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 or mobile device for viewing. Because of this a number of restrictions apply that you should be aware of before using video files in your projects.
Basically, only MP4 and online video sharing sites are reliable
For reliable video, use only MP4 video or online video sharing sites for video in your Help+Manual projects. All other video formats will cause problems.
MP4 will be generally compatible provided you encode it with a standard profile using H.264 for video and MP3 or AAC for the audio. 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.
Adobe Flash discontinued:
Adobe Flash has now been discontinued worldwide and on all platforms, among other things because of its horrendous security performance. Existing Flash videos in projects will still work on platforms that have Flash installed but you can no longer add new Flash content. We strongly recommend that you remove all Flash content.
Support for media files in output formats:
HTML Help |
Use online video services in CHM. Help+Manual handles this so that the online site is only accessed when the user actually clicks on the preview image to start the video. Local video formats will always cause problems in CHM files for at least some of your users and should be avoided. |
WebHelp (HTML): |
Supports all media formats supported by the user's browser, but only MP4 and online video services can now be considered to be really reliable. Flash has been discontinued worldwide on all platforms and Flash content should now be removed from all projects. |
eWriter Help: |
Same video support as in WebHelp. |
ePUB eBooks: |
M4V video files encoded with an Apple profile for the iPad or iPhone 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 Dynamic HelpXplain presentations are supported in some ePUB readers but you shouldn't depend on it. Only use HelpXplain presentations in ePUB if you are certain that your users will have an appropriate reader. |
Kindle eBooks: |
No support for video. |
Adobe PDF: |
No support for video files except external links. |
MS Word DOCX: |
No support for video files except external links. |
See Conditions and Customized Output for details on creating alternative content for different output formats.
Embedding video files:
Since the termination of Flash support, Microsoft CHM files no longer support embedding for any video formats. MP4 video files can be embedded in eWriter Help. All other video files must be distributed with your help as separate files.
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!
The video preview function in Help+Manual
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.
See also:
