I too would like to know the format of a help file.
In full binary detail. If anyone knows of an online doc,
I'd appreciate an e-mail.
TIA,
Bengt Richter

: In producing a help file for a Delphi component, I am trying to construct
: an interfile link to the existing Delphi Help files.

: Is it possible to compile a list of Help Topics from compiled help files.

When doing the help topics, you need to add the appropriate keywords
to your help file, and then run keygen (that comes with Delphi) over
the .HPJ file. That generates a .KWF file, and the .KWF file is what
is used to integrate into Delphi (\delphi\bin\delphi.hdx) using HelpInst.

--
"...I'll leave my mind beneath the mat, so you can let yourself in,
if you can stand the mess then stay, but i'm not entertaining..."

On 23 Oct 95 22:24:58 GMT, David Sincock <davi...@adam.com.au> wrote:

There are starting to be programs that decompile help files. The
format of a help file is rather complex. Only one of the help
decompilers that I know of will decompile the context strings, which
is what you need, and that is Help Writer's Assistant. You can find
more information on comp.os.ms-windows.programmer.winhelp.

But, you don't need to decompile the Delphi help files! Delphi's
multi-help library relies on a help index (delph.hdx) that is built
from help keyword files (*.kwf), which contains the most important
context strings for the Delphi help files.  All you need to know is
the format of these files.

I don't have time to go into the full details of these files, but a
keyword file is simply a list of keyword entries. Each entry starts
with a keyword string, followed by a byte, followed by two more
strings: the topic title and the context string. Each string is a
counted string (that is, one byte length, followed by the contents of
the string.)  The list ends with an empty keyword (that is, the length
byte is zero).

You just need to find the topic title that you are interested in, and
then look at its context string.  In you help file, create JumpID
macro to refer to the help file and the context string.
--
Ray Lischner         (li...@tempest-sw.com)
Tempest Software, Corvallis, Oregon, USA

On Fri, 27 Oct 1995 15:41:38 GMT, b...@accessone.com (Bengt Richter)
wrote:

The format is quite complex.  See Dr. Dobb's Journal, October 1993,
for an explanation and some C code to take apart a Win 3.x Help file.
--
Ray Lischner         (li...@tempest-sw.com)
Tempest Software, Corvallis, Oregon, USA

Besides the paperware (DDJ SEP93, OCT93) you can download it from SIMTEL
or look on a SIMTEL CD.