Microsoft HTML Help vs ExtraCHM

Struggling to choose between Microsoft HTML Help and ExtraCHM? Both products offer unique advantages, making it a tough decision.

Microsoft HTML Help is a Office & Productivity solution with tags like help, documentation, authoring, html.

It boasts features such as Authoring tool to create HTML Help files, Supports HTML, images, multimedia, Context-sensitive help through special HTML tags, Full text search, Table of contents, Index, Hyperlinks, Integration with Visual Studio and Microsoft products and pros including Easy to create help content with HTML, Good integration with Microsoft ecosystem, Full text search allows quick access to content, Navigation features like TOC and index, Multimedia support allows images, audio, video etc, Wide adoption in Microsoft products.

On the other hand, ExtraCHM is a Office & Productivity product tagged with chm, reader, docs, help-files.

Its standout features include Opens and reads CHM files, Lightweight and fast, Supports navigation within CHM files, Allows searching in CHM files, Supports bookmarks, Allows printing from CHM files, and it shines with pros like Free, Lightweight and fast, Good CHM file reader, Easy to use, Supports useful features like search and bookmarks.

Feature	Microsoft HTML Help	ExtraCHM
Overall Score	N/A	N/A
Primary Category	Office & Productivity	Office & Productivity

Product Overview

Microsoft HTML Help

Description: Microsoft HTML Help is a Microsoft proprietary format for writing help content. It allows creating help files with HTML, providing features like full text search, index, table of contents. It integrates with Visual Studio and other Microsoft products.

ExtraCHM

Description: ExtraCHM is a free CHM file reader for Windows. It can open and read Compiled HTML (.chm) files and allows easy navigation and search within those files. ExtraCHM is lightweight, fast, and supports features like bookmarks and printing.

Key Features Comparison

Microsoft HTML Help Features

• Authoring tool to create HTML Help files
• Supports HTML, images, multimedia
• Context-sensitive help through special HTML tags
• Full text search
• Table of contents
• Index
• Hyperlinks
• Integration with Visual Studio and Microsoft products

ExtraCHM Features

• Opens and reads CHM files
• Lightweight and fast
• Supports navigation within CHM files
• Allows searching in CHM files
• Supports bookmarks
• Allows printing from CHM files

Pros & Cons Analysis

Microsoft HTML Help

Pros

• Easy to create help content with HTML
• Good integration with Microsoft ecosystem
• Full text search allows quick access to content
• Navigation features like TOC and index
• Multimedia support allows images, audio, video etc
• Wide adoption in Microsoft products

Cons

• Proprietary format limited to Microsoft platform
• Limited styling capabilities compared to HTML/CSS
• Not responsive for mobile devices
• Lacks features of newer help formats like responsive UI, embedded videos etc
• Authoring requires Microsoft HTML Help Workshop
• Not actively developed anymore

ExtraCHM

Pros

• Free
• Lightweight and fast
• Good CHM file reader
• Easy to use
• Supports useful features like search and bookmarks

Cons

• Windows only
• Limited features compared to paid alternatives
• Development seems inactive, last update in 2013

Pricing Comparison

Microsoft HTML Help

• Free
• One-time Purchase

ExtraCHM

• Free