- Read CHM comes with intuitive tab view reading, sidebars and bookmark management tools. Features: 1) Sidebar to show CHM file Contents, Index and Search results. 2) Search in file or index.
- ICHMis an completely free and functional CHM reader for MAC that has the ability to search, tab browse files, navigate instantly and export CHM to PDF format without too much of fuss. You can directly download iCHM reader from here 2.
- For Mac OS X 10.10 or later. This computer will no longer receive Google Chrome updates because Mac OS X 10.6 - 10.9 are no longer supported. This computer will no longer receive Google Chrome.
Filename extension | |
---|---|
Internet media type | application/vnd.ms-htmlhelp[1] |
Developed by | Microsoft |
Initial release | 1997 |
Latest release | |
Extended to | .lit |
Developer(s) | Microsoft |
---|---|
Operating system | Microsoft Windows |
Predecessor | Microsoft WinHelp |
Successor | Microsoft Help 2 |
Type | Help system |
ChmPlus Reader (CHM+ Reader) is a feature-rich CHM (Microsoft Compiled HTML Help) document / ebook reader for iPad, iPhone and iPod touch. ChmPlus Reader is currently the best CHM reader available for iOS. ChmPlus Reader is now also available for Mac! (search for 'chmplus' on the Mac App Stor. Trusted Mac download Read CHM 1.6. Virus-free and 100% clean download. Get Read CHM alternative downloads.
Microsoft Compiled HTML Help is a Microsoft proprietary online help format, consisting of a collection of HTML pages, an index and other navigation tools. The files are compressed and deployed in a binary format with the extension .CHM, for Compiled HTML. The format is often used for software documentation.
It was introduced as the successor to Microsoft WinHelp with the release of Windows 98 and is still supported in Windows 10. Although the format was designed by Microsoft, it has been successfully reverse-engineered and is now supported in many document viewer applications.
History[edit]
Month | Year | Description |
---|---|---|
February | 1996 | Microsoft announces plans to stop development of WinHelp and start development on HTML Help. |
August | 1997 | HTML Help 1.0 (HH 1.0) is released with Internet Explorer 4. |
February | 1998 | HTML Help 1.1a ships with Windows 98. |
January | 2000 | HTML Help 1.3 ships with Windows 2000. |
July | HTML Help 1.32 releases with Internet Explorer 5.5 and Windows Me. | |
October | 2001 | HTML Help 1.33 releases with Internet Explorer 6 and Windows XP. |
March | At the WritersUA (formerly WinWriters) conference, Microsoft announces plans for a new help platform, Help 2, which is also HTML based. | |
January | 2003 | Microsoft decides not to release Microsoft Help 2 as a general Help platform. |
Microsoft has announced that they do not intend to add any new features to HTML Help.[3]
File format[edit]
Help is delivered as a binary file with the .chm extension. It contains a set of HTML files, a hyperlinked table of contents, and an index file. The file format has been reverse-engineered and documentation of it is freely available.[4][5]
The file starts with bytes 'ITSF' (in ASCII), for 'Info-Tech Storage Format'.[why?]
CHM files support the following features:
- Data compression (using LZX)
- Built-in search engine
- Ability to merge multiple .chm help files
- Extended character support, although it does not fully support Unicode.[6]
Use in Windows applications[edit]
The Microsoft Reader's .lit file format is a modification of the HTML Help CHM format. CHM files are sometimes used for e-books.[7]
Sumatra PDF supports viewing CHM documents since version 1.9.
Various applications, such as HTML Help Workshop and 7-Zip can decompile CHM files. The hh.exe utility on Windows and the extract_chmLib utility (a component of chmlib) on Linux can also decompile CHM files.
Microsoft's HTML Help Workshop and Compiler generate CHM files by instructions stored in a HTML Help project. The file name of such a project has the extension .HHP and the file is just a text with the INI file format.[8]
The Free Pascal project has a compiler (chmcmd) that can create CHM files in a multiplatform way.
Use in non-Windows applications[edit]
Read support:
- GTK: GnoCHM on SourceForge.net, CHMsee, chmviewkit
- Qt: Okular, kchmviewer, KCHM on SourceForge.net
- Java: CHMPane on SourceForge.net
- iOS: CHMate Neue, iChm, ChmPlus, ReadCHM
- Android: KingReader[permanent dead link], Chm Reader, iReader
- Mac OS X: iChm(Discontinued), ChmPlus(Discontinued), CHMox(PowerPC apps no longer supported), ArCHMock(Discontinued), CHM to EPUB(Discontinued), Clearview Reader
- Other / multiple: xCHM, arCHMage on SourceForge.net, DisplayCHM,<ref>Displaychm
- Amiga: libmspack on Aminet
Read/write support:
- Lazarus (IDE)/Free Pascal (for a doxygen like tool, a separate commandlinecompiler in 2.6.0+, and a simple viewer in Lazarus)
See also[edit]
The Wikibook Windows Programming has a page on the topic of: Compiled HTML Help |
References[edit]
- ^Techtonik, Anatoly (11 April 2006). 'application/vnd.ms-htmlhelp'. Retrieved 7 March 2012.
- ^'Microsoft HTML Help 1.4'. Windows Dev Center. Microsoft. Retrieved 10 January 2017.
- ^'Microsoft HTML Help Downloads'. Microsoft. Retrieved 6 March 2012.
