Microsoft KB Archive/917607

= The Windows Help (WinHlp32.exe) program is no longer included in Windows operating systems starting with Windows Vista =

Article ID: 917607

Article Last Modified on 9/12/2007

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APPLIES TO


 * Windows Vista Home Basic
 * Windows Vista Home Premium
 * Windows Vista Enterprise
 * Windows Vista Business
 * Windows Vista Ultimate
 * Windows Vista Starter
 * Windows Vista Business 64-bit Edition
 * Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit Edition
 * Windows Vista Home Basic 64-bit Edition
 * Windows Vista Ultimate 64-bit Edition
 * Windows Vista Enterprise 64-bit Edition

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INTRODUCTION
Windows Help (WinHlp32.exe) is a Help program that has been included in Microsoft Windows since Microsoft Windows 3.1. WinHlp32.exe is required for users who want to view 32-bit Help files that have the .hlp file name extension.

However, this Windows Help program has not had a major update for many Windows releases, and it no longer meets Microsoft standards. Therefore, starting with Windows Vista, Microsoft has decided that it will no longer include this Windows Help program as a component of Windows. Also, third-party programs that include .hlp files are no longer allowed to redistribute this Windows Help program.

Users who want to view 32-bit .hlp files in Windows Vista or in a future Windows release must now download WinHlp32.exe from the Microsoft Download Center, and then install it on their computers. To do this, users should visit the following Microsoft Web site:

http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=82148



More information for advanced users
Important This article contains information that shows you how to help lower security settings or how to turn off security features on a computer. You can make these changes to work around a specific problem. Before you make these changes, we recommend that you evaluate the risks that are associated with implementing this workaround in your particular environment. If you implement this workaround, take any appropriate additional steps to help protect the computer.

Important This article contains information about how to modify the registry. Make sure that you back up the registry before you modify it. Make sure that you know how to restore the registry if a problem occurs. For more information about how to back up, restore, and modify the registry, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

322756 How to back up and restore the registry in Windows XP and Windows Vista

Note for Help content providers who are shipping .hlp files
The WinHlp32.exe technology is officially obsolete, starting with the Windows Vista release. The WinHlp32.exe technology will not be supported in its current form in future Windows releases. Therefore, we strongly recommend that software developers do not use this Windows Help program any longer in Windows Vista. Software developers who ship programs that rely on .hlp files are encouraged to transition their Help system to an alternative Help file format, such as .chm, .html, or .xml. They will also have to change their calls from the WinHelp API to the new content source. Several third-party tools are available to help software developers convert Help content from one format to the other format.

Windows Vista does still support WinHelp.exe for 16-bit .hlp files
The WinHelp.exe program is a version of Windows Help for 16-bit .hlp files. The WinHelp.exe program is still included in Windows Vista.

Known issues
The following list shows the known functionality regressions from previous releases of WinHlp32.exe.  Macros are disabled

By default, the following macros are disabled in Windows Help for Windows Vista:  ExecFile RegisterRoutine ShellExecute ShortCut Generate Test</li> ExecProgram</li></ul>

However, all other macros in .hlp files will function as in past releases. Therefore, if an .hlp file that depends on these macros is opened after you install Windows Help for Windows Vista, some functionality for the file may not function correctly. Users will also receive the following error message:

There was a problem running the macro. (1037)

Users who require these macros can turn them on by using the group policies workaround or the registry workaround that is described in the &quot;Registry entries and group policies&quot; section.</li> Cannot access .hlp files that are stored on intranet sites

By default, you cannot use WinHlp32.exe to access .hlp files that are stored on intranet sites. If users try to open a remote file, they will receive the following error message:

Cannot display this help file. Try opening the help file again, and if you still get this message, copy the help file to a different drive, and try again.

Users who require access to .hlp files that are stored on intranet sites can unblock them by using the group policies workaround or registry workaround that is described in the &quot;Registry entries and group policies&quot; section.</li> Noninteractive user access has been blocked

Access has been blocked to .hlp files by noninteractive users such as system processes. The user does not receive an error message when this error is encountered.</li> Drag-and-drop functionality has been disabled

Support for drag-and-drop functionality in the application has been disabled. The user does not receive an error message when this error is encountered.</li> Dependencies on “How to Use Help” files

The Help files that are titled “How to Use Help” were removed from Windows Vista. The following is the list of files that were removed: <ul> Windows.hlp</li> Winhlp32.hlp</li> Winhlp32.cnt</li> Winhelp.cnt</li> Nocntnt.cnt</li></ul>

The .hlp files that depend on these files may return an error when users try to open them. These files will be available in the future from the Microsoft download center to address compatibility issues.</li></ul>

How to address application-compatibility issues that are related to Windows Help (WinHlp32.exe) in Windows Vista
You can use the Windows Help for Windows Vista download that is mentioned in the &quot;Introduction&quot; section to view 32-bit Help files. This release provides group policies and registry subkeys that you can use to work around application-compatibility issues. For example, the group policies and registry subkeys can be used to resolve issues that are related to macros in .hlp files and to access .hlp files that are stored on intranet sites. However, if users view Help files from an unknown source, the computer will be put at more risk if they enable these policies or these settings. Therefore, you should use caution when you decide whether to implement the application-compatibility workarounds that are described in this section.

