Shalom Help Maker (SHM) is a Windows help file editor that does not need MS Word. It supports images, popup windows, links to other pages, web pages, E-mail addresses etc., and has automatic updating of links (jumps to other pages) when pages are rearranged or deleted, listing of unused bitmaps and popup pages, listing of links to the present page ... and lots more.

SHM makes old-fashioned hlp files, not chm files (HTML based help files). It runs on all Windows versions, including XP.

Unlike other help file creators, Shalom Help Maker works like any ordinary editor and therefore has practically no learning curve. You don't have to know anything about help file making. Just start typing, insert pictures and write page headers. Hit F4 to get a preview of a page or F9 to compile (make) the whole help file.
You don't need MS Word to write help files! Shalom Help Maker (SHM) is your editor and you produce the help file with SHM and the help compiler.

HELPFUL TOOLS

To help you manage your help file project these tools have been added:

• The Page Jumper opens right in the middle of the editor and displays a list of all pages. Click a page to go there.
  
• Quick help: If a word or a code is selected when you press F1, the help file will be searched for the word.
  
• Write multiple lines of page titles on page 1 of a new project, select the lines, press Ctrl+P and have the pages made automatically with the page title already entered in the Header text box of each page.
  
• Automatic updating of links and jumps (when you rearrange, add or delete pages).
  
• Automatic checking of whether there are links to a page you want to delete.
  
• Copy Project Help File To... (copy the compiled help file to another folder).
  
• Show Links To This Page.
  
• Show Links To This Target.
  
• List Occurences Of (get a list of every instance of the search phrase and double-click an item in the list to go there).
  
• Show Project Stats (get a list of pages, the length of each page (character count) and the page header).
  
• Show Unused Bitmaps (get a list of unused bitmaps found in the project folder).
  
• Check Topic IDs... (this is useful when reusing pages from other help projects or from a snippet, in which case you might happen to insert a topic ID that points to a nonexistent page)
  
• Show Unused Popup Pages (get a list of popup pages not linked to in your project).
  
• Bitmap Information List that gives you a list of all bitmaps and lets you use the information in various ways.
  
• Check If Bitmaps Exist (check if any bitmaps used in the help file project is missing).
  
• Ready-to-print list of all pages, their context ID numbers, topic IDs, page headers and page name constants.
  
• Quick preview of the present page. Only the page you're working on will be compiled (uncompressed=fast).
  
• Quick preview of the front page.
  
• Keyword editor. Browse or search all the pages' keywords from within the keyword editor.
  
• Page Organizer. Arrange your pages into sub-groups (used in the Contents window in the compiled help file and to generate a front page if you wish). You can even sort selected pages alphabetically.
  
• Header Editor. Edit the page headers from here. Generate page name constants for your programming project (Delphi/C++/C/VB).