April 27, 2003
Font Bitch of Microsoft Html Help file (chm)
Almost all the technical books come with an electronic version in attached CDROM nowadays. Their eBook format most likely falls under PDF, HTML or CHM. I got a few eBooks in Microsoft Html Help format (extension of .chm). It's a pretty nice format though you could only execute it under Windows. With proper designed CHM file, you got the easy navigation options of contents, index and search. That's good, it is opened faster than PDF so I used to open CHM file for searching. Instead, it's quite a standard help file format now for numbers of Windows application.
But, most of the chm files I got has the average small font size. And I CAN'T change the FONT SIZE. That's annoying! It's not really you can't change the font size. When I first notice there is no option allowed me to change font size. Thinking of it's Microsoft product, then it must be using IE to view their archived/encoded html help file. So I change the View->Text Size to largest, hoping that it take affect on the chm file opened later. NO, it didn't work. Then, google it. Search with "Html Help font size", or "Microsoft Html Help..." won't do you good because that's more famous html help: HTML Help by The Web Design Group. "CHM Font size" get me what I wanted. Yes, it did link with IE. Despite changing the View->Text Size in IE, you need to hold down Ctrl and roll your mouse scroll wheel to change the chm file font size. If this also didn't work, or you're still stick with the traditional mouse, you got to do it the hard way: find some tool to decompile the chm file, it's just archived of group of html files. Change the font setting and using the chm authoring tool to re-compile it.
Further search shows Microsoft Support site has an article instruct how to add a Font Button in chm file toolbar, which allow users to change the font size of the content. Therefore, please, if you are a Windows developer constructing the help file for your application, or you are the publisher who decide to put the ebooks in chm file format, DO add the Font Button. That saves pain in the ass.