How to identify a corrupt project/*.chm?

[forme3d]

I was told recently that my master project was corrupt and told to rebuild it. The only symptom I saw was that the search field in the master.chm was not working.....

How does one know when a project or *.chm file is "corrupt?" I mean, this rebuilt master project could go corrupt again and I wouldn't know...any thoughts?

[Pete_Lees]

Hi, forme3d,

If a Help file is corrupt then the compiler should normally notify you of one or more problems at the time that you compile it. So, it is worth keeping an eye on any messages that are displayed or logged at compile time.

Broken search functionality often indicates a problem with one particular DLL, itcc.dll, which is used by the Help compiler. The easiest way to check for and correct this problem is to run MJ's Help Diagnostics, which is available from here:

http://helpware.net/downloads/index.htm#MJs

And see also:

http://frogleg.mvps.org/helptechnologies/htmlhelp/hhtips.html#hhc6003

You may find Microsoft's recommendations on how to test and debug Help files useful:

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms524378(VS.85).aspx

Hope you made some progress on resolving the other issues in your Help files.

Pete

[Captiv8r]

Hey there Pete

Would you mind taking a peek at the link below and offering feedback?

Click here to view

Cheers... Rick

[Pete_Lees]

Hi, Rick, Peter,

Hey there Pete

Would you mind taking a peek at the link below and offering feedback?

Click here to view

Cheers... Rick

That all looks like good stuff to me. Some additional sites that you may want to link to are as follows:

• Dave Liske's Help Technology Centre (tutorials, code samples, FAQs, tips and tricks).
  http://frogleg.mvps.org/helptechnologies/
  
• Microsoft's HTML Help information (replicates information in online Help for HML Help Workshop).
  http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms670169(VS.85).aspx
  
• KeyTools software (some useful tools and HTML Help add-ons).
  http://www.keyworks.net/
  
• MSHelpWiki (largest repository of HTML Help-related links, but needs updating in places).
  http://www.mshelpwiki.com/wiki/tiki-index.php?page=HTMLHelp
  
• Shadow Mountain Tech (good information for programmers on how to link to HTML Help files).
  http://www.smountain.com/m_ProgrammingHelp.htm
  
• Ulrich Kulle's site (lots more tutorials, programming guidelines, code samples).
  http://www.help-info.de/en/Help_Info_HTMLHelp/hh.htm

Pete

[Peter Grainge]

Pete

Many thanks for those links. We will build them in.

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See www.grainge.org for RoboHelp and Authoring tips