By David W. Methvin

Two years ago, help files were hot. It seemed they'd become the de facto hypertext standard. Then came the Web. Now, HTML is king.

Blue Sky's Help-to-HTML Kit lets sidetracked help file authors get back on the main highway. Two utilities come in the kit: the RoboHelp HTML Plug-in generates HTML files from a RoboHelp document in Microsoft Word 95, and the Help-to-HTML Converter converts WinHelp files directly to HTML without the need for original document sources. The HTML Plug-in utility is also bundled as part of Blue Sky's RoboHelp 95 HTML Edition and WinHelp Office 95 HTML Edition.

Help-to-HTML does a workmanlike job of converting a WinHelp file to HTML. It converts each help file topic to a separate HTML file and resolves links between topics into HTML hyperlinks. The program also converts graphics to .GIF format and references them. To create a home page, it uses the contents (.CNT) file, employing a hierarchical view that resembles the layout of the WinHelp Contents tab. Help-to-HTML notes unsupported Help features in an exceptions file so you can make a manual correction.

Help-to-HTML supports only the most plain-vanilla HTML 2.0 features. For example, it doesn't convert font colors. The program also does not convert Help file tables to flexible HTML tables, but instead renders them with a monospaced (Courier) font and hard spaces. Since people who aren't HTML-savvy may be using the converter, it should at least offer an option to generate better HTML code.

If you want to design a common style for your HTML pages that includes a background bitmap, navigational heading or your company logo, you'll have to edit the dozens or hundreds of files the converter generates. Despite its drawbacks, Help-to-HTML is the only product of its type, and it works well enough that it's still a time-saver.