Now that you’ve seen what a Help file looks like to the user and are familiar with the basic features of the Windows Help application, you’re ready to learn how to build a Help file. You have two options to create topic files for Windows Help: you can use Word for Windows and enter all the Help-specific coding and information manually, or you can use Microsoft Help Author and enter the information in dialog boxes. Although the first process certainly works, using Help Author as your primary authoring tool makes creating Help files simpler and easier.
The following sections show you how to build a simple Help file using both of these methods. The Help file you build in each case is exactly the same. If you are new to Help authoring, it is a good idea to be familiar with both authoring methods, but if you want to save time, and you know which method you want to use, you can complete just that section.