Help file does not open

At some point you may run across a scenario when you try to access a help file within a program, but the help file doesn’t open. Typically you will get a screen similar to the one below saying “Navigation to the web page was canceled” (Windows 7) or “Action canceled” (XP). I believe that this typically happens when you get this help file from somewhere other than a standard installation of a program, and this is Microsoft’s way of protecting you.

What you need to do is navigate in Windows Explorer to the location that the help file is located in, such as below for example.

You then need to right click on the help file and select Properties. Then, on the General tab, select the Unblock button towards the bottom right and then hit apply and then OK.

Now the help file should appear when you try to access it from within your program.

As a side note, some help files can be accessed by double clicking on the help file itself from within Windows Explorer, and others cannot. Some can only be accessed from within the program they written for.