#### 40.1.2 Graphics formats for WinHelp

WMF or BMP

WinHelp graphics must be in WMF or BMP format. Graphics are viewed at screen resolution, typically 96 DPI. Normally you want to use WMF, because WMF graphics have a much sharper image than BMP graphics. However, the WMF format has some drawbacks; see §40.1.3 WMF format limitations.

For very large graphics, BMP can be a better choice.

256 colors for WinHelp 4

WinHelp 4 allows 256-color bitmaps; the added space for 256 colors is relatively small, and the graphics usually look better than with 16 colors. WinHelp 3 allows only 16-color bitmaps (unless you use add-on DLLs). For any WinHelp use, 24-bit color (“true color”) is a very bad idea; it often crashes the Help Compiler during processing.

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Parent Topic: 40.1 Choosing an appropriate graphics format

Sibling Topics:

40.1.1 Graphics formats for Word documents

40.1.3 WMF format limitations

40.1.4 Graphics formats for HTML