Frm-18105 Failed To Start The Help System Access

Introduction If you are an Oracle Forms developer or an end-user running an Oracle Forms application (such as Oracle E-Business Suite, Oracle Fusion Middleware Forms Services, or a custom built Forms application), you may have encountered the cryptic error:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\ORACLE\KEY_DevSuiteHome1\FORMS90_HELP_PATH The full path to a valid help file, e.g., C:\ORANT\FORMS60\FORMS60.HLP or C:\DevSuite\help\forms.chm . frm-18105 failed to start the help system

This error typically appears when you press the or click on a Help button within a Forms runtime session. Instead of seeing context‑sensitive help or a help index, the application displays this error message, often followed by a blank or frozen screen. Introduction If you are an Oracle Forms developer

If you have followed this guide and still see the error, contact Oracle Support with a copy of your formsweb.cfg (web) or your registry export (client‑server) and the exact version of Forms you are using. In most real‑world cases, the problem is a missing help file or a disabled WinHelp component on a modern Windows OS. If you have followed this guide and still

hh.exe "C:\path\to\your\help.chm" If the help file opens, the file and viewer work. If not, fix that first. In web mode, the Forms client runs inside a browser, and help is usually displayed through Oracle Help for Java (OHJ) or a simple browser window. 4.1 Check the Form Module’s “Help” Property Each Forms module has a Help property (under the Form node in Forms Builder). This property should contain the full virtual path to the help file, relative to the Forms application’s web context.

If your help file myapp.chm is placed in $ORACLE_HOME/forms/help/ , and your Forms servlet is mapped to /forms/ , set the Help property to:

After fixing, test every form that includes context‑sensitive help. Also inform your end‑users that F1 help is restored. Last updated: March 2025. Compatible with Oracle Forms 6i through 12c.