Open / view .chm file under Linux or FreeBSD

by nixCraft on March 3, 2006 · 22 comments· last updated at January 22, 2007

Chm file is a Microsoft Compressed HTML Help file in a proprietary format for online help files. Under Linux/FreeBSD or UNIX you can open .chm file using following three different programs which makes it possible to browse native Windows CHM files:

Install chm viewer

Use apt-get or yum command to install chm viewer:
# apt-get install gnochm
OR
# apt-get install kchmviewer

Gnome Desktop User

Use gnochm program as follows
$ gnochm file.chm

KDE Desktop User

Use kchmviewer (very nice and highly recommended) program as follows
$ kchmviewer file.chm

Other tool

xchm program is quite outdated but works:
$ xchm file.chm

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{ 22 comments… read them below or add one }

1 Deepak March 23, 2006 at 2:58 am

If you have KDE installed Open the file with Konqueror and naviagate from within.

2 asdf July 3, 2007 at 4:52 am

Or you could just use xchm

$sudo apt-get install xchm

3 nidhi November 29, 2007 at 12:23 pm

i used konquerer it worked fine thanks

4 sun March 9, 2008 at 10:19 pm

i installed kchmviewer and it works fine but i prefer konqueror …i tried to open .chm from within the konqueror but it opens it with kchmviewer … i tried right click and open with other application=konqueror ..still it forces it to open with kchviewer …. i actually like the konqueror fonts… please some one ..help..

5 s April 30, 2008 at 11:47 pm

Currently gnochm doesn’t allow you to do in-page search and change fonts. xchm is better.

6 prabu May 19, 2008 at 4:21 am

Really Good . Excellent

7 Abhishek May 21, 2008 at 2:17 pm

Thanks!

8 himadri June 18, 2008 at 9:22 am

Thanks for the help /. Konquerer works .. so does kchmviewer …

9 Irudayaraj August 2, 2008 at 3:36 pm

it very much useful.

thank you.

10 Mad Big Dave October 8, 2008 at 5:32 pm

and where are the repositories for the kchmviewer? I ran the update commands and it didn’t find the install packages.

11 Pankaj April 9, 2009 at 3:59 am

thanx ….

12 Ziegfried May 11, 2009 at 1:30 pm

Thanks a lot! You saved my day!

13 WC July 7, 2009 at 10:27 pm

Thanks!

14 alpha.scot July 11, 2009 at 5:30 am

THANK YOU VERY MUCH

15 macca September 6, 2009 at 8:57 am

I installed Gnochm. The layout is excellent unlike xCHM where the main content is squished to the right of the panel. Unfortunately Gnochm crashes & closes after viewing about 10 pages, or sometimes when choosing a Chapter from the left plane.
Any solutions?