About Creating an Index File

The index file you create in HTML Help Workshop is an HTML file that uses a site map and can be added to a Web site. If you choose to include it as part of a compiled help (.chm) file, the compiler will compress the site map and create a binary index, which takes up less space.

There are some important differences between binary and site map index files that can help you decide which type you want to use.

Notes

  • If you are designing a help system using the Help Viewer, adding an index file to your help project will also create the Index tab in the left pane of the Help Viewer after the project is compiled.
  • If you are designing for a Web site or your own frameset, make sure you add the HTML Help ActiveX control to the appropriate files and specify a default frame to display your index file.

Create an Index