Windows 10: Can't read older *.hlp files on Windows-10

Hi, Dr. DavidY,
Following are basically same as those of "Title: From the technical viewpoint, is the information by M$ enough good?" written by me. But the understanding might be easier because of having many pictures. Therefore, this is just information for you and users.
P.S.:
By the way, regarding a tool to fix some problem(s), it might NOT be a good idea to use some tool (e.g. "Fix It”), which contents cannot be checked by users, even if M$ (company) recommending it to use.

 

That's because the .hlp format is a dangerous format, and can be used to infect systems. MS doesn't want to enable it by default and wants it to go away.

 

It works man, thanks.

First step is : you have the winhlp from xp, i get it from attached file by YOU.
If you run it, it will open file dialog to open hlp file, display like this:





If you test it to open any hlp file, it will open it.
Then you can run batch file created by kimio kanda. It works on me.

 

Can anyone give me a rationale, similar to why .CHM is a safer format than .HLP, for why Microsoft seems to have abandoned any form of a local Help file or semi-detailed Users' guide for Windows 10 itself?

If I'm operating off-line, e.g., when I'm camping in my RV, simply having links to Web pages doesn't cut it!

Or, did I miss something in my W10 install? (I hope.)

 

Here is some information on why .HLP is dangerous.. basically, you can embed code and macros in it that can execute without intervention...

Reverse Mode - Please do not me!

CHM is HTML based, while .HLP was RTF based. CHM is also blocked by default. When you download a .CHM file, you have to first "unblock" it for it to work.

 

OK, I admit to slightly "burying the lead" in my prior post, so I'll restate the real question:

Can anyone give me a rationale for why Microsoft seems to have abandoned any form of a local Help file or semi-detailed Users' guide within Windows 10 itself?

Following a clean install, most of my \Program Files\Microsoft & \Windows Help subdirectories are empty, and what few .CHM files are predominantly references to MSDN pages. Is this unusual, or is this the latest form of W10 "torture"?

(But, thanks for the .CHM vs. .HLP explanation. It was interesting.)

 

The following are just information, even many people might know the details very well.
$1. For "Microsoft Outlook 2010"
The file(s) ".hlp" and/or ".chm" cannot be attached to "Microsoft Outlook 2010," which you use for sending your e-mail.
Please refer to the following.
https://support.office.com/en-us/art...rs=en-US&ad=US$2. For "Google Gmail"
Furthermore, the file ".chm" cannot be attached to "Google Gmail," which you use for sending your e-mail.
Please refer to the following.
File types blocked in Gmail - Gmail Help

 

Thank you!
It worked for me, even using the 32 bit versión of wihlp32.exe file (extracted from the WINDOWSXP-KB936929-SP3-X86-ENU.EXE file) in my Windows 10 - 64 bit OS.
Later, I used the 64 bit version found in Can't read older *.hlp files on Windows-10 - Page 2 - Windows 10 Forums and it also worked, as expected.
Thanks a lot for the info.

 

Hello,
I tried your solution & it works. It took a little effort since I had to locate an XP repository, I then installed the ISO image into a virtual machine, and finally copied winhlp32.exe onto a USB key. After getting hold of winhlp32.exe, I simply followed your instructions.
Regards,

 

That would work for many help files but would not help at all for help which is triggered by picks in a development environment such as my Delphi IDE. I lose a great deal of built-in capability by not being able to click on a definition in Delphi and having it pop up the appropriate help information.

Even help files which are opened by a menu pick internal to software would not find the .pdf file. What would redirect the program to look for the .pdf file instead of the .hlp file? No way to alias the file, right?

The patch for W7 worked fine. Nothing yet for W10. And reading here, it seems most have lost all hope. I'd click "accept" on a license agreement removing Microsoft from all liability if a .hlp file contaminates my computer. If that will get my .hlp files working again, I'm ready. After all, what I have is older software which hasn't riddled my system with viruses in 15 years. Why would I think that would change? Any new software will come with the new help format, yes?

 

Any simple solution available? It's a bit hard for me

 

for win 10 ,i use this script

echo on
FOR /F %%I IN ("%0") DO SET BATDIR=%%~dpI
takeown /f "%windir%\winhlp32.exe"
icacls "%windir%\winhlp32.exe" /grant *S-1-5-32-544:F
pause
copy /y "%BATDIR%\winhlp32.exe" %windir%
icacls "%windir%\winhlp32.exe" /setowner "NT Service\TrustedInstaller"
echo Done.
exit

copied in a .cmd file
this .cmd file is placed in a folder with winhlp32.exe from win xp (32bits is ok)
right click on cmd file and run as administrator

 

Thank you very much. It worked perfect, you are fantastic. I can run CorelDraw 7 on win 10.

 

Thank you Kimio, following these instructions using the file I obtained from your instructions under Supplement 2 to get the Winhelp32 file legally from Microsoft itself was just what I needed. I use Just BASIC and needed their files opened, and didn't have any way to do it till I got here.

So both post are together:

 

thanks worked fine !