yep, MS now uses precompiled HTML which has the extension .chm, but the tools to create HTMLHelp files under Windows can convert the .hlp files to .chm files. So, even if its a lot of coding, but you can still use perl to automate that task and then read from the .chm file or dig really deep into the API and read from the tool you control to read in the old format. grin
Have a nice day
All decision is left to your taste