Use the following questions to help you decide whether to install WinHlp32.exe and which policy changes and registry changes to make.
 * Do you have to have the applications and the functionality that are affected by the removal of WinHlp32.exe in Vista?
 * How many applications require WinHlp32.exe? How many applications are affected by the functionality changes? How important are these applications?
 * How severe is the malfunction that is caused by the changes?
 * What are your security requirements and security capabilities?
 * Which is more important, that you can use the WinHlp32.exe functionality or that you make sure that your security is as strong as possible?
 * Do external security measures, such as a local or a corporate firewall, give you sufficient confidence that you can install WinHlp32.exe and make the policy changes or the registry changes that are described in this article?
 * Does your organization deliver content in the .hlp format?
 * Can you modify the program or the contents so that they do not have to use WinHlp32.exe functionality? For example, can you convert the help content that is currently in the .hlp format to an alternative file format such as .chm, .html or .xml?
 * Does your organization store .hlp files on the intranet? Could you install these files locally instead of on the intranet?

Registry entries and group policies
Warning This workaround may make a computer or a network more vulnerable to attack by malicious users or by malicious software such as viruses. We do not recommend this workaround but are providing this information so that you can implement this workaround at your own discretion. Use this workaround at your own risk.

Warning Serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly by using Registry Editor or by using another method. These problems might require that you reinstall the operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that these problems can be solved. Modify the registry at your own risk.

Warning This article offers information about how to work around issues that are caused by changes in this release of Windows Help. However, Microsoft makes no specific recommendations about which registry keys and which values are right for your organization. Your IT department is the best judge of how to weigh the advantages of these workarounds against the risks of using them. The safer course is to use no registry workarounds at all.

The WinHlp32.exe download provides group policies and registry entries to work around two known issues in this release of Windows Help. By using the following group policies or registry entries, network administrators and individual users can re-enable macros and unblock .hlp files that are stored on intranet sites. Two group policies, a local computer Group Policy setting and a current user Group Policy setting, are provided as a work around for each feature. You can also use a user registry setting to manage each feature.

For each feature, precedence is given in this order:
 * 1) Local computer Group Policy
 * 2) Current user Group Policy
 * 3) User registry setting

If a policy has not been set for a feature, and the user registry setting for the feature has not been set, the features will behave as described in the &quot;Known issues&quot; section. <ul> How to enable macros

Network administrators can use the Allow programmatic macros in WinHlp32.exe policy to turn on or to turn off macros in .hlp files. Administrators can use the Group Policy Management Console (GPMC) to manage this Group Policy setting. For more information about Group Policy, see the &quot;References&quot; section.

If neither the Local computer Group Policy nor the Current user Group Policy for this feature has been set, users can modify the user registry setting for this feature to turn on or to turn off macros in .hlp files. To change this setting, users must first add the following new subkey to the registry:

Then, users must add a DWORD value that is named AllowProgrammaticMacros to this subkey. If the value for AllowProgrammaticMacros is set to 1, the macros will be turned on. If the value is set to 0, the macros will be turned off. If this registry value does not exist, the macros will be turned off.</li> How to unblock .hlp files that are stored on the intranet

Network administrators can use the Allow WinHlp32.exe to access .hlp files stored on intranet sites policy setting to unblock .hlp files that are stored on the intranet. Administrators can use the GPCM to manage this Group Policy setting. For more information about Group Policy, see the &quot;References&quot; section.

If neither Group Policy for this feature has been set, users can modify the user registry setting for this feature to block or to unblock .hlp files that are stored on intranet sites. To change this setting, users must first add the following new subkey to the registry:

Then, users must add a DWORD value that is named AllowIntranetAccess to this subkey. If the value for AllowIntranetAccess is set to 1, the .hlp files that are stored on intranet sites will be available. If the value is set to 0, the .hlp files that are stored on intranet sites will be blocked. If this registry value does not exist, the .hlp files that are stored on intranet sites will be blocked.</li></ul>

Keywords: kbinfo kbtshoot kbhelp kbexpertisebeginner kbresolve KB917607

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