Help Always on Top

If a HTML Help file is opened from a .NET application, the default behavior is that the help file stays on top of the application window. This may be undesired in certain cases. To prevent the help window from staying on top of the application window, pass an empty control to the Help.ShowHelp function, for instance:

Help.ShowHelp(new Control(), @"help.chm", HelpNavigator.TableOfContents);

There is no workaround if the help file is opened via the HelpProvider class.

HTML Help Control Issues

A problem with the Microsoft HTML Help Control (hhctrl.ocx) causes Unicode applications (i.e. .NET applications) to work incorrectly when using associative index links. In order to use associative links, you have the following options:

• Use the hhctrl.ocx wrapper provided by MGTEK. This patch is fully transparent and allows you to use associative links with the built-in classes Help, and HelpProvider. To use this patch, copy ‘hhctrl.ocx’ from the directory "C:\Program Files\MGTEK\Help Producer\Redist\hhctrl.ocx" to the private directory that contains you .NET application (side-by-side installation). Do not copy this patch to the Windows system32 directory.
• Do not use any of the built-in classes Help, and HelpProvider. Instead, use the class HtmlHelp from the file HtmlHelp.vb. Unlike the built-in classes found in the .NET Framework, the class provided by MGTEK corrects for the problem in the HTML Help control.

  Note   The class HtmlHelp makes calls to unmanaged code, which requires the appropriate code access security settings (i.e. your application has to be fully trusted). This can be a disadvantage when the application is not fully trusted, hence this issue should be considered before using this class.

See Also

Application Help Provider