TLWHView alpha

[TimoVJL]

TLWHView is a Windows Help Viewer (HV2).

Usage:
Create folder like C:\temp\MSDN\
Download help cabs with URLDownloadToFile.exe to folder C:\temp\MSDN\
Download help cabs with DownloadCabs.exe to folder C:\temp\MSDN\
Unpack cabs with UnpackCabs.exe to folder C:\temp\MSDN\msh
Index .mshc files with WHelpIdxCreate.exe msh\
Modify TLWHView[64].ini lines
Path=C:\temp\MSDN\msh\
PathIdx=C:\temp\MSDN\TLWHView

After that viewer might work, as it needs indexes for F1 keywords.
It is not a general viewer for help files.

Program uses:
BrowserApp to view html
TinyCDB for indexes
miniz for zip handling

Indexing program come with source, so someone can clean code, like miniz unused code.

EDIT 2017-12-12: TLWHViewPrjBin_a4.zip, PathIdx for location for index files.
New option PathIdx in TLWHView.ini/TLWHView64.ini

Code Select Expand

[mshc]
Path=C:\temp\MSDN\msh\
PathIdx=C:\temp\MSDN\TLWHView
notice that basename for index files, in example TLWHView

EDIT 2017-12-17: TLWHViewPrjBin_a7.zip speed optimized version.

Code Select Expand

@REM DoIt.cmd
URLDownloadToFile.exe
UnpackCabs.exe
WHelpIdxCreate.exe "%~dp0msh\"
pause

Test.cmd

Code Select Expand

@REM Test.cmd
@ECHO [mshc] >TLWHView.ini
@ECHO Path=%~dp0msh >>TLWHView.ini
@ECHO PathIdx=%~dp0TLWHView >>TLWHView.ini
TLWHView.exe /Sleep
pause

EDIT 2017-12-19: New downloader in WHelpTools.zip.
EDIT 2017-12-29: TLWHViewPrjBin_a9.zip
EDIT 2018-01-12: TLWHViewPrjBin_a10.zip fix for WHelpIndexCreate.
EDIT 2018-10-07: TLWHView-2018-10-07_bin.zip fix some UTF8 issues.

[frankie]

Great 
The only point to handle better is how add search for helps (not handwritten list) and search for updates 

[TimoVJL]

Viewer use commandline option / for F1 keyword to search using index file.
For example /MessageBox locates info for it.

For my tests i start viewer with index files and after that i use F1 in poide.

I haven't decided where is the best place for index-files
Perhaps an option in ini-file 

EDIT: WHelpIdxSQLite3.zip , an example for creating SQLite3 database from keywords.

[frankie]

Timo I meant how get the list of available help files from MS servers (the list that you put in the file "URLDownloadToFile.ini")..
When you open MS HlpView on the manage contents tab, it shows all help books downloaded and those availeble on MS servers.

[frankie]

Found  .
Accessing the catalogs base https://services.mtps.microsoft.com/ServiceAPI/catalogs/ you'll get a list of available catalogs and related links embedded in <href>.
Following them you'll get a sub-index with all available locals. Each local will download the corresponding language XML contents file. I.e. this is the catalogs list for DEV15 under en-us local.

[TimoVJL]

Thanks.

From older dev14 someone can load help in some other languages too.