PRB: Out of Memory Building Compressed Help File

ID Number: Q66404

3.00

WINDOWS

Summary:

SYMPTOMS

When building a compressed help file using the Windows Help

Compiler included in the Windows Software Development Kit (SDK)

version 3.0, the compiler halts and reports that it is out of

memory.

RESOLUTION

The following are four ways to work around running out of memory:

1. If any bitmaps have been pasted directly into the RTF file,

remove them and include them in the Help file by reference.

The reference would be {bm? mybitmap.bmp} in the file. Then, add

a BITMAPS section to the HPJ file, as follows:

[BITMAPS]

MYBITMAP.BMP

For more information, please refer to Sections 17.4.3 and 18.7

of the "Microsoft Windows Software Development Kit Tools"

version 3.0 manual.

2. Remove text files from a copy of the HPJ file until a successful

compressed compilation can be performed. The HLP file produced

from this step will have many unresolved jumps and will not be

useful. However, the compiler will produce a PH file with

compression information. Then, without deleting the PH file,

rebuild the Help System with the original HPJ file. The compiler

will not rebuild the PH file, and will give a warning to that

effect. The HLP file resulting from this build will have all the

correct jumps and some level of compression.

3. Compile the help file under OS/2. Since the Help Compiler,

HC.EXE, is a bound application, it works under both the MS-DOS

and OS/2 operating systems. OS/2 does not have the MS-DOS 640K

memory limitation and manages available memory much more

efficiently than does MS-DOS.

4. Turn off compression in the HPJ file.

Additional reference words: 3.00