Microsoft Help Viewer installation

Several products can display Help content in Microsoft Help Viewer, including Visual Studio and SQL Server.

Warning

Compatibility issues may arise if multiple versions of Visual Studio with Help Viewer are installed side by side, especially when Visual Studio 2022 or a newer version is installed first, followed by an older version. These issues may include crashes while using Help Viewer and difficulties uninstalling it through Add/Remove Programs in Windows.

To address these issues, it is recommended to reinstall the Help Viewer component for the newest version of Visual Studio that you need to use. To do this, open the Visual Studio Installer for the impacted version, uninstall the Help Viewer component, and then reinstall it.

Help Viewer is an optional installation component of Visual Studio. To install it through Visual Studio Installer, follow these steps:

1. Open Visual Studio Installer from the Start menu or, if you have Visual Studio open, you can choose Tools > Get Tools and Features to open Visual Studio Installer.

2. Choose the Individual Components tab, then search for help viewer, or select Help Viewer under the Code tools section.

   

3. Choose the Modify button to start the installation of Microsoft Help Viewer.

Another way to easily install Microsoft Help Viewer is through the search box:

1. Make sure that the Visual Studio Installer is not running.

2. Press Ctrl+Q and then type or enter help viewer in the search box.

   

3. Choose the result called Install Help Viewer.

4. In the dialog box that opens, choose the Install button.

   

Related content

• Microsoft Help Viewer
• Help viewer and offline content for SQL Server