I'm sorry to break the silence.
John, I know you're tired of this - but the problem is that
App\gimp\lib\gimp\2.0\plug-ins\help-browser.exe hasn't
been replaced in 2.8.0 Rev 4 with the working one from
GIMP_Portable_Help_Fix_2.8.0.paf.exe
Just be aware that help-browser.exe must reside in the
App\gimp\lib\gimp\2.0\plug-ins folder.
In the above-mentioned fix it was mistakenly placed in
App\gimp\bin folder alongside with libgtkhtml-2-0.dll
The size of the working file is 54792 bytes.
The one with the size 46144 bytes doesn't work.
It works just fine for me. Swapping in the 54k version causes it to fail for me. On Windows 7 x64.
Sometimes, the impossible can become possible, if you're awesome!
Strange that I have the opposite result (doesn't work) on Win7 x64 version too. Oh well, maybe somebody else will confirm - because I've installed from scratch and into different drives & locations - the result is the same.
My help-browser.exe within GIMPPortable\App\gimp\lib\gimp\2.0\plug-ins has an MD5 of 7bfac18c0e7441354b2a72194a82b86a and my libgtkhtml-2-0.dll in GIMPPortable\App\gimp\bin has an MD5 of ec69bee7f2c14b4c8db41c12dc424fd3. Help works as expected with being prompted to use online (since no local help files exist) and then the help browser comes up.
As mentioned it works fine on my Win7 x64 machine. It also works fine on my Win XP SP3 clean machine image used for testing.
Sometimes, the impossible can become possible, if you're awesome!
Doesn't work for me - Win7 64 Home. Keeps saying the Help Browser is not installed.
Interestingly enough, I also have a local install of GIMP 2.8 (because I couldn't wait for the PA ver), but in that, the Help Browser works out-of-the-box no problem.
I made this half-pony, half-monkey monster to please you.
Can you try copying over help-bbrowser.exe from your installed GIMP and see if it makes a difference?
Try this:
1. Delete the libgtkhtml-2-0.dll file in your App\gimp\bin directory
2. Replace the help-browser.exe file in your App\gimp\lib\gimp\2.0\plug-ins with this one.
Sometimes, the impossible can become possible, if you're awesome!
Tried yours - still says Help Browser not installed.
Tried Gord's idea - still no go.
At this point, I'm not gonna worry about it - it's not worth tearing my hair out. I'll just use FF to view help. Thanks anyway.
I made this half-pony, half-monkey monster to please you.
Mine is from a fresh install of 32bit gimp. The gtkhtml isnt included anymore. So if that doesn't work, it just may not for you for some reason.
Sometimes, the impossible can become possible, if you're awesome!
Same problem here .. keep getting the message that gimp help is not installed on my computer, yet I had installed it on the flashdrive. The installer put it all in .\GIMP\share\gimp\2.0\help\en
I tried your suggestions, with the different help-browser.exe and deleting libgtkhtml-2-0.dll. Using Win32-sp1.
Very frustrating because a program like this can really benefit from a help system.
Fixed: The help files need to be placed in: .\GIMP\App\gimp\share\gimp\2.0\help\en
Please try this new GIMP Portable 2.80 Rev 5 Dev Test 1 build to see if this works for you:
https://portableapps.com/node/34156
Sometimes, the impossible can become possible, if you're awesome!
This is fixed in today's 2.8.2 release. Help should now work on most machines.
Sometimes, the impossible can become possible, if you're awesome!