From: chuckh AT taconic DOT net
Message-Id: <9703311335.AA23070@host.taconic.net>
To: opendos AT delorie DOT com
Date: Mon, 31 Mar 1997 08:31:51
Subject: Re: Window's help file reader for DOS

On 1997-03-28 mharris AT blackwidow DOT saultc DOT on DOT ca said to chuckh AT taconic DOT net
   >On Thu, 27 Mar 1997, Evan Dickinson wrote:
   >> A year or two ago I heard of a program for viewing windows help
   >>files from  DOS.  I've looked for it a few times since then but I
   >>can't find it.  Does  anybody know if this exists or where to find
   >it?  Thanks.
   >That would be a truly wonderful program!  Scitech's MGL
   >documentation is in Win HLP format, but I program in DOS, so I
   >must go back and forth.  WHAT A PAIN.  As a result, I don't use
   >MGL.  If I could view HLP files in TASKMGR (or Linux) I would
   >consider it a great programming aid!
   >Mike A. Harris        |             http://blackwidow.saultc.on.
A bunch of years ago we wrote a DOS based file reading program called "Ralph
The Reader". Like "Ralph The Pretty Good Grocer," if Ralph couldn't read it,
you probably could do without it. Ralph knew about ASCII, WordStar, and
WordPerfect formats. Eventually we wrote a new generation called "Barb The
Browser" which is now in the public domain. Barb reads those, plus .WRI and
many PostScript formats, and can save anything she reads in ASCII format. I
believe MS Help files are basically in a .WRI format. The source code is
posted with the executables, so Barb could easily be extended to browse HTML
formats too (sans links of course).
Check it out: FTP to "ftp.crl.com" and look in "/ftp/users/ka/kansys".
Chuck.

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