About using video files |
  
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About using video files |
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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.
If you want to make life easy for yourself, use Flash video in CHM files and Flash or online YouTube (or other sharing sites) video in WebHelp. These are currently the most reliable formats, most likely to work for all users. Flash support is almost universal (except in Apple iBooks®, see below). Online video sharing sites like YouTube handle all the compatibility problems for you and reduce the bandwidth load on your own website, which can otherwise be considerable if many people view your videos.
HTML Help |
Use Flash video in CHM. Flash is reliable and is the only format that can be embedded in the CHM file. You can also use YouTube and other online video sharing sites, but this requires online access for viewing. All other formats will cause problems for at least some of your users. CHM theoretically supports all video formats supported by Windows, but in practice you will experience problems with all formats except Flash. |
WebHelp (HTML): |
Supports all media formats supported by the user's browser, but only Flash and embedded YouTube videos can be considered to be really reliable. 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: |
M4V video files are supported in ePub in Apple iBooks on Apple iOS devices. They will not play on the great majority of other devices and software readers. M4V videos must be created in the correct format for iOS devices with Apple QuickTime or a third-party program like the free |
Adobe PDF: |
No support for media files except external links. |
MS Word RTF: |
No support for media files except external links. |
See Conditions and Customized Output for details on creating alternative content for different output formats.
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). Flash videos inserted with the Insert Video tool will be exported to your WebHelp output folder automatically, however.
When you publish your project a list of any files you need to distribute together with your help is displayed in the compiler report if necessary, so always remember to check this!
Videos and other video files always use the associated players to play, even in published 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 or YouTube video. In addition to solving compatibility problems for you, online sharing sites like YouTube have the added advantage of reducing the bandwidth consumption on your own website.
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.
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.
See also:
