This new style of User Help, which is simpler to create than the older WinHelp, can now be used by any ESL application. The use of compiled Html Help is detected by the ESL runtime, using the filename extension in the "help library" declaration or passed as the parameter to call "HelpReplaceHelpLibrary" routine. If the filename extension is '.chm', then the new style help is used, otherwise the old WinHelp is used, which should have the filename extension of '.hlp'.

When using the new style help, if the object helpid's are defined as a string, then the full path and filename (including extension) must be supplied, to link to the topic within the help file. You may continue to use integer helpid's provided the values are mapped within the Help Project.

Using the "HelpReplaceHelpLibrary" routine it is possible to swap between both styles of help, as demonstrated by the supplied application HelpDemo, which is supplied in the samples directory. This application also demonstrates a method for dynamically changing all of an applications statically defined objects between old and new style topic names.

The 'pages' in a compile help file are created in the same way as standard Hyper Text Mark-up Language (HTML) web pages, for which there are numerous suitable editors. Once the pages have be created, then they must be loaded in a Help Project and compiled using Microsoft's HTML Help Workshop, which is freely available from Microsoft.

Please contact the Customer Help Desk, if you require more information on using this new feature.