KchmViewer

KchmViewer is a totally free and open-source app that works on different platforms. Built with C++ and Qt, it’s designed to be a CHM file viewer, especially for the KDE desktop environment. But don’t worry, you don’t have to use KDE to enjoy it!

Simple and User-Friendly Viewer

This app is a straightforward standalone viewer for Microsoft HELP files. It doesn’t rely on KDE, so you can use it with other open-source desktop environments too. Plus, it’s compatible with all Linux distributions! Just keep in mind that it doesn’t support JavaScript.

Key Features You’ll Love

KchmViewer comes packed with cool features. It supports K*Widget and KHTML, making your experience smooth. The KIO slave support lets you manage your files easily.

You can also save persistent bookmarks that you can modify or delete anytime! This app automatically detects the encoding used in CHM files, which is super handy, especially if you're dealing with foreign language files.

Easy Navigation and Printing

Worried about switching help files? No problem! The app warns you before making any changes or opening links in external apps. It recognizes Cyrillic and CJK characters too! Plus, you can see images for your Table of Contents (TOC) entries.

With back and forward navigation options, it's easy to move around. And yes—you can print CHM files directly from the app!

Search Functionality

KchmViewer isn’t just pretty; it's smart too! You can search through your documents easily with query support. You can even adjust the font size to make reading comfy.

The search-in-page feature lets you find exactly what you're looking for without hassle. There’s also search history and bookmark history available—super convenient!

The Tech Behind KchmViewer

If we peek under the hood of KchmViewer, we see that it's entirely written in C++, using the Qt GUI toolkit for its sleek interface. It's officially supported on GNU/Linux and BSD systems as well as both 64-bit and 32-bit architectures.

Why Use KchmViewer?

You might wonder why bother with CHM viewers like KchmViewer when Microsoft has deprecated these help files on Windows systems? Well, if you've got some old CHM files lying around or work in an environment where they are still relevant, this viewer is perfect for accessing them quickly!