Sunday, September 22, 2013

Help files (.hlp extensions) do not work and are no longer supported

Synopsis:
Windows Vista and older .HLP Help files

Solution:

Windows Help (WinHlp32.exe) is a Help program that has been included with all previous Microsoft Windows operating systems prior to Microsoft Vista. WinHlp32.exe is required in order to display 32-bit help content files that have the ".HLP" file name extension, which are built into the operating system and almost all programs and applications written for Windows computers.
Windows Vista does NOT include Winhlp32.exe. Older applications may still use 32-bit .HLP files. Microsoft has directed software vendors to port/re-write their help files from the .HLP format to the other widely supported Help file formats (.CHM, .HTML, or .XML). In the meantime, applications that continue to use .HLP files will need winhlp32.exe to be able to view them on Vista computers.
To install Winhlp32 on a Vista machine, refer to the following Microsoft Help and Support Article for download and installation instructions: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/917607

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