Cannot View Help Topics Even with xCHM...?

[chronosate3]

I uninstalled IE from my computer and now use K-Meleon. I installed xCHM so that I can view help files. It works much of the time. However, every now and then, I will try and view a help topic from within a progam (i.e., click "Help,") but it will not open with xCHM. Instead, it will show something like this:

Screenshot

Clicking any of those three dialog boxes does absolutely nothing.

Here is my question:

I know that by re-registering certain files, this will function properly. However, I do *not* want ActiveX on my computer or any other component of IE. So, I have two questions:

1) Is there a way to tweak the registry so that xCHM or K-Meleon can view these files properly/avoid the error as posted in my screenshot?

2) I know Microsoft is/was required to release versions of Windows without IE. Is there some cross-pollination, some registry tweak sourced from that version which might help rectify this?

3) Is there something else I am missing which will remove this error and allow help files to open properly *without* ActiveX and *without* Internet Explorer componentry?

Although I have some experience editing the registry, I am not an expert on .html or help files.

Thank you for your help!

Edited July 2, 2009 by chronosate3

[JustinStacey.x]

Is this an FDV version of Windows 2000 or an nLited one?

nLited versions of Windows don't really properly remove IE... they leave a ton of crap in the registry to try and minimize software breakage. FDV's fileset just goes ahead and rips near **** everything out regardless.

Personally I haven't used help files in years, the service is disabled on my computer and the option hidden off the Start Menu

Edit: Ahh shucks, that's XP isn't it. So how did you remove IE?

Edited July 2, 2009 by JustinStacey

[chronosate3]

It is nLited, and XPlite was used to remove additional components.

Like you, I "never" use help files, and like you, removed the help service and the option hidden off the Start Menu. However, I believe that is a different function than CHM and the problem I am encountering.

Every now and then, there is something important buried in the Help menu in a program (WinRar was just a sample of what I experience), which necessitates the HTML/CHM file opening properly.

Edited July 2, 2009 by chronosate3

[gUiTaR_mIkE]

Have you tried to adjust the settings in Winrar to use an external viewer, associate the "file types" to have the external

viewer open them?

Open Winrar -> Options -> Settings -> Viewer (experiment with the settings). If your settings are "Associated program"

Winrar may be looking for something that no longer exists. You may start by trying "Ask".

Also, have you tried adjusting the settings "File Types" from Windows Explorer and point to a new program for chm files

instead of Microsoft HTML Help Executable?

The only problem you may have still is that a given program itself may have assigned (registered) MS HTML Help to open

chm files and you would need to reassign xCHM to be the default viewer but not all programs make this easy.

This strict association is why you are having problems, some programs respect your wishes when you create an association

while other programs ignore your "defaults" and stick with what they registered when they installed, that is why when trying

to open chm files one program will respect your new program and others pitch a fit.

Followup:

There are some limitations on what xCHM can view - here's a sample

* 'very proprietary' .chm files, making heavy use of MS-ITS:, mk:@MSITStore: links.

This looks alot like the chm file type from your image.

Edited July 2, 2009 by gUiTaR_mIkE

[chronosate3]

External Viewer:

1) Yes, I switched it to external viewer. It does not do anything. I believe selecting the viewer type has to do with when you double-click a particular file from within WinRar. I don't think it has anything to do at all with the "Help" problem I am experiencing.

"Also, have you tried adjusting the settings "File Types" from Windows Explorer and point to a new program for chm files

instead of Microsoft HTML Help Executable?"

2) Yes, I changed it to xCHM.

3) "The only problem you may have still is that a given program itself may have assigned (registered) MS HTML Help to open

chm files and you would need to reassign xCHM to be the default viewer but not all programs make this easy.

This strict association is why you are having problems, some programs respect your wishes when you create an association

while other programs ignore your "defaults" and stick with what they registered when they installed, that is why when trying

to open chm files one program will respect your new program and others pitch a fit."

I don't think this is quite it, because in the screenshot, it shows K-Meleon as the icon. To me, this indicates that it is asking the browser to open/interpret the file, but that the browser, perhaps, does not know what to do with it.

