DOCERR: Windows Help Macros Limited to 512 Characters

 Last reviewed: July 23, 1997
Article ID: Q85675
3.10 WINDOWS kbtool kbprg kbdocerr

The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Windows Software Development Kit (SDK) for Windows version 3.1

SUMMARY

The documentation for the Microsoft Windows Help Compiler, version 3.1, states that the length of a macro is limited to 254 characters. This statement is incorrect; a macro can be up to 512 characters long.

MORE INFORMATION

Help Compiler error messages are listed in Appendix B of the "Microsoft Windows Software Development Kit: Programming Tools" manual. When a macro exceeds the allowable length, the Help Compiler returns the following error, which is also listed on page 237: 

   Error 3511: Macro "macrostring" exceeds the limit of 254 characters
This error message is incorrect. The actual limit is 512 characters.

MACROHLP is one of the advanced sample applications provided with the Microsoft Windows Software Development Kit (SDK). One of the topics in the MACROHLP sample is titled "Rules for Help Macros." An item in the bulleted list in this topic incorrectly states that macros are limited to 254 characters.

Additional reference words: 3.10 docerr HC HCP.EXE HC31.EXE docerr
KBCategory: kbtool kbprg kbdocerr
KBSubcategory: TlsHlp
Keywords : kb16bitonly

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Last reviewed: July 23, 1997
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