Command Line

Information for Developers

Following is an explanation of how to use the command line options of the MadCap Help Viewer application. Use this method only if your application does not have access to the .NET 2.0 framework. Otherwise, use either the HelpViewerClient API or HelpViewerEmbeddedClient API.

Command line syntax

HelpViewer.exe -file <path to help system> [-cshid <identifier>] [-search <search_string>]

Parameter Description
file Path to the DotNet Help output file (.mchelp extension)
cshid CSH ID of the desired topic to display
search Search string that the Help system will automatically search for when it is opened

examples

The following opens the specified Help system.

>HelpViewer.exe -file "C:\My Help System\Manual.mchelp"

The following opens the specified Help system and opens the topic associated with "MyID."

>HelpViewer.exe -file "C:\My Help System\Manual.mchelp" -cshid MyID

The following opens the specified Help system and displays search results for "bikes and trikes."

>HelpViewer.exe -file "C:\My Help System\Manual.mchelp" -search "bikes and trikes"

The following opens the specified Help system, opens the topic associated with "MyID," and displays search results for "bikes and trikes."

>HelpViewer.exe -file "C:\My Help System\Manual.mchelp" -cshid MyID -search "bikes and trikes"

See Also