PRB: VC++ Does Not Convert Help Project File Paths (190509)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Visual C++, 32-bit Enterprise Edition 5.0
  • Microsoft Visual C++, 32-bit Enterprise Edition 6.0
  • Microsoft Visual C++, 32-bit Professional Edition 5.0
  • Microsoft Visual C++, 32-bit Professional Edition 6.0
  • Microsoft Visual C++, 32-bit Learning Edition 6.0
This article was previously published under Q190509

SYMPTOMS

After loading and converting a project created in a previous version of Visual C++, a build attempt fails while compiling a help project with this message:

error: Problem encountered creating help file
On Windows NT and Windows 2000, the following error message will also appear :
Error executing c:\winnt\system32\cmd.exe.
The error line indicates the first line of the project's .hpj file.

This error may also occur after moving a project, while building it from a different workstation, or after reinstalling Visual C++ to a different path.

CAUSE

The project contains a hard-coded path within the help project (.hpj) file that is no longer valid in the current build environment.

RESOLUTION

You must modify the .hpj file to correct any file paths that are now invalid. You may also modify the custom build step to provide more informative error reporting.

To modify the .hpj file:

  1. Open the .hpj file in Visual C++.
  2. Examine its [FILES] and [MAP] sections for hard-coded paths. Modify them as necessary. Notice that the default installation path for Visual C++ 6.0 is as follows: \Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio\VC98 whereas the default path for Visual C++ 5.0 is as follows: \Program Files\DevStudio\VC
To upgrade the custom build step rule:

  1. Right-click the .hpj file in FileView; then click Settings on the Context menu, and click the Custom Build tab in the Project Settings dialog box.
  2. Visual C++ 5.0 uses the following custom build step command to build help files: 
          call "$(ProjDir)\makehelp.bat"
    Modify this text in the Commands list box to the following, assuming Makehelp.bat has not been changed from its original form: 
    start /wait hcw /C /E /M "hlp\$(InputName).hpj"
if errorlevel 1 goto :Error 
if not exist "hlp\$(InputName).hlp" goto :Error 
copy  "hlp\$(InputName).hlp" $(OutDir) 
goto :Done
:Error 
echo   hlp\$(InputName).hpj(1) : error: 
type "hlp\$(InputName).log" 
:Done
    NOTE: The above steps are the default for a new project in Visual C++ 6.0.
  3. Delete Makehelp.bat from the project; it is normally in the Help Files folder. If desired, you may also delete the Makehelp.bat file as well.

STATUS

This behavior is by design.

MORE INFORMATION

Visual C++ provides help project support with custom build rules, and does not recognize the help compiler (Hcw.exe) as a native tool. Consequently, during project conversions, Visual C++ does not modify paths embedded in a help project file, not even paths that reference standard MFC components.

The uninformative error message is a consequence of executing Hcw.exe from a command line. HCW does not display error messages on the standard console, but writes them to a log file. See the RESOLUTION section for a method to display the log file after a failed HCW build.

Steps to Reproduce Behavior

  1. Using a default installation of Visual C++ 5.0, create a new MFC .EXE project that includes context-sensitive help. In this example, the project is named badhelp.
  2. Modify one of the <include ...> directives in the [MAP] section of Badhelp.hpj to reference an invalid file path. In a default installation of Visual C++ 6.0, open Badhelp.dsw. At the dialog box, click Yes to convert the project.
  3. Build the project.
RESULT:

hlp\badhelp.hpj(1) : error: Problem encountered creating help file
Modification Type:MajorLast Reviewed:12/1/2003
Keywords:kbFAQ kbide kbprb kbwizard KB190509
©2003 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.