Convert .chm to PDF

Hi, smithn00 and welcome to the Forums

First, to clarify. If you already have a RoboHelp project and have compiled a .chm (HTML Help) output, then you simply use a different SSL (Printed Documentation) to produce the PDF.

On the other hand I think you may be saying you have a .chm file but not the source material? If that is the scenario, then I would decompile the .chm into its project parts. You can do this regardless of what tool was used to create it. Once you have the source material, open the resulting .hhp file in RoboHelp to create the project. Then use the Printed Documentation Single Source Layout (SSL) to produce the PDF using the options and preferences found in the wizard dialogs.

For methods to decompile the .chm, go to Peter Grainge's site http://www.grainge.org/pages/authoring/reverse_engineering/reverse_engineering.htm where you'll find out how the reverse engineering is done. I personally prefer the Method 2 (KeyTools).

John Daigle

Adobe Certified RoboHelp and Captivate Instructor

www.showmethedemo.com

Whatever authoring tool you use, you have to get that CHM converted to a source project first. See Reverse Engineering on my site for information on how to do that. Then you generate a printed document selecting the PDF option.

I believe there are tools that will take a CHM and generate a PDF but they will not allow any editing, they just convert from one format to the other.

See www.grainge.org for RoboHelp and Authoring tips

@petergrainge