Excel: "Custom Help File Conversion Utility" Application Note

Last reviewed: October 6, 1997
Article ID: Q69499

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Excel for Windows, versions 2.0, 2.1, 3.0

The Application Note "Microsoft Excel Custom Help File Conversion Utility" (WE0404) is now available from Microsoft Product Support Services. The disk that comes with this Application Note contains the Custom Help File Conversion Utility. If you've created custom Help files in Microsoft Excel version 2.0 or 2.1 for Windows, you can use the Microsoft Excel Custom Help File Conversion Utility to convert your text files to Help-format files so they can be accessed by Microsoft Excel 3.0.

You can obtain this Application Note from the following sources:

Microsoft's World Wide Web Site on the Internet
The Internet (Microsoft anonymous ftp server)
The Microsoft Network (MSN)
Microsoft Download Service (MSDL)
Microsoft FastTips Technical Library
Microsoft Product Support Services

For complete information, see the "To Obtain This Application Note" section at the end of this article.

THE TEXT OF WE0404

         MICROSOFT EXCEL CUSTOM HELP FILE CONVERSION UTILITY

                                                                  02/91
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| INFORMATION PROVIDED IN THIS DOCUMENT AND ANY SOFTWARE THAT MAY    |
| ACCOMPANY THIS DOCUMENT (collectively referred to as an            |
| Application Note) IS PROVIDED "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY      |
| KIND, EITHER EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO    |
| THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND/OR FITNESS FOR A     |
| PARTICULAR PURPOSE. The user assumes the entire risk as to the     |
| accuracy and the use of this Application Note. This Application    |
| Note may be copied and distributed subject to the following        |
| conditions: 1) All text must be copied without modification and    |
| all pages must be included; 2) If software is included, all files  |
| on the disk(s) must be copied without modification (the DOS        |
| utility DISKCOPY is appropriate for this purpose); 3) All          |
| components of this Application Note must be distributed together;  |
| and 4) This Application Note may not be distributed for profit.    |
|                                                                    |
| Copyright 1990 Microsoft Corporation. All Rights Reserved.         |
| Microsoft and the Microsoft logo are registered trademarks of      |
| Microsoft Corporation.                                             |
 --------------------------------------------------------------------

(Please copy and distribute this utility as per the guidelines, stated above.)

Background

Microsoft Excel version 3.00 for Windows no longer offers internal support for the use of custom Help files in the text (ASCII) format. Instead, Microsoft Excel 3.00 for Windows uses the Windows 3.00 Help engine for custom Help. The Windows 3.00 Help engine requires Help files in the Help-file format.

By using the Windows 3.00 Help engine, you can create powerful custom Help for your Microsoft Excel applications. You can set jump topics and glossary items and take advantage of the Help-window interface. It is recommended that you use the Windows 3.00 Software Development Kit (SDK) for extensive Help file development.

About This Utility

If you've created custom Help files in Microsoft Excel version 2.00 or 2.10 for Windows, you can use the Microsoft Excel Custom Help File Conversion Utility to convert your text files into Help-format files so they can be accessed by Microsoft Excel 3.00.

This utility consists of two files: HELPCONV.EXE and HC.EXE. HELPCONV.EXE is the conversion utility. HC.EXE is the Help compiler, which is needed for the conversion process (HC.EXE is also available in the Windows 3.00 SDK).

To convert a text-format file to a Help-format file, run HELPCONV.EXE. This program converts the text file to a rich text format (.RTF) file and creates a Help project (.HPJ) file. Then HELPCONV.EXE calls HC.EXE, which uses the .HPJ file to compile the .RTF file into a Help- format file. The Help-format file is given the name of your original text-format file, and your original text file is saved with the extension .BAK. The intermediate files are deleted.

To Run This Utility

You can run the Microsoft Excel Custom Help File Conversion Utility from the DOS prompt, or you can choose Run from the File menu in the Program Manager. If you want to run the program from the DOS prompt, make sure you have set a path to HELPCONV.EXE and HC.EXE, or that the files reside in the current directory.

The form of the DOS command is as follows

  HELPCONV <filename> [/T "help_title_text"] [/U] [/L] [/D]

where

  [ ] indicates an optional parameter

Please note that there is a space between each parameter on the command line and that you should include the drive and pathname of HELPCONV.EXE if you are running the command from the Program Manager.

Parameter             Description
---------             -----------

<filename>            The DOS filename, including extension, of the
                      text-format file you want to convert

/T "help_title_text" Required to insert the Help-window title (will

                      default to "Excel Macro" if no  entry is made)

/U                    An optional switch to prevent HC.EXE from being
                      executed

/L                    An optional switch to prevent deletion of
                      intermediate .RTF and .HPJ files

/D                    An optional switch to delete the .BAK file when
                      finished

For example, assume you want to convert the Excel 2.10 Help file "MACROHLP.TXT", and you want to delete the .BAK file when finished. The command line should appear as follows:

   HELPCONV MACROHLP.TXT /T "Sample Macro" /D

In this example, you will have a Help-format file with the title "Sample Macro" and with the same name as your original text-format file; thus, you will not need to make any changes to your macro sheet.

TO OBTAIN THIS APPLICATION NOTE

The following file(s) are available for download from the Microsoft Software Library:

 ~ WE0404.EXE (size: 126017 bytes)

For more information about downloading files from the Microsoft Software Library, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

   ARTICLE-ID: Q119591
   TITLE     : How to Obtain Microsoft Support Files from Online Services

If you are unable to access the source(s) listed above, you can have this Application Note mailed or faxed to you by calling Microsoft Product Support Services Monday through Friday, 6:00 A.M. to 6:00 P.M. Pacific time at (425) 635-7070. If you are outside the United States, contact the Microsoft subsidiary for your area. To locate your subsidiary, see the Microsoft World Wide Offices Web site at:

   http://www.microsoft.com/worldwide/default.htm

Additional query words: 3.0 3.00 2.00 2.10 xl helpfile online on-line
on line
Keywords : kbappnote kbfile kbprg
Version : 2.00 2.10 3.00
Platform : WINDOWS

THE INFORMATION PROVIDED IN THE MICROSOFT KNOWLEDGE BASE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND. MICROSOFT DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. IN NO EVENT SHALL MICROSOFT CORPORATION OR ITS SUPPLIERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES WHATSOEVER INCLUDING DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, LOSS OF BUSINESS PROFITS OR SPECIAL DAMAGES, EVEN IF MICROSOFT CORPORATION OR ITS SUPPLIERS HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. SOME STATES DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OR LIMITATION OF LIABILITY FOR CONSEQUENTIAL OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES SO THE FOREGOING LIMITATION MAY NOT APPLY.

Last reviewed: October 6, 1997
© 1998 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Terms of Use.