Reference > Publishing Formats

This is a proprietary Help & Manual format that combines a viewer and data in one .exe file that will run on any Windows system (Windows 95 and above) without installation, additional files or software. The format is HTML-based and the viewer also provides a navigation structure similar to that of HTML Help and Help & Manual's Webhelp format.

Key Information

Help & Manual eBooks are designed to be self-contained and have a built-in viewer. Use PDF or Word RTF if you want to generate eBooks that can be read on electronic eBook readers.

Features and pros and cons of eBooks:

File extension:	.exe
Format:	A single executable file containing the viewer and all data
Platforms:	All Windows versions (Windows 95 and later)
Typical use:	Online CD ROM catalogs and documentation, stand-alone documentation, kiosk applications, eBooks
Table of contents:	Yes
Keyword index:	Yes
Full text search:	Yes
Context-sensitive help:	No support for context-sensitive help, you cannot make direct calls to specific topics in the help
Popups:	Yes, formatted popups containing formatted text (bold, italics, fonts etc), graphics and hyperlinks to other topics are supported. No support for context-sensitive field-level popups in your applications.
Multimedia:	Flash videos are supported if support for playing Flash is installed on the user's computer. Other video formats are not supported.
Printable by user:	Limited printing function for single topics only
Pros:	Single file format. Look and feel similar to HTML Help (familiar and intuitive navigation). Runs immediately without installation of any additional files on all Windows versions. Password protection is possible. A number of viewer templates are available for different layouts and appearances.
Cons:	Not appropriate for application help because of the lack of context sensitive help support. Cannot be displayed on electronic eBook readers (use PDF or RTF for these devices, check the supported formats for your target devices first).