Tips to open MSHC file

Can't open the MSHC file? You are not the only one. Thousands of users face similar problems every day. Below you will find tips on how to open MSHC files as well as a list of programs that support MSHC files.

MSHC file extension

File Name Microsoft Help Container Format
File Developer Microsoft
File Category Developer Files

The MSHC file is supported on 1 operating systems. Depending on your operating system, you may need different software to handle the MSHC files. Below is a summary of the number of programs that support and open the MSHC file on each system platform.

Operating systems
  • 4
  • 0
  • 0
  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

What is MSHC file?

The file with the extension MSHC is the Developer Files file type. The creator of this file is Microsoft. Additionally, the Developer Files category contains 1205 of other files. Microsoft Help Container Format appears on 1 operating systems as a functional file. These systems consist of Windows, although it may occasionally be found on another system, it will be non-functional. This file type can also be opened by 3 other programs. You can use Microsoft Windows Help, Microsoft Windows zip utility, MSHC Migration Utility in case FAR cannot be used.

How to open MSHC file?

The main problem with Microsoft Help Container Format is that the MSHC file is incorrectly associated with programs. Thus, when you open MSHC, the program selection wizard or some other program starts. How to solve such a problem?

The first thing you should do is just "doubleclick" on the MSHC file icon you want to open. If the operating system has an appropriate application to support it and there is also an association between the file and the program, the file should be opened.

Step 1. Install FAR

In this case, you should first verify that the FAR application is installed on the computer. To do this, enter the name FAR into the system search engine. In the absence of an appropriate program, its installation in the vast majority of cases will fix the problem. Later in this article you will find a list of programs that can open MSHC files.

Step 2. Create association of FAR with MSHC files

If, despite the installed application, the MSHC file does not start in the FAR application, you must create a file association. The association can be created using the drop-down list available by right-clicking on the file and selecting Properties. Information about the file and the program that the file is associated with are available here. Using the "Change" button we can set the program to handle this type. If there is no software on the list, simply select "Browse" and manually select the directory where the application is installed. The "always use the selected program ..." field will set the FAR application as the default for handling the MSHC file.

Step 3. Update FAR to the latest version

If, however, after binding FAR with Microsoft Help Container Format there were still problems, you should update the program to the latest version.

Step 4. Check for the following problems with the MSHC file

If the above steps do not help, you can assume that the file itself is not correct. File problems can be divided into the following:

Very often, the file may be size 0 or incomplete. This is most often caused by a problem while downloading the MSHC file. The file should be downloaded again, making sure that the process has finished correctly.
The operating system may be infected with a computer virus. Perform a virus scan using available and up-to-date anti-virus software. Some antivirus vendors also provide free online scanners. The scan should cover the entire computer, not only the MSHC file that we want to open. As a result of the scan, sometimes it is not possible to recover MSHC files, which are deleted if there is a backup of this file, then after restoring it, it must also be scanned.
This can happen especially when the program is dynamically developed and the structure of the MSHC files changes over time. These problems are known and are often very easy to fix using the software developers's website.
The file may be corrupted in a number of ways. Depending on the type of file, it is necessary to repair it accordingly. Some programs offer the ability to automatically repair MSHC file corruption.
When reading, a message appears that the file was encrypted or corrupted. The encrypted MSHC files cannot be played on other computers than the one on which they were encrypted, they must be decrypted before using on another device.
Some operating systems do not allow file operations in certain locations, eg in system directories or directly on the system drive. The problem is only writing to the file, not reading it. Copying the MSHC file to another location will fix the problem.
This problem only occurs with more complex files. Some file types can only be opened in one program at a time. Closing other programs should help. Sometimes you have to wait for the session to the file MSHC to close. However, some background programs may block the MSHC file while scanning. If the problem persists, restart the machine.