- ^Wise, Paul; Wing, Jed (2005). 'Unofficial (Preliminary) HTML Help Specification'. Retrieved 15 August 2012.
- ^Palade, Alexandru (2005). 'Archive::Chm'. Retrieved 22 July 2014.
- ^'INFO: Limited Unicode Support in HTML Help'. Microsoft. 11 April 2001. Archived from the original on 13 March 2016. Retrieved 17 March 2012.
- ^Title Handbook of Data CompressionAuthors David Salomon, Giovanni Motta, David (CON) BryantEdition 5, illustratedPublisher Springer, 2009ISBN1-84882-902-7, ISBN978-1-84882-902-2Length 1359 pages
- ^Wise, Paul; Wing, Jed (2005). 'Unofficial (Preliminary) HTML Help Specification INI formats'. Retrieved 1 February 2018.
External links[edit]
- Microsoft Help 2 Reference (part of Visual Studio SDK for VS7.1 and VS8.0)
- Unofficial (Preliminary) HTML Help Specification (the linked ITSF specification has been moved to the Russotto.net domain)
Retrieved from 'https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Microsoft_Compiled_HTML_Help&oldid=968580125'
CHM is an extension for the Compiled HTML file format, most commonly used by Microsoft¡¯s HTML-based help program. It may contain many compressed HTML documents and the images and JavaScript they link to. CHM features include a table of contents, index, and full text searching.
Microsoft Compiled HTML Help is a Microsoft proprietary online help format, consisting of a collection of HTML pages, an index and other navigation tools. The files are compressed and deployed in a binary format with the extension .CHM, for Compiled HTML. The format is often used for software documentation.
It was introduced as the successor to Microsoft WinHelp with the release of Windows 98 and is still supported in Windows 7. Although the format was designed by Microsoft, it has been successfully reverse-engineered and is now supported in many document viewer applications.
Help is delivered as a binary file with the .chm extension. It contains a set of HTML files, a hyperlinked table of contents, and an index file. The file format has been reverse-engineered and documentation of it is freely available.
The file starts with bytes 'ITSF' (in ASCII), for 'Info-Tech Storage Format'.
CHM files support the following features:
- Data compression (with LZX compression)
- Built-in search engine
- Ability to merge multiple .chm help files
- Extended character support, although it does not fully support Unicode.
Open/Extract CHM File on Windows
Open/View CHM File on Windows:
You can simply double-click on CHM file to view CHM by Windows built-in CHM viewer program. There are also third-part freeware that open CHM file. For example:
- CHM Viewer
- Sumatra PDF
- XCHM
- FBReader
Extract/Decompile CHM File on Windows:
Easy 7-Zip extracts/decompiles CHM file easily on Windows. The Easy 7-Zip was developed based on 7-Zip. 7-Zip is a famous open source file archiver. The Easy 7-Zip is an easy-to-use version of 7-Zip. The open source freeware keeps all features of 7-Zip and adds a few useful features that makes the software more user-friendly.
Easy 7-Zip works on Windows 10/8.1/8/7/Vista/2008/2003/XP/2000 (both 32-bit and 64-bit compatible).
- Free Download Easy 7-Zip
- Install Easy 7-Zip by step-by-step instructions
- Open CHM file with Easy 7-Zip
You will see files or folders within the CHM file then, click button Extract to extract the CHM file. - Alternatively, Right-click on CHM file on Windows Explorer
- Done
And then, choose Extract files..., Extract Here, or Extract to 'folder' to extract the CHM file.
Easy 7-Zip Download Links:
You can try other alternative freeware that extracts/decompiles CHM file on Windows. For example:
- PeaZip
- B1 Free Archiver
- Zipeg
- Universal Extractor
- Bitser
Open/Extract CHM File on Mac
Open/View CHM File on Mac:
You need to install CHM viewer software to view CHM on Mac. You can choose one or more the following CHM viewer freeware.
- XCHM
- FBReader
- Apple Safari
- Mozilla Firefox
Extract/Decompile CHM File on Mac:
B1 Free Archiver extracts/decompiles CHM file on Mac. B1 Free Archiver is a free software for creating archive folder and extracting archive file. B1 Archiver works on all platforms - Windows, Linux, Mac and Android. The freeware supports most popular formats including CHM.
B1 Free Archiver is compatible with:
- Mac OS X 10.9 Mavericks
- Mac OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion
- Mac OS X 10.7 Lion
- Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard
Open/Extract CHM File on Linux
Open/View CHM File on Linux:
You need to install CHM viewer software.
Desktop | CHM Viewer Software |
GNOME | gnochm or chmsee |
KDE | kchmviewer |
Another software is xchm.
Convert CHM to PDF on Linux:
Open Chm File On Mac
You need to install conversion utility chm2pdf.
Install chm2pdf on CentOS and Fedora
# yum install chm2pdf |
Chm Viewer Mac
Install chm2pdf on Debian and Ubuntu
Chm Files
# apt-get install chm2pdf |
Convert CHM to PDF on Linux
$ chm2pdf input.chm output.pdf |
Extract/Decompile CHM File on Linux:
You need to install libchm-bin.
Install cabextract on Debian and Ubuntu
# apt-get install libchm-bin |
Extract/Decompile a CHM file, type:
$ extract_chmLib book.chm output_dir |
You can also use p7zip to decompile CHM file, just install p7zip-full, and then use command 7z to extract file from CHM file.
$ 7z x book.chm |