#### 16.1.3 Evaluating Microsoft Windows Help (WinHelp)

WinHelp is a very old format, and is not supported on versions of Windows later than Windows XP, and Microsoft Help Workshop is no longer available to compile WinHelp. Your users would have to individually download the WinHelp reader from Microsoft; you are prohibited from redistributing the reader. Many products that originally supported WinHelp dropped it once Microsoft made it effectively impossible to use.

WinHelp drawbacks

Although WinHelp works on all flavors of Microsoft Windows, users must go through a multiple-step validation process to use WinHelp on Windows versions later than Windows XP. WinHelp does not work on any system other than Microsoft Windows, except through a Windows emulator.

WinHelp does not support mouseovers, and supports Flash movies only with difficulty. Text formatting is limited (especially for tables), you cannot customize index sort order, and there is no tri-pane display.

The WinHelp compiler, which predates Unicode, does not recognize Unicode characters, which instead are in a proprietary Microsoft encoding.

WinHelp advantages

WinHelp provides the fast response needed for Context Sensitive Help (CSH). You can use WinHelp for initial CSH calls, and WinHelp can, in turn, link to HTML Help or OmniHelp for further information. Also, WinHelp produces decent pop-ups.

See §17. Generating WinHelp.

Previous Topic: 16.1.2 Understanding the effects of mid-topic links

Next Topic: 16.1.4 Evaluating Microsoft HTML Help

Parent Topic: 16.1 Weighing Help-system alternatives

Sibling Topics:

16.1.1 Considering Help-system features

16.1.2 Understanding the effects of mid-topic links

16.1.4 Evaluating Microsoft HTML Help

16.1.5 Evaluating WebHelp

16.1.6 Evaluating OmniHelp

16.1.7 Evaluating JavaHelp and Oracle Help for Java

16.1.8 Evaluating Eclipse Help

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