I have a piece of software that currently packages an MS Word file as the user guide/help. I would like to make this into either a pdf or a chm file. I do not wish to re-write the help or user guide. I did not see anything that is exactly what I need. i don't want to pay for it (I'd rather continue with Word Doc) and I wantt o just be able to edit in MS Word and then convert when i am done. Releasing the html output of doing "save as html" is not an option - i need just one file.
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A:
If you absolutely have to keep only one file then I would go with PDF, since it's pretty ubiquitous at this point. I can't remember the last time I was on a system that couldn't open a PDF. Actually, I can, but that's beside the point.
One other option is to just keep it as a Word document. Most people using Windows have Word installed, and users on Mac and Linux will probably know how to convert the file to something they can read (if it's even necessary to convert it).
Bill the Lizard
2008-11-16 04:04:15
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A:
Print to pdf. Google "free pdf convert" for free virtual printer drivers for Windows that generate pdf; some are smart enough to convert MS Word formats like headings and TOC.
On Mac OS X, anything that can be printed can be converted to PDF from the standard print dialog.
Doug Currie
2008-11-16 04:05:36
I tried that - I must have gotten one that doesn't work. I ended up with an xps file... not what i expected.
Tim
2008-11-16 05:08:21
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A:
The addin from Microsoft to save as PDF in Word 2007 is here:
Also, you could choose to save as *.mhtml (single file web archive images & all in one file. Opens in IE.)
Booji Boy
2008-11-16 04:06:45
Thanks. that looks like it would work, but way too many steps for me to deal with that. I just wanted a quick way to do help/docs. chm looks like a real pain in the butt.
Tim
2008-11-16 05:20:22
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A:
If you're using Word 2007, then download the Microsoft add-in that allows you to export to PDF and XPS files.
If using an earlier version of Word, then I'd recommend PDFCreator - an open source printer driver for Windows. It gives you a printer that saves as PDF files, and works with any application. Works great, I've used it for years.
Bevan
2008-11-16 06:02:02
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A:
Or try out Universal Document Converter
Edit: A simple google search throws up this - a direct word to chm converter, as one of the links.
trex279
2008-11-16 13:16:15
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For CHM, you might find some answers in What are good tools for creating compiled HTML help files (.chm)? .
Windows Help files - what are the options? might interest you, too.
PhiLho
2008-11-16 15:01:24
Yes, I looked at those questions. They do not address my issue from what I could see. None of those products were useful to me.
Tim
2008-11-17 02:45:06
A:
You could try exporting to the RTF or rich text format. RTF is able to be read by computer loaded with Windows, OSX, or Linux with Gnome or KDE installed.
epochwolf
2008-12-04 20:41:44
A:
I am going to go with PDF and this solution as I can call it from the command line during my build. I will maintain a Word doc in my version control system and make it a pdf as part of a release.
http://www.oooforum.org/forum/viewtopic.phtml?t=3772&highlight=pdf+form
or
http://www.suodenjoki.dk/us/productions/articles/word2pdf.htm
Tim
2009-01-14 05:33:34