In order to generate CHM help files, HelpNDoc relies on the Microsoft HTML Help Workshop compiler which is a very old software which doesn't support Unicode. For it to work correctly, you need to make sure that:

  • Your HelpNDoc "Project language" and "Project charset" settings are correctly setup. They can be accessed using the "Project Options" button in the "Project" group of the "Home" ribbon tab;
  • Your Windows installation is setup in the target language of the help file;
  • Your "Language for non-Unicode programs" is setup in the target language of the help file:
    • Click the Windows start menu
    • Type "intl.cpl" (without the quotes) then the ENTER key
    • In the newly opened "Region" dialog, go to the "Administrative" tab
    • Check the "Current language for non-Unicode programs " and click the "Change system locale..." button to change it to the target language of the help file

Also, for some languages, a specific trick must be activated. Here is how this can be done:

  • Click the top part of the generate help button to show the "Generate documentation" window;
  • Select your CHM build;
  • Click "Customize" if this is not already visible;
  • In the "Template settings" tab, check the "Use project charset for topics" option;
  • Generate your documentation again.