Reference > Project Content > Graphics, Videos and OLE Objects

Video files used in Help & Manual and the output formats it generates are always handled by the associated players and codecs, not by Help & Manual itself. These players and the necessary codecs for the specific formats must be properly installed, both on your computer for editing and on the user's computer for viewing. Because of this a number of restrictions apply that you should be aware of before using video files in your projects.

Use Flash video

If you want to make life easy for yourself, use Flash video. This is the only format that always works on all platforms and it has the added advantage that Flash video files are embedded in HTML Help CHM files and Windows Exe eBooks, so that you don't have to distribute additional files. All other video formats will generally fail to play on at least some users' computers.

Note: ePub eBooks do not support any video, audio or multimedia formats.

Support for media files in output formats:

Classic Winhelp (HLP)	Winhelp support for media files is extremely limited. Winhelp only supports Microsoft Media Player objects, which are restricted to AVI files without sound. Flash videos are not supported.
HTML Help (CHM)	Supports all video formats supported by Windows. Whether the formats are playable on the user's computer depends on installation of the associated players and codecs on the user's computer (see below).
Webhelp (HTML):	Supports all media formats supported by the user's browser. Whether the formats are playable on the user's computer depends on installation of the associated codecs and players (see below).
Windows Exe eBooks (EXE):	Flash animations are supported and are embedded in the eBook .exe file. Other video formats are not supported.
ePub eBooks:	No support for media files
Adobe PDF:	No support for media files
MS Word RTF:	No support for media files

See Conditions and Customized Output for details on creating alternative content for different output formats.

Embedding video files:

Flash videos are embedded in HTML Help (CHM) files and Windows Exe eBooks. All other video files must be distributed with your help as separate files, including Flash animation files when used in Webhelp (HTML). When you compile your project a list of the files you need to distribute with your help is always displayed in the compiler window, so always remember to check this!

Important warnings and restrictions for video files:

Players and codecs are required on the target system

Videos and other video files always use the associated players to play, even in compiled help files. This means that they will only play in your help file on the user's computer if the user has the correct player and/or video codecs installed.

If you want to be absolutely certain that your video files will play on the maximum number of users' computers it is best to use Flash video. This is now the de facto standard and will work on all systems.

Functionality in Help & Manual also depends on the players

How and whether the preview function works in Help & Manual also depends on the player installation on your computer. If the necessary players or codecs are not available or not installed properly the preview function will not work.

You may need administrator rights to run the preview function

On some systems you need to be working in a Windows account with full administrator rights to use the movie preview function. If the function doesn't work and you know that the correct player is installed try switching to a full administrator account.