Is there API for offline MSDN documentation?

Question

I want use offline MSDN documentation in my application.
Is there API for that ?

Check out similar question How to open .hxs Help files with DExplore.exe?

Answer 1

MS Help 2.x API

MS Help Viewer 1.0 API

Microsoft Help 2.x is a proprietary format for online help files, developed by Microsoft and first released in 2001 as a help system for Visual Studio .NET (2002) and MSDN Library.
It's the help engine used in Microsoft Visual Studio 2002/2003/2005/2008 and Office 2007.

Visual Studio 2010 uses a new help engine, Microsoft Help Viewer

Tools

MS Help 3 Viewer replace the VS 2010 help viewer or run stand-alone.

Visual Studio 2010 Help Downloader for downloading base Visual Studio 2010 MSDN package for offline first installation.

Package This is a GUI tool written in C# for creating help files (.chm and .hxs) from the content obtained from the MSDN Library (MSHelp 2.0)

Answer 2

AFAIK the API documentation is built on HelpPane which is built into current versions of Windows. The interaction with it is based on a COM interface and URL for topics etc.

To interact via your own SW with HelpPane add a reference to C:\Windows\System32\HelpPaneProxy.dll to the project then you can use the HelpPane like this

HxHelpPane pHelpPane = new HxHelpPane(); 
pHelpPane.DisplayTask("mshelp://windows/?id=e725b43f-94e4-4410-98e7-cc87ab2739aa");

After installing MSDN locally you should be able to see which local URLs are in use...

Further references:

• http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms728704%28v=VS.85%29.aspx
• http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms728715%28v=VS.85%29.aspx
• http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb757030.aspx
• http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms728718%28v=VS.85%29.aspx
• http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms728713%28v=VS.85%29.aspx