[fpc-pascal] Docs - structural change

[Marco van de Voort]

Op 10-9-2026 om 14:44 schreef Tomas Hajny via fpc-pascal:
>>>
>>> IDE uses whatever is supplied / configured by the user as long as it 
>>> is one of the supported formats (that includes HTML). If the HTML 
>>> format of our docs wasn't supported any longer, we should let our 
>>> users know.
>>
>> Afaik CHM is preferred since about 2.4.4/3.0.0. I don't have any info 
>> if it works at all anymore and all the umpteen workarounds for 
>> lfn/path separators etc.
>
> Apart from both of us knowing that CHM should be preferred, where 
> exactly is it documented as such? 

The fact that 3.2.4 RCs come with them integrated and preinstalled on 
Windows?  The fact that the IDE says to download the CHMs if they are not?

That doesn't say the rest is deprecated, but it does make clear what is 
preferred.

> File readme.txt supplied with the last release states about the IDE: 
> "context sensitive help supports help files in HTML, Windows HLP and 
> Borland TPH format". Our documentation (user manual - user.pdf) states 
> in the chapter related to IDE:
> ------
> The IDE contains a help system which can display the following file 
> formats:
> - TPH The help format for the Turbo Pascal help viewer.
> - INF The OS/2 help format.
> - NG The Norton Guide Help format.
> - HTML HTML files
> =======

Well, fix that then :-)

>
> And a bit later: "The Free Pascal documentation in HTML format can be 
> added to the IDE’s help system. This way the documentation can be 
> viewed from within the IDE."
>
> And while you ask - as far as I can see, the HTML version still seems 
> to work correctly in the IDE. 

On what target? The problems with html were highly target specific, 
specially on real dos (not under w9x). Actually the direct impetus to 
push for CHM as default back then was testing a FPC release in plain dos 
that took HALF AN HOUR to install, all due to extracting the plain html 
help.

I can't deprecate the rest, but IMHO the fact that there is zero 
feedback on them in about a decade says IMHO says enough.