Further, if I run winhlp32.exe from the command line, it opens right up, and opens .HLP files without issue. *scratches head*

[chronosate3]

Okay, you are right; the external program that is trying to view the file is "Microsoft HTML Help." I changed the file association, but WinRar still defaults to Microsoft...is there something I am missing? I did change the setting for the file association...

is there a way to change this "strict association?"

Edited July 2, 2009 by chronosate3

[gUiTaR_mIkE]

You're correct - my bad, the viewer in Winrar is for viewing the contents of a rar and not for viewing the hlp file. I would

change back the settings to -> "Viewer type" - "Associated program". If you by chance pointed to xCHM in Winrar under

"External viewer name" make sure there is no program listed (blank). The setting for "Unpack everything for" should list

*.exe *.htm *.html - these settings are all the "Defaults".

Did you also change the association in Windows Explorer for .hlp files like you did for chm? The "Defaults" that most if

not all Windows programs use - those associations we were talking about - are,

.chm (Compiled HTML Help) - using hh.exe (Microsoft HTML Help Executable) to open

.hlp (Standard Help) - using winhlp32.exe (Windows Winhlp32 Stub) to open

You need to change these associations to the program you would prefer to open these file types.

[chronosate3]

Did you also change the association in Windows Explorer for .hlp files like you did for chm? The "Defaults" that most if

not all Windows programs use - those associations we were talking about - are,

.chm (Compiled HTML Help) - using hh.exe (Microsoft HTML Help Executable) to open

.hlp (Standard Help) - using winhlp32.exe (Windows Winhlp32 Stub) to open

You need to change these associations to the program you would prefer to open these file types.

1) .chm (Compiled HTML Help) - currently xCHM and when I double-click files, they open properly with that program

2) .hlp (Standard Help) - currently using winhlp32.exe (Windows Winhlp32 Stub) to open, and when I double-click files, they open properly with that program

Apparently, the problem only exhibits itself when a help file is accessed from *within* a program's menu, where it triggers the wrong program to open the help file; in this case, Microsoft HTML help. I believe that this is a symptom of the "strict association" you mention above, which may be a fault specific to certain programs, and not generalized to my system as a whole as previously thought.

When I browse to the WinRar program directory and locate WinRAR.chm, xCHM both opens and browses the file properly.

The fault here, it appears, is neither with xCHM or with Standard Help; it is only with Microsoft HTML help. When "called" for their respective functions, xCHM appears to open compiled HTML help files properly, and winhlp32.exe appears to open regular "Standard Help" files properly. The problem only appears when a program calls for Microsoft HTML help, which is the component that suffered from the removal of IE, in lieu of xCHM, which is what I assigned to open compiled HTML help files.

If you (and others?) agree that the "strict association" is indeed the culprit, is there a solution? Or, should we just write this off as poor programming by the author's of the programs which exhibit this particular behavior? If we accept this as fact, then it is neither the removal of IE nor an ability on the behalf of xCHM to open the files; rather, is it the adamant refusal of particular programs (I picked WinRAR in this case) to pay attention to file associations.

Edited July 2, 2009 by chronosate3

[gUiTaR_mIkE]

If you (and others?) agree that the "strict association" is indeed the culprit, is there a solution?

Strict Association is really not the right term here, in reality, the programs you are having troubles with are looking to

the registry to determine what program handles chm files, in this case hh.exe. To fix this you would have to either run

a software app that would edit the association in the registry or you could edit the registry yourself (not recommended).

Whatever you should decide Backup Your Registry First! before you do anything.

You could search the registry for hh.exe and I would bet it is presently associated with opening chm files.

Also, this isn't bad programming rather default behavior, most people don't rip out IE they simply quit using it. If the

icon for chm files has changed in Windows Explorer to that of xCHM, until you fix/edit the registry, maybe create a

shortcut to the files you want to open in xCHM and move the shortcuts, in this case to the WinRAR program group in

start and open the file there rather than in the application itself.

[chronosate3]

I'm onboard to edit my registry, and have no problem backing up the reg keys first.

What do I do/change?

[chronosate3]

I backed up hh.exe, disabled Windows File Protection, copied xchm.exe to C:\WINDOWS, and renamed it hh.exe. However, the same thing happens? How can this be possible?