xCHM For Linux

xCHM is an open source, completely free and cross-platform graphical software implemented in C++/wxWidgets and designed from the ground up to act as a GUI front-end for the chmlib library created by Jed Wing. The application can be used to read CHM (Microsoft Compiled HTML Help) files.

The software lets users to view digital CHM books, print pages, remember bookmarks, change font size and face, display a searchable index, search for words in the current page, as well as to search for words in the entire book.

One using the program for the first time, you will be prompted by a welcome screen where you can read various tips and tricks that will help you use the application without to much hassle. Its GUI is quite simple, it doesn’t feature so much buttons and options, only the basics. A full-screen mode is also included for those who don’t want to be disturbed while reading CHM files.

To install the xCHM application on your GNU/Linux operating system, we recommend using the built-in package manager, searching for the ‘xchm’ package there, in the default software repositories. If you cannot find it there, download the latest release from Softpedia and follow the next instructions.

Save the TAR archive on your Home directory, extract its contents with an archive manager utility, open a terminal window, and go to the location where you have extracted the archive files. There, type the ‘./configure && make’ command to configure and compile the program, assuming that all of its runtime dependencies (wxGTK, CHMLIB) have already been installed.

After a successful compilation process, execute either of the ‘make install’ or ‘sudo make install’ commands, depending if you’re root or a user with privileges, to install the xCHM application system wide, making available to all users on your system. Run the program using the shortcut added in the Start Menu of your desktop environment.

Because of the fact that its graphical user interface is written with the wxWidgets framework, xCHM is a multiplatform application supported on any GNU/Linux distribution, as well as on the BSD, Solaris, Mac OS X, and Microsoft Windows operating systems. It can be installed on 32 and 64-bit systems using the instructions provided by Softpedia in the Getting Started section above.