Creating a Help File to Use with an Office Application

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Office XP applications can display standard Help topics authored and compiled by using either HTML Help (.chm) or WinHelp 4.0 (.hlp). Context-sensitive Help for Office XP applications must be authored by using WinHelp 4.0. You can download the tools required to author and compile both HTML Help and WinHelp 4.0 from the following locations:

Jumping from a WinHelp Topic to an HTML Help Topic

Because Office XP applications require you to use WinHelp 4.0 topics to author context-sensitive Help, you might sometimes need to jump from a WinHelp 4.0 topic to an HTML Help topic. You author a jump from any WinHelp 4.0 topic to an HTML Help topic by using the ExecFile macro. For example, a jump in a WinHelp 4.0 file that is formatted such as the following example opens the first page in the compiled HTML Help file that is installed for Internet Explorer 4.0 or later:

Aa140499.dewinhelpjump(en-us,office.10).gif

The first argument passed to the ExecFile macro, hh, refers to the program to run, Hh.exe, the HTML Help Viewer. The second argument is the URL to open a page in a .chm file.

See Also

Adding Help to Your Custom Application | Adding Help to Your Office Application | The Kinds of Help You Can Use | Creating a Help File to Use with an Office Application | Specifying the Path to Your Application's Help File | Displaying Help in Forms and Documents | Displaying Help from Command Bars | Using the Office Assistant to Display Help | Displaying Help from VBA Code | Using a URL to Open a Page in a Compiled HTML Help File