HLP File Documentation

Overview

Feature Value
Format Name Windows Help File
File Extension .hlp
MIME Type application/winhlp
Developed by Microsoft
First Introduced Windows 3.0
Deprecated in Windows Vista
Primary Association Help documentation for software applications
File Structure Proprietary, binary
Compression Yes, LZ77
Accessibility Readable by Windows Help viewer applications
Encoding ANSI, sometimes others depending on language
Indexing Support Yes, for faster topic search
Hyperlinks Supported for in-document navigation
Graphics Support Yes, embedded within file
Security Features Macro support can be a security concern
Multi-Language Support Yes, depending on the creation process
Platform Windows OS
Tool for Creation Windows Help Workshop
File Signature 3F 5F 03 00 (at beginning of file)
Legacy Status No longer natively supported on Windows 10 and later
Alternative Formats CHM (Compiled HTML Help file), PDF, Web-based documentation