HTML Help ActiveX Control Overview
Archived: 2026-04-05 15:28:27 UTC
The HTML Help ActiveX control (Hhctrl.ocx) provides a rich feature set for help systems. Key features include:
an expanding table of contents, keyword search, shortcuts, and pop-up help topics. The control is one of the
authoring components that ships with Microsoft HTML Help. It is also included with many third-party HTML
Help authoring tools.
The control provides functionality for two types of help systems:
A compiled help (.chm) file
The control uses both an Internet Explorer DLL (Shdocvw.dll) and the HTML Help compiler to offer a variety of
features. Users view compiled help files in the Help Viewer. Compiled help files often ship with the programs that
they document.
Uncompiled HTML files on a Web site
The control uses Microsoft Internet Explorer to provide a subset of its feature set. The features of HTML Help can
be used on a Web site to present a wide variety of content, from Web-based help to a Web site focused on
entertainment.
Notes
The HTML Help ActiveX control is designed to work with Internet Explorer and the Shdocvw.dll
component. It does not include the design-time support that is necessary to use it with development tools,
such as Microsoft Visual Basic Scripting Edition and Microsoft Visual C++.
For more information about ActiveX technology, see Microsoft's Component Object Model (COM)
technologies Web site.
Related topics
About the HTML Help ActiveX Control Reference
Source: https://msdn.microsoft.com/windows/desktop/ms644670
https://msdn.microsoft.com/windows/desktop/ms644670
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