Question

hey there,
so, basically i’m trying to get my .chm file to open in a help window when i click on ‘view help’ from the menu bar in a c# windows form. how do i do this? does the .chm need to be in the project’s directory?
i tried using a helpProvider component and setting it’s namespace to the .chm file, but when i run the app, pressing F1 doesn’t bring it up…and i can’t seem to figure out how to get the menu bar to display it.

thanks!
dave k.

Answer 1

HelpProvider gets in the way here, use the Help class. First off, putting the .chm file in the same directory as your EXE is a very good idea. Project > Add Existing Item > select your .chm file so it is added to your project. Select it in the Solution Explorer window, in the Properties window set Build Action = Content, Copy to Output Directory = Copy if newer.

Sample code for your form:

using System.IO;
...

    private void showMyHelp() {
        string path = Path.GetDirectoryName(Application.ExecutablePath);
        path = "file://" + Path.Combine(path, "example.chm");
        Help.ShowHelp(this, path);
    }
    protected override bool ProcessCmdKey(ref Message msg, Keys keyData) {
        if (keyData == Keys.F1) {
            showMyHelp();
            return true;
        }
        return base.ProcessCmdKey(ref msg, keyData);
    }
    private void HelpButton_Click(object sender, EventArgs e) {
        showMyHelp();
    }