Opening a CHM File

The CHM file type is primarily associated with HTML Help.

CHM	File extension: CHM
	File type:	compiled help document

What is a CHM file?

CHM files mostly belong to HTML Help by Microsoft. A CHM file is a document saved in the Compiled HTML Help format developed by Microsoft. It contains one or more inter-connected HTML documents compiled into a single binary package compressed using LZX. CHM format is mainly used to distribute documentation and help topics on Windows operating system. HTML Help is the primary program for creating and viewing CHM files on Windows. Calibre e-book reader also supports CHM format. Another type of CHM file contains chemical structures saved by some versions of ChemDraw chemical structure analysis software.

How do you open CHM files?

You need a suitable software like HTML Help to open a CHM file. Without proper software you will receive a Windows message "How do you want to open this file?" or "Windows cannot open this file" or a similar Mac/iPhone/Android alert. If you cannot open your CHM file correctly, try to right-click or long-press the file. Then click "Open with" and choose an application. You can also display a CHM file directly in the browser:. Just drag the file onto this browser window and drop it.

Online CHM File Viewer

Choose your .chm file to view

or drag and drop it here

Online File Viewer

✈

Read our privacy guarantee in Filext’s terms and privacy policy

Please allow ads on our site

This helps us keep our servers running. Then re-upload your file to view it.

Click here to see how to disable the ad blocker for filext.com

How to convert CHM files to JPG, PDF, HTML, DOC, ...

1. To do so, click the "Choose your .chm file to view" button above.
2. Your CHM file will then be displayed in the browser.
3. Now click on "Save as..." at the top of the page.
4. Then click the file format (e.g. PDF, JPG, DOCX, TXT, ...) you want.
5. Your file will be converted and downloaded.

CHM file format:

A file format defines how the data in the file is structured. The initial characters of a file are called signature, sometimes also referred to as "magic bytes". The signature can be used to infer the file format. However, different programs can use the same file extension, and file extensions can be assigned incorrectly. When there is a problem with a file, the first step to solving it is to determine the file format. In the following you will find our evaluation of the CHM files:

CHM is a very widely used file extension. The file type is mainly used by one program with a specific format. The two most common formats are as follows:

• 97% of all CHM files are associated with Windows HELP File. These are binary files, so they do not contain words or text. Most of these files are 79 KB to 36 MB in size. The file type was created 20 years ago but is still used today. Several words can almost always be found in the files, e.g. ITSF and ITSP. These files are attributed to epdf, edition, help, manual, guide, programming, medicine, clinical, anatomy and series, and often include person-related information.

All the rest of the CHM files (3%) have different formats. Often described as handbook, management, design, data, documentation or user. If you want to find out which format your CHM file belongs to, just click on the button "Choose your .chm file to view".