Redistributing Help Files

Once your Help files are built and tested, you must consider how to distribute them to users. Compiled Help (.HxS) files must be registered on an end user's computer before they can be viewed, searched, linked to, or otherwise used. When an .HxS file is registered, it is associated with a Help namespace, which functions as a virtual directory to keep track of the physical location of files and enable access through the ms-help protocol. For more information, see Help File Registration.

To correctly install and register Help files on a user's computer, you must follow these steps:

1. Add all Help files to the Windows Installer (.MSI) file for your project. For details, see Adding Help Files to a Windows Installer Package.

2. Edit MSHelp2_RegTables__RTL_---_---.msm, adding unique information about your Help files. For details, see Editing the Help Registration Merge Module.

3. Consume a set of files into the .MSI file for your project. For details, see Consuming Help Registration Merge Modules.

   Note

   Although this process focuses on a Windows Installer project, it is also applicable to any project that supports Windows Installer files.

In This Section

• Help File Registration
  Documents the following scenarios for how Help files can be registered on a target computer: by single .HxS file, multiple .HxS files, or plug-in namespaces.

• Collection-Level File Overview
  Discusses the different files that are required when you plug one registered namespace into another.

• Adding Help Files to a Windows Installer Package
  Explains which Help files should be added to an installer project (.MSI) in order to be installed on an end user's computer.

• Editing the Help Registration Merge Module
  Contains the necessary information to modify MSHelp2_RegTables__RTL_---_ ---.msm, so that your Help files are correctly registered at installation time.

• Consuming Help Registration Merge Modules
  Documents the set of merge module (.MSM) files provided with Microsoft Help 2, which encapsulate the files required to install Microsoft Help collections.

Related Sections

• Microsoft Help Integration
  Contains information how to deploy and register your Help content with the Visual Studio Help collection.

Change History

Date	History	Reason
July 2008	Updated In This Section to reflect TOC changes.	Information enhancement.