Compiled Help Files (CHM)

Passolo can extract all the HTML files from a chm file and import these into a single string list. Glossaries, contents pages, indexes and other files that belong to the project are also processed.

Localizing a CHM File

  1. Open an existing project or create a new one (see Creating a Project).
  2. In the Project tab > Add Source.
  3. Navigate to the folder that contains the help file and select the chm file. To filter the files displayed, you can set the File type to HTML files. Close the dialog by clicking OK
  4. The Properties - Source String List dialog is displayed. Ensure that Add-in HTML help parser is set as the Parser. As a language is not specified in the CHM file, enter the correct Language of text.
  5. Click Options. In addition to the general settings that apply to all HTML files, three further tabs are also displayed here: On the CHM Options tab, you can configure various settings that apply to CHM files (see below). On the File Handling tab, you can specify how the files contained in the CHM file are to be handled. For example, files can be embedded in the Passolo project or simply copied to the target folder. Click Add to enter a new file specification with the corresponding editing mode. In the Additional Files tab, you can specify additional files that are in the same folder as the CHM file.
  6. Confirm all open dialogs by clicking OK; you will then be taken back to the project window.

CHM Options

To call up the options for CHM files, proceed as follows:

  1. In the project window, click the CHM source file to select it.
  2. In the Home tab, click on String List Settings.
  3. In the Properties - Source String List dialog, click Options.
  4. In the HTML Parser - Source File Properties dialog, click the CHM Options tab.

If you have a Windows help project file (HHP), you should add this here. In general, this file will contain more information than can be extracted from the CHM file. If you do not have a Windows HHP file, select Create project file automatically.

If a CHM target file is generated, the files contained in the CHM source file will be extracted, and translated by Passolo. You have the option of saving the generated files, via Store to target folder, or deleting them again once the target file is generated. As a general rule, it is a good idea to save the files, because these can be used to produce files in other formats if required, e.g PDF.

You can also compile the translated files directly in a CHM file via the Compile CHM help file option. If the CHM file created contains errors, you may need to search the settings and the created project file for missing elements. To carry out out such a search, deactivate this option and use the Microsoft HTML Help Workshop to compile the CHM file.

  1. In the project window, click on the CHM target file to select it.
  2. In the Project menu, click on String List Settings.
  3. In the Translation List Properties dialog, click on Advanced.
  4. Deactivate the setting Use source file options.
  5. Configure the settings you require. In addition to the source file options, in this section you can also enter another folder as the target folder for the translated files.