC HelpDesk – an eHelp Corporation tool included in RoboHELP Office. PC HelpDesk packages your product knowledge base into a customized HelpDesk you design, create, and maintain. Customers simply click on the HelpDesk link from your system’s Help file, and they have instant access to valuable information about your products. A well designed HelpDesk can lower your technical support costs and increase customer satisfaction by providing an easy way for your customers to get answers to their most common questions.


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Premium Support plans are available for current and previous versions of eHelp Corporation products.