Step-by-Step: Publishing CHM Help as HTML with Macrobject CHM-2-Web Professional

Step-by-Step: Publishing CHM Help as HTML with Macrobject CHM-2-Web Professional

Overview

Macrobject CHM-2-Web Professional converts Microsoft CHM (Compiled HTML Help) files into standalone HTML websites or web-ready documentation. The process extracts topics, images, indexes, and navigation structure so your help system is viewable in browsers without CHM support.

Preparation

1. Install Macrobject CHM-2-Web Professional and verify the license is active.
2. Locate CHM file(s) you want to convert.
3. Create an output folder (empty) where generated HTML and assets will go.

Step-by-step conversion

1. Open the application.
2. Load CHM: Click “Open” or “Add CHM” and select your .chm file.
3. Preview content: Inspect the table of contents, index, and full-text search entries shown in the app to confirm content was parsed correctly.
4. Choose output format: Select “HTML site” or similar option (single-page vs. multi-page, if offered).
5. Configure options:
   • Navigation: Keep original TOC, flatten structure, or generate breadcrumb trails.
   • Search: Enable built-in JavaScript search or integrate a server-side search index.
   • Encoding: Ensure UTF-8 for Unicode support.
   • Assets: Choose to extract images, CSS, and scripts into an assets folder.
   • Template/skin: Pick or customize an output template for styling.
6. Set output path: Point to the output folder you prepared.
7. Advanced options (optional):
   • Merge multiple CHM files.
   • Map/replace broken links.
   • Minify HTML/CSS for smaller footprint.
8. Run conversion: Click “Convert” or “Build.” Monitor progress and address any reported parsing errors.
9. Verify output locally: Open index.html in a browser; test navigation, images, links, and search.
10. Fix issues: If links, images, or encoding problems appear, adjust conversion settings or manually edit generated files and re-run as needed.

Deployment

• Static site hosting: Upload the output folder to any static host (GitHub Pages, Netlify, S3).
• Embed in docs site: Integrate generated HTML into an existing website or documentation portal.
• Server-side enhancements: Add analytics, server search, or access controls if needed.

Tips & Troubleshooting

• Broken links: Use the app’s link-reporting feature or a local crawler to find and correct them.
• Large CHM files: Enable incremental conversion or split content to reduce memory usage.
• Search quality: For large documentation sets, consider generating a JSON index and using a client search library (e.g., Lunr.js).
• Styling: Customize CSS in the template to match branding; avoid overwriting critical scripts.
• Backups: Keep original CHM files and intermediate output versions until deployment is confirmed.

Outcome

Following these steps produces a browser-compatible HTML site preserving your CHM’s structure and navigation, ready for hosting or integration into online documentation portals.