Compiling Your Help Files from Within the Visual C++ Environment

For this option to work, the executable files called by the custom build rules on the .hpj, .cnt and resource.h files must be in a directory listed in the Directories tab of the Options dialog box. (Click Options from the Tools menu.) By default, these files are installed to the \BIN directory of your Visual C++ installation and included in the Options dialog box, so unless you modify either of the default settings, your Help compilation will be a completely transparent part of building your project files.

To compile your Help files from within the development environment

  1. Open FileView and expand the Source Files folder.

  2. Select your help project (.HPJ) file. (You needn’t open the file; but it must remain selected while you perform the next step.)

  3. From the Build menu, click Compile HelpApp.hpj.

    This invokes the custom build rules on the .hpj, .cnt and resource.h files, which in turn calls the following two programs:

    • MAKEHM.EXE, a program that incorporates your context-sensitive topic IDs

    • The Windows Help Compiler, which builds your .HLP file