Support in output formats

Support for video files varies according to the output format you are using. This support is dependent on the output formats themselves, not on the capabilities of Help & Manual.

The bottom line is that if you want to be relatively sure that your movie will play on the user's computer then use Flash. This is the only real standard that will always play if support for it is installed, and the great majority of users now have it. If support for Flash is not installed the user will be prompted to download and install it automatically. Other formats may or may not play, depending on the configuration of the user's computer.

Flash video can also be embedded in HTML Help CHM files. All other video formats must be distributed in separate files.

HTML Help:	Flash and other video formats are supported. However, codecs for playing the formats used must also be installed on the user's computer. For example, if you use a DiVX video don't expect it to be playable on all user machines! Generally, however, only Flash video is recommended in HTML Help: If Windows Media Player is required to play your video it will often fail to play on some users' computers, depending on the version of Media Player they have installed. Flash is also the only format that is actually embedded in the HTML Help CHM file, so you don't need to distribute any additional files with your help.
Winhelp:	Multimedia support in Winhelp is very limited. Only standard Windows AVI videos are supported. Flash and other video formats are not supported.
Webhelp:	Flash and other video formats are supported. Here too, support for playing the formats used must be installed on the user's computer. Also, the degree and quality of the support also depends on the support provided by the browser the user is using. So please test your output on all relevant browsers before distributing!
Windows Exe eBooks:	Flash is supported if the necessary Flash plug-in is installed on the user's computer (the user will be prompted to download the plug-in if it is not found). Other video formats are not supported.
ePub eBooks	Neither Flash nor any other multimedia formats are supported in ePub eBooks.
Adobe PDF:	No multimedia support except as file links to external media files.
Word RTF:	No multimedia support except as file links to external media files.