WinHelp Help file fails under WIN95 and WIN98 ?

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pfossey
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WinHelp Help file fails under WIN95 and WIN98 ?

Unread post by pfossey »

I am having a problem with a Help project that has been working fine for 2 years.

I recently made some changes to an existing help project (.hm3 format).

I have heard several complaints from customers that they cannot use the help file under windows 95, and windows 98. It works just fine under windows 2000 and Windows XP.

My calls to WinHelp() under WIN95/98 fail to display the help file.
If the help file is opened by running WinHlp32.exe, the content is displayed, but the table of contents is missing.

The recent changes included the addition of a 640 X 480 X 16 Bit graphic.
I read that this could cause problems with older help viewers, so I removed the graphic. This did not solve the problem.

Any ideas on what the error might be would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks.

:?
Paul L. Fossey
PKF Systems
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Alexander Halser
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Unread post by Alexander Halser »

The graphics problem which could crash Winhelp is (as far as I know) only related to true color images in .hlp files displayed on Windows NT 4 in combination with particular graphics adapters. I've never heard of any other situation nor was I ever able to duplicate it.
My calls to WinHelp() under WIN95/98 fail to display the help file.
If the help file is opened by running WinHlp32.exe, the content is displayed, but the table of contents is missing.
Just to make sure: you are creating .hlp files, aren't you?

This sounds as if you did not ship the .cnt file. Could this be the case? What about write permissions for the folder that contains the .hlp file on that computer? When you open a Winhelp file, the viewer attempts to create a .gid file which contains several binary settings (such as a binary representation of the TOC and information about modular help).
Alexander Halser
Senior Software Architect, EC Software GmbH
pfossey
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Joined: Mon Aug 05, 2002 4:57 pm
Location: Boston, USA

Unread post by pfossey »

Hi Alexander,
Thanks for the prompt reply.

Yes I am building .HLP files.
Yes the .CNT contents file is installing on all platforms.

I wish it were that simple.

It seems like I have stumbled on some windows specific restriction of the help viewer version. The help files and contents work just fine
under Win2000 and Windows XP. I have no data on windows NT.

:?:
Paul L. Fossey
PKF Systems
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Alexander Halser
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Unread post by Alexander Halser »

Can you exclude the graphic to test whether the graphic makes the problem? I've never heard of any graphic problems with help files on Windows 9x, especially when the graphics are 16 bit only. But you never know.
Alexander Halser
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Graeme Martin
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Same Again

Unread post by Graeme Martin »

Built hpl file on Win 2000
Copied hlp & cnt to Win 95 system

Help file starts up.
However, when you select any topic which has a bitmap in it, thWinhelp fails (illegal operatiojn & will be shut down).

What to do?
Graeme Martin
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Alexander Halser
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Unread post by Alexander Halser »

What's the color depth of the images and the target system? Try to reduce the colors of your screen shots to 256 (8 bit) and recompile your help. Does it still crash then?
Alexander Halser
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Graeme Martin
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Win 95/98

Unread post by Graeme Martin »

Thankyou Alexander. Yes, that is the problem.

After converting to 256 colour, it worked OK.
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Alexander Halser
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Unread post by Alexander Halser »

This is not a general restriction of the Winhelp viewer (except if you create 16 bit help file). It's most probably a problem of the graphics adapter/driver of the target system in combination with a bug in the Winhelp viewer. So far I've only heard of this problem on Windows NT. Changing the graphics driver may help as well.
Alexander Halser
Senior Software Architect, EC Software GmbH
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