Process for Migrating Help System to HTML5

Abstract

This thesis provides a process for software providers to migrate legacy help systems to support HTML5 content with aim of improving assistance and experience for end users. Issues with legacy help systems are discussed, namely the merging of different help files and projects, support for displaying and searching content in multiple languages and different character sets. Compatibility of online help formats with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript versions is mentioned followed by a review on the current limitations of Microsoft HTML Help published in CHM or compiled HTML format. The review describes how the content in a CHM file can be accessed and presented using different WPF controls such as WebBrowser and WebView2 which is Chromium-based. An approach to decompile and recompile CHM files to create a modular help system is presented. In comparison, a separate approach is described using a content authoring tool that can publish HTML5 outputs. Both approaches are applied to a case company currently using Microsoft HTML Help with localized support for Asia-Pacific (APAC) and Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) regions. The proposed process defines phases or decision points to enable the migration of online help to support modern web technologies.