hh_compiler: add usage and diagnostic messages by johnd0e · Pull Request #1075 · FarGroup/FarManager

johnd0e · 2026-02-09T16:25:01Z

Every time (if I haven't edited the help files for a long time), I run into the issue of CHM compilation failing.
And each time, it takes some time before I figure out the cause.
The reason is trivial: the Microsoft HTML Help Workshop must be installed.
However, hh_compiler.exe simply exits silently without any error messages.
Given that it doesn't output any messages upon launch, it's initially unclear whether it's working at all.

Therefore, I've added the following messages:

Usage:

Usage: D:\xxx\FarManager\enc\tools\hh_compiler\hh_compiler.exe <CodePage> <InputHHP>

Error encountered

[*] Target CodePage: 1
[*] Loading hha.dll...
[!] LoadLibraryA("hha.dll") failed. Error: 126

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
RECOMMENDATION:
Microsoft HTML Help Workshop should be installed.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Normal flow

[*] Target CodePage: 1251
[*] Loading hha.dll...
[*] Patching function: GetACP
[*] Patching function: MultiByteToWideChar
[*] Patching function: WideCharToMultiByte
[*] Starting compilation of 'pluginsr.hhp'...
Microsoft HTML Help Compiler 4.74.8702

Compiling d:\xxx\FarManager\enc\build\chm\ru\FarEncyclopedia.ru.chm

...

[*] CompileHHP finished successfully.

sonarqubecloud · 2026-02-09T16:26:20Z

Quality Gate passed

Issues
19 New issues
0 Accepted issues

Measures
0 Security Hotspots
0.0% Coverage on New Code
0.0% Duplication on New Code

See analysis details on SonarQube Cloud

sonarqubecloud · 2026-02-09T16:31:18Z

Quality Gate passed

Issues
29 New issues
0 Accepted issues

Measures
0 Security Hotspots
0.0% Coverage on New Code
0.0% Duplication on New Code

See analysis details on SonarQube Cloud

johnd0e · 2026-02-09T16:43:00Z

The next thing I usually try is, instead of installing that legacy piece of software into my system,
I just copy hha.dll into the hh_compiler\ directory.
Of course, that is not enough: "HHC6003: Error: The file Itircl.dll has not been registered correctly."
Unfortunately, this message is not helpful at all, and there is even no solution in the first Google search results.
That's why I added special handling for this case:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
RECOMMENDATION:
Make sure that `itcc.dll` exists and run the following command
with Administrator privileges:
regsvr32 "D:\xxx\FarManager\enc\tools\hh_compiler\itcc.dll"

ERROR:
The required file was NOT found at the expected location:
D:\xxx\FarManager\enc\tools\hh_compiler\itcc.dll
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(Source: http://mvps.org/htmlhelpcenter/itircl.htm)

Note that this message appears only when hha.dll is already present either in system. or near hh_compiler.exe.

But yes, in general, there is no need to install the full HTML Workshop package; it's enough to have just two files of its content.

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alabuzhev · 2026-02-09T19:39:25Z

RECOMMENDATION:
Microsoft HTML Help Workshop should be installed.

RECOMMENDATION:
Make sure that itcc.dll exists and run the following command
with Administrator privileges:
rundll32 "D:\xxx\FarManager\enc\tools\hh_compiler\itcc.dll",DllRegisterServer

So what is the 'recommended' way?
Install it normally or mess with random dlls?

johnd0e · 2026-02-09T21:29:30Z

Officially, I don't recommend anything other than the official installation. And even in this case, problems may arise, and the solution that I present was originally focused on a fully installed Workshop.
My dll files are also not so random, but were once installed, but I prefer to mess with them for personal reasons (although I suspect that I'm not the only one).

alabuzhev · 2026-02-09T22:36:01Z

I prefer to mess with them for personal reasons (although I suspect that I'm not the only one)

That's perfectly fine, I'm not judging.
My point is that you want to add informational messages that somewhat contradict each other: one recommends installing the workshop, another recommends manually registering enc\tools\hh_compiler\itcc.dll, which normally does not exist at that particular location.
It for sure exists in your clone (because you put it there), but for obvious reasons we need something more generic, e.g. without mentioning any paths.

rundll32 "D:\xxx\FarManager\enc\tools\hh_compiler\itcc.dll",DllRegisterServer

regsvr32 path\itcc.dll, no?

johnd0e · 2026-02-10T01:20:59Z

one recommends installing the workshop

This is exactly what is encountered by anyone who does not have the workshop installed.

another recommends manually registering enc\tools\hh_compiler\itcc.dll

This applies only in case of one very specific error. And the path is determined dynamically.

which normally does not exist at that particular location

The location is wherever the loaded hha.dll is located. This is normally in c:\windows\system32 (syswow64).

e.g. without mentioning any paths.

The exact path should still be specified even if the DLL is located in the current directory, because the command will be run with elevated privileges.

As for exact command, than I will check it again tomorrow, thank you for pointing this out.

johnd0e · 2026-02-10T19:53:27Z

regsvr32 path\itcc.dll, no?

fixed

alabuzhev · 2026-02-14T18:25:16Z

enc/tools/hh_compiler/hh_compiler.cpp

 #include <cstdio>
 #include <windows.h>
+#include <shlwapi.h>
+#pragma comment(lib, "shlwapi.lib")


Move the lib here pls

alabuzhev · 2026-02-14T18:27:33Z

enc/tools/hh_compiler/hh_compiler.cpp

 }

+// Custom logging function for intercepting error messages
+static int __cdecl LogCallback(const char* format, ...)


__cdecl is default, no need to be explicit.

Guide user through solution of cryptic "HHC6003: Error: The file Itircl.dll has not been registered correctly." Source: https://web.archive.org/web/20000620213107/http://mvps.org/htmlhelpcenter/itircl.htm

sonarqubecloud · 2026-02-14T19:51:55Z

Quality Gate passed

Issues
29 New issues
0 Accepted issues

Measures
0 Security Hotspots
0.0% Coverage on New Code
0.0% Duplication on New Code

See analysis details on SonarQube Cloud

Copilot AI review requested due to automatic review settings February 9, 2026 16:25

Copilot started reviewing on behalf of johnd0e February 9, 2026 16:25 View session

Copilot AI reviewed Feb 9, 2026

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johnd0e force-pushed the hh_compiler branch from 01de211 to 99c86bf Compare February 10, 2026 19:52

alabuzhev reviewed Feb 14, 2026

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johnd0e added 2 commits February 14, 2026 20:50

hh_compiler: add usage and diagnostic messages

6a0488c

hh_compiler: clear message on HHC6003

d3ec85a

Guide user through solution of cryptic "HHC6003: Error: The file Itircl.dll has not been registered correctly." Source: https://web.archive.org/web/20000620213107/http://mvps.org/htmlhelpcenter/itircl.htm

johnd0e force-pushed the hh_compiler branch from 99c86bf to d3ec85a Compare February 14, 2026 19:50

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johnd0e commented Feb 9, 2026 •

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