Open WinHelp (Winhlp) files in Windows Vista
| Intended For |
 Windows Vista only |
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Microsoft is no longer supporting the old "WinHelp"-type help documents, the files with the .hlp filename extension.
The good news is that this will encourage the 3 developers who are still using WinHelp to switch to a newer, better standard.
The bad news, of course, is that the documentation that originally accompanied the thousands of WinHelp-enabled programs currently in use will not work on Vista at all.
Thanks, Microsoft.
So, in vista, if you double-click a .hlp file or try to use the Help feature in a program that uses WinHelp, you'll see a message that says you can download a Vista version of WinHelp from Microsoft.
If the link provided doesn't work, you can get WinHelp here.
Here's another way to get WinHelp on Vista:
- Open Windows Explorer, navigate to your \Windows folder, and locate the existing winhlp32.exe file (it's 9,216 bytes).
- Right-click the 9,216-byte winhlp32.exe file, select Properties, and then choose the Security tab.
- Click Advanced, choose the Owner tab, and click Edit.
- Select your user name in the list, and then click OK four times to close all the Properties/Security windows.
- Right-click the 9,216-byte winhlp32.exe file again, select Properties, and then choose the Security tab again.
- Click Edit, highlight Administrators in the list, and then place a checkmark next to Full control, in the Allow column.
- Click Yes, and then click OK in each of the two open Properties/Security windows.
- Next, obtain the Windows XP SP2 version of winhlp32.exe.
It's size is 283,648 bytes, and the version number is 5.1.2600.2180.
You can get it from any functional PC running Windows XP or from a Windows XP disc.
(We will be offering a download link at Annoyances.org as soon as possible.)
- Drag-drop the 283,648-byte winhlp32.exe file into your \Windows folder, replacing the 9,216-byte version that's there.
Notes:
- Although this will work just dandy, context-sensitive help in some applications won't work.
If this is the case, you'll have to open Windows Explorer, navigate to the application's folder (typically in \Program Files), and double-click the .hlp file to view it.
- If you're not the administrator of your PC, you won't be able to replace the 9,216-byte winhlp32.exe file that came with Vista.
Instead, just leave the 283,648-byte winhlp32.exe on your desktop (or put it elsewhere and put a shortcut to it on your desktop), and then just drag-drop .hlp files onto it to view them.
- Another solution is to convert the .hlp (WinHelp) file to a .chm (HTML Help) file, which can be opened in Vista without any special software.
- Or, try HelpExplorer, a third-party tool that can read WinHelp files.
This article has been recently supported by and featured on this Internet Webhosting Guide
Written by: Annoyances.org
Last updated: Thursday, November 1, 2007
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