Integrating Microsoft Compiled HTML Help in MS Access 2007

Integrating Microsoft Compiled HTML Help in MS Access 2007 

I created a help file using CHM Editor for one of the MS Access 2007 computer programs that I recently developed. The editor is very easy to use and needs not to be an expert in web development to create an online help file. You need to know the basics of HTML to enable you to beautify your help file contents.

In my MS Access form, I created a button to activate the help file by using the Application.FollowHyperlink method instead of the ShellExecute function from the Windows API. Although the help file will be displayed upon clicking the button, MS Access displays a message

Some files can contain viruses or otherwise be harmful to your computer. It is important to be certain that this file is from a trustworthy source.

Do you want to open this file?

This is my first time using the Application.FollowHyperlink method so it was really a mess for me and I need to find ways to solve the problem.

I searched for possible solutions in the Microsoft support webpage http://support.microsoft.com/kb/925757 "How to enable or disable hyperlink warning messages in 2007 Office programs and in Office 2010 programs".




The following are the steps to disable the warning message:

• Click Start, then type Run in the text box.
• A dialog box will appear, type regedit and click OK.
• In Registry Editor, locate the registry subkey for 2007 Office since that is my OS.
  HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\12.0\Common
  
  If your OS is Office 2010, locate the following registry subkey
  HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\14.0\Common
• Right-click the registry subkey then click New, and then click Key.
• Type Security, and press Enter.
• Right-click Security, then click New, and then click DWORD (32-bit) Value.
• Type DisableHyperlinkWarning, and press Enter.
• Right-click DisableHyperlinkWarning and then click Modify.
• A dialog box will open, type 1 under Value Data (0 to enable which is the default value).
• Locate the following Registry subkey
  HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\<CLSID>\EditFlags
  Note: A CLSID is a globally unique identifier that identifies a COM class object. In my case, I will locate chm.file as the CLSID.
• If the EditFlags exists, rename it to OldEditFlags by right-clicking the file and click Rename.
  If you cannot find EditFlags in HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\chm.file\, right-click chm.file and click New, and then click DWORD (32-bit) Value.
• Type EditFlags, and press Enter.
• Right-click EditFlags and then click Modify.
• A dialog box will open, type 10000 under Value Data (0 to enable which is the default value).
• Click OK, and exit the Registry Editor.

That's all it goes. If you are not sure on how to use the Registry Editor, please don't try it yourself as you may accidentally delete registry keys which will, in turn, create chaos in your computer system.

Happy programming guys!