Segmented Hypergraphics

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'''Segmented Hypergraphics''' ('''SHG'''), and its alter-ego '''Multiple Resolution Bitmap''' ('''MRB''') format, are graphics formats associated with [[HLP (WinHelp)]] format. An SHG/MRB file contains one or more images in a [[BMP]]-like format, or [[Windows Metafile|WMF]] format. It also contains information about regions of the images that should be treated as hyperlinks.
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'''Segmented Hypergraphics''' ('''SHG'''), and its alter-ego '''Multiple Resolution Bitmap''' ('''MRB'''), are graphics formats used almost exclusively in the development of [[HLP (WinHelp)]] files. An SHG/MRB file contains one or more images in a [[BMP]]-like format, or [[Windows Metafile|WMF]] format. It also contains information about regions of the images that should be treated as hyperlinks.
  
The only technical difference between SHG and MRB appears to be that there is sometimes a one-bit difference in the header.
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Loosely speaking, SHG files are supposed to contain a single image, while MRB files contain more than one image. In practice, neither the file extension nor the file signature can be relied upon to be consistent with the image count, so the definition of SHG vs. MRB may be a matter of opinion.
  
 
== Identification ==
 
== Identification ==
SHG files begin with <code>0x6c 0x50</code>.
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SHG/MRB files begin with <code>6c 50</code> or <code>6c 70</code>.
 
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MRB files should begin with <code>0x6c 0x70</code>. However, some of them use the SHG signature instead.
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== Specifications ==
 
== Specifications ==
 
* [http://sourceforge.net/projects/helpdeco/ helpdeco] → helpfile.txt has information based on reverse-engineering.
 
* [http://sourceforge.net/projects/helpdeco/ helpdeco] → helpfile.txt has information based on reverse-engineering.
** [http://www.oocities.org/mwinterhoff/helpfile.htm SHG and MRB File Format]
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** [http://www.oocities.org/mwinterhoff/helpfile.htm Windows Help File Format / Annotation File Format / SHG and MRB File Format]
 
* [ftp://ftp.microsoft.com/developr/drg/Multimedia/SHED.ZIP SHED.ZIP] - "a rather questionable specification"
 
* [ftp://ftp.microsoft.com/developr/drg/Multimedia/SHED.ZIP SHED.ZIP] - "a rather questionable specification"
 
* [http://www.amazon.com/Windows-Undocumented-Formats-Working-Inside/dp/0879304375/ Windows Undocumented File Formats] - 1997 book by Pete Davis, Mike Wallace
 
* [http://www.amazon.com/Windows-Undocumented-Formats-Working-Inside/dp/0879304375/ Windows Undocumented File Formats] - 1997 book by Pete Davis, Mike Wallace
  
 
== Software ==
 
== Software ==
* [http://sourceforge.net/projects/helpdeco/ helpdeco] → splitmrb
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* [http://sourceforge.net/projects/helpdeco/ helpdeco] → splitmrb ''[Ed. note: The splitmrb (v1.5) utility is in disrepair, and is unlikely to work correctly if built with a modern compiler.]''
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* [http://entropymine.com/deark/ Deark]
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* [[Konvertor]]
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See also [[HLP (WinHelp)#Software]]. (Open source WinHelp software can presumably decode SHG/MRB in some way, though it may not expose that functionality to the user.)
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== Sample files ==
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* Some examples found on the web: [http://www.ticalc.org/archives/files/fileinfo/137/13715.html], [http://www.lugaru.com/ftp/misc/manrtf9.zip], [http://axp1.nbpfaus.net/freeware/4/wxwindows/utils/tex2rtf/docs/], [http://web.mit.edu/Ghudson/dev/99/third/openafs/src/WINNT/win9xpanel/Help/]
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* SHG/MRB files are embedded in countless [[HLP (WinHelp)#Sample files|HLP]] files.
  
 
== Links ==
 
== Links ==

Revision as of 16:17, 7 January 2017

File Format
Name Segmented Hypergraphics
Ontology
Extension(s) .shg, .mrb

Segmented Hypergraphics (SHG), and its alter-ego Multiple Resolution Bitmap (MRB), are graphics formats used almost exclusively in the development of HLP (WinHelp) files. An SHG/MRB file contains one or more images in a BMP-like format, or WMF format. It also contains information about regions of the images that should be treated as hyperlinks.

Loosely speaking, SHG files are supposed to contain a single image, while MRB files contain more than one image. In practice, neither the file extension nor the file signature can be relied upon to be consistent with the image count, so the definition of SHG vs. MRB may be a matter of opinion.

Contents

Identification

SHG/MRB files begin with 6c 50 or 6c 70.

Specifications

Software

  • helpdeco → splitmrb [Ed. note: The splitmrb (v1.5) utility is in disrepair, and is unlikely to work correctly if built with a modern compiler.]
  • Deark
  • Konvertor

See also HLP (WinHelp)#Software. (Open source WinHelp software can presumably decode SHG/MRB in some way, though it may not expose that functionality to the user.)

Sample files

  • Some examples found on the web: [1], [2], [3], [4]
  • SHG/MRB files are embedded in countless HLP files.

Links

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