Legacy formats.
ePublisher continues to support the established help formats that long-running Windows, Java, and web help deployments depend on. If your application, installer, or documentation set targets one of these formats, ePublisher generates it from the same source documents you already maintain.
Supported legacy formats.
The four formats below are fully supported in current ePublisher releases. Customers typically reach this page because an existing product, an existing toolchain, or an existing audience requires one of these specific outputs — not because a new project is choosing between them and a modern web help format.
Microsoft HTML Help (.chm)
A single, compiled .chm file that includes all topic pages, images, table of contents, index, and full-text search compressed into one deliverable. End users open the .chm in the Windows HTML Help Viewer — a tripane window with a navigation pane, a toolbar pane, and a topic pane.
ePublisher generates every file required to compile a Microsoft HTML Help project: HTML topic files, images, the project file (.hhp), the contents file (.hhc), the index file (.hhk), and context-sensitive help mapping files (.h). ePublisher then invokes Microsoft HTML Help Workshop to compile the inputs into a single .chm file ready for delivery.
HTML Help is the standard help format for 32-bit Windows applications running on Windows 95 and later, including every modern Windows release. The viewer is a built-in Windows component. The compiled .chm file is designed to be installed alongside the application and read locally — it is not designed to be served from a network share or a web server.
Right when your application is a Windows desktop product whose installer ships a .chm with the binary, when your customer base expects an F1-key context-sensitive help experience tied to Windows controls, or when integration with an existing Windows help workflow is more valuable than migrating to a web-based output. Single compressed file with built-in full-text search and indexing, no external runtime required beyond Windows itself.
Oracle Help
A Java-based help format built on the Oracle Help for Java technology — a set of Java components and an API for displaying HTML-based help inside Java applications. Delivers a navigation pane and topic pane similar to other help viewers, packaged as an Oracle Help helpset and typically distributed inside a single compressed Java archive (.jar).
ePublisher generates the complete set of Oracle Help files: the helpset descriptor (.hs), the control XML files that define the table of contents, index, and topic aliases (projectTOC.xml, projectMap.xml, projectLinks.xml, projectIndex.xml), the full-text search index (.idx), and the manifest (.mft) used to assemble the final .jar. Output content conforms to HTML 4 and XHTML 1.0 with CSS1 styling.
Oracle Help requires a Java Virtual Machine (JVM) and the Oracle Help components installed on the user's computer. For a Java application, the JVM is already present as a runtime requirement, and the Oracle Help libraries ship with the application. ePublisher's Oracle Help support targets Oracle Help for Java specifically — not the separate Oracle Help for the Web technology.
Right when you ship a Java application and want help that lives inside the Java runtime rather than depending on a browser or a web server. Also valid when JavaScript is unavailable in the target environment but a JVM is present. Context-sensitive help is fully supported through TopicAlias markers and a generated mapping file.
Sun JavaHelp
The original Java platform help system: an XML-structured help format with a navigation pane and a topic pane displayed inside any Java application that includes the JavaHelp libraries. Topic content is delivered in HTML; the table of contents, index, and helpset descriptor are XML files conforming to the JavaHelp DTDs.
ePublisher generates the JavaHelp helpset (.hs), the table of contents (toc.xml), the index (ix.xml), the context-sensitive mapping file (.jhm), and all topic and image files. Output is delivered either as the complete folder of individual files or compressed into a Java archive (.jar) for distribution.
Sun JavaHelp runs anywhere a JVM and the JavaHelp libraries are available. Like Oracle Help, it is well suited to pure Java applications that prefer help integrated into the Java environment rather than hosted in a browser. The XML-based structure means the helpset is portable across the operating systems Java itself supports.
Remains in active use across long-running Java desktop applications, scientific and engineering tools, and enterprise Java software whose help systems were built on the JavaHelp platform and have not been re-platformed. ePublisher generates the format faithfully so that an existing JavaHelp deployment can be maintained — TOC, index, search, and context-sensitive mapping continue to work exactly as the application expects.
WebWorks Help
A frameset-based web help format that combines XHTML, CSS, and JavaScript to provide expand/collapse table of contents, full-text search, an index, related topics menus, browse navigation, and favorites. The output runs in any standards-compliant web browser, on any operating system, without server-side components.
ePublisher generates the complete WebWorks Help output: an index.html entry-point file that establishes the frameset, all topic .html files, generated CSS, JavaScript components, search index files, and supporting images. The output can be deployed to a web server, a network share, a local install folder, or even a CD-ROM — anywhere a browser can reach the files.
WebWorks Help runs in any modern desktop browser. The frameset architecture means the navigation pane, toolbar pane, and topic pane are coordinated in the browser itself, with no server-side rendering required. WebWorks Help supports context-sensitive entry through topic IDs in the URL, so applications can deep-link directly to a help topic from any platform.
Right for established web help deployments where the existing helpset, hosting environment, and integration links are already in place and a re-platforming effort is not justified. Customers starting a new web help deployment should consider Reverb 2.0 first — designed for modern browsers and includes ePublisher's current responsive design, search, and AI-assist features. WebWorks Help continues to be supported for the deployments that depend on it.
Authoring once, publishing to any format.
All four legacy formats are generated from the same ePublisher source project. Authors work in their preferred document tool — Adobe FrameMaker, Microsoft Word, DITA XML, or Markdown — and ePublisher applies the project's Stationery to produce each target format. Switching outputs, or generating multiple outputs from the same source, does not require duplicating content or rewriting topics.
Context-sensitive help, indexing, table-of-contents structure, conditional content, and variables all carry across formats consistently. The same source document set can produce HTML Help for the Windows installer, Sun JavaHelp for the Java administration tool, and Reverb 2.0 for the customer documentation portal — in a single publishing run.
Need one of these formats?
If your application or documentation deployment requires HTML Help, Oracle Help, Sun JavaHelp, or WebWorks Help, ePublisher generates them today. Confirm fit for your environment or start a free 14-day trial.