Microsoft HTML Help vs HelpSmith

Struggling to choose between Microsoft HTML Help and HelpSmith? 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, HelpSmith is a Office & Productivity product tagged with help, documentation, authoring, knowledge-base.

Its standout features include Context-sensitive help, Knowledge base creation, Technical documentation, Content reuse, Conditional text, Version control, and it shines with pros like Easy to use WYSIWYG editor, Collaboration features, Integration with JIRA and Confluence, Multi-channel publishing.

Feature	Microsoft HTML Help	HelpSmith
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.

HelpSmith

Description: HelpSmith is a help authoring and documentation tool that allows teams to create context-sensitive help content, knowledge bases, and technical documentation. It has features like content reuse, conditional text, version control, and more.

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

HelpSmith Features

• Context-sensitive help
• Knowledge base creation
• Technical documentation
• Content reuse
• Conditional text
• Version control

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

HelpSmith

Pros

• Easy to use WYSIWYG editor
• Collaboration features
• Integration with JIRA and Confluence
• Multi-channel publishing

Cons

• Steep learning curve
• Limited customization options
• No built-in translation or localization

Pricing Comparison

Microsoft HTML Help

• Free
• One-time Purchase

HelpSmith

• Subscription-Based