Opening old help files

mm71 · Jan 23, 2022

Is there something like this Error opening Help in Windows-based programs: "Feature not included" or "Help not supported" for Windows 11 (x64)? Thanks...

mm71 · Jan 23, 2022

This works well to open old .hlp files, but not WITHIN a program, so you will have to open them from the folder where they are, not within the program: Download WinHlp32 for Windows 10 - MajorGeeks

Avram · Apr 11, 2025

I have written a new tool called hlp4win11 to enable legacy HLP file support for Windows 11 (yes, even 24H2 on which old methods do not work):

GitHub - zeljkoavramovic/hlp4win11: Legacy HLP file support for Windows 11

Legacy HLP file support for Windows 11. Contribute to zeljkoavramovic/hlp4win11 development by creating an account on GitHub.

github.com

garlin · Apr 11, 2025

Avram said:
I have written a new tool called hlp4win11 to enable legacy HLP file support for Windows 11 (yes, even 24H2 on which old methods do not work):

GitHub - zeljkoavramovic/hlp4win11: Legacy HLP file support for Windows 11

Legacy HLP file support for Windows 11. Contribute to zeljkoavramovic/hlp4win11 development by creating an account on GitHub.

github.com

May I make a suggestion? You've hard-coded a need for BITS to transfer the file, which is unnecessary since the download file is just under 1 MB.

Using Invoke-WebRequest as a fallback method should be a simple change.

dacrone · Apr 11, 2025

you can use this one. and you can run old 16-bit software on x64 with it as well. simple to use

Releases · otya128/winevdm

16-bit Windows (Windows 1.x, 2.x, 3.0, 3.1, etc.) on 64-bit Windows - otya128/winevdm

github.com

Avram · Apr 11, 2025

garlin said:
May I make a suggestion? You've hard-coded a need for BITS to transfer the file, which is unnecessary since the download file is just under 1 MB.

Using Invoke-WebRequest as a fallback method should be a simple change.

Thank you for the suggestion. Downloading is now simplified. New version available:

GitHub - zeljkoavramovic/hlp4win11: Legacy HLP file support for Windows 11

Legacy HLP file support for Windows 11. Contribute to zeljkoavramovic/hlp4win11 development by creating an account on GitHub.

github.com

Skeptic Mike · Apr 12, 2025

It's also possible to extract the required files from the last version available from Microsoft, place them in separate folder, e.g. "Program Files (x86)/winhelp", write a small shim with the application compatibility toolkit to redirect calls to winhelp.exe and apply it.

Avram · Apr 12, 2025

Skeptic Mike said:
It's also possible to extract the required files from the last version available from Microsoft, place them in separate folder, e.g. "Program Files (x86)/winhelp", write a small shim with the application compatibility toolkit to redirect calls to winhelp.exe and apply it.

An advantage of the suggested manual extraction method to a separate directory is that the procedure does not need to be carried out after installing Windows 10 or 11 Feature Update. The disadvantage is that the contextual help (F1) does not work perfectly in old applications, and also there are a lot of manual steps to apply the method correctly.

The advantage of hlp4win11 method is that it is a single line command that automatically does all the work, and enables proper contextual help (F1) in old applications. The disadvantage is that the hlp4win11 needs to be applied after installing Windows 10 or 11 Feature Update.

garlin · Apr 12, 2025

Skeptic Mike said:
It's also possible to extract the required files from the last version available from Microsoft, place them in separate folder, e.g. "Program Files (x86)/winhelp", write a small shim with the application compatibility toolkit to redirect calls to winhelp.exe and apply it.

AFAIK, everyone has followed the exact same procedure by replacing the current Windows files for WinHelp. Which leads to two problems:

- Files are protected by TrustedInstaller (most devs do the takeown & icacls trick, without bothering to restore the original ACL)

- Windows will clobber your changes on the next major upgrade

By extracting the MSU files to \Program Files or \Program Files (x86), we can easily run WinHelp from a separate folder. The last step is to update the registry value for the "shell\open\command", and redirect to our new WinHelp.exe.

I wrote this script, which works on W10 (32 & 64-bit) or W11. If you have multiple languages installed on Windows, it will copy over all the localized MUI files that match.

pseymour · Apr 12, 2025

Howdy @garlin ... if I run that under PowerShell 7 without admin, it kicks off Windows PowerShell. Not a big deal, but you can [Diagnostics.Process]::GetCurrentProcess().Path to get the current host's path.

garlin · Apr 12, 2025

Thanks. I just wrote this over lunch. Just wanted to see if WinHelp really cared about living under System32 or not.

garlin · Apr 12, 2025

Updated the script with three changes:

1. New command-line argument to allow macros, -AllowMacros
2. New command-line argument to allow intranet access, -AllowIntranet
3. Allow script elevation when running PS 6 or 7

MS wants to remind you enabling macros and intranet access is very dangerous, and part of the reason they removed WinHelp from Windows. /shrug

Skeptic Mike · Apr 13, 2025

Avram said:
The advantage of hlp4win11 method is that it is a single line command that automatically does all the work, and enables proper contextual help (F1) in old applications. The disadvantage is that the hlp4win11 needs to be applied after installing Windows 10 or 11 Feature Update.

That's fair. The reason for adding the Application Compatibility shim is that the F1 help works correctly for each program that you've shimmed. Which is more work. (Also I've never been able to successfully make a Compatability Mode using Win 10 or 11 which would make it simple to apply to multiple programs.)

garlin said:
AFAIK, everyone has followed the exact same procedure by replacing the current Windows files for WinHelp. Which leads to two problems:
- Files are protected by TrustedInstaller (most devs do the takeown & icacls trick, without bothering to restore the original ACL)- Windows will clobber your changes on the next major upgrade

I've often wondered why robocopy /b isn't used to avoid changing the permissions. If you don't change the ownership and permissions you don't have to change them back.

One other point. As far as I can see the difference between the 32 and 64 bit versions of the msu is that the 64 bit version contains 2 copies of each file, which I assume is connected to the file protection system. The executable and dll files are all 32 bit and identical in both versions.

garlin · Apr 13, 2025

The copy method isn't the problem, but the install process has to have TrustedInstaller rights, or otherwise resort to brute force. I've seen some versions of an install script correctly restore the permissions, but it's uncommon. What works vs. what's right can be two different things.

The drawback of overwriting any Windows file with a legacy file is that SFC or DISM repair actions will replace them (as they should). You only replaced files in the Windows folders, but not in WinSxS where the "correct versions" reside. Extracting WinHelp to its own folder bypasses this need. Tampering with WinSxS creates a new problem if you wanted to install future updates.

WinHelp has always been a 32-bit app, given its heritage. I presume the reason for a 64-bit version is to add WOW64 support in the registry.

Opening old help files

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