I added [this question at SuperUser](https://superuser.com/questions/42259/whats-the-deal-with-helpfiles-these-days) for the user's perspective.

So I create an application in Delphi or .NET which will run on a desktop system. Some nice GUI with all kinds of functionality and nice features. It works well, tests tell me it's nearly bug-free and I'm about to deploy it...

*WAIT! It needs a help file, so users can call upon context-sensitive help from the application!*

Or not? Are helpfiles really a requirement for desktop applications these days? And do they really need to be context-sensitive, holding the hands of the user to tell them they have to fill in their day of birth in this field labelled "Day of birth"? Or are helpfiles becoming a bit old-fashioned?

This is something I wonder about and this is a bit subjective, so instead I'm going to ask something different, to all of you who develop desktop applications: **Do you (still) offer context-sensitive helpfiles?**

Yes, or no, please. Feel free to add some subjective texts but to me, what is important is knowing if modern developers are still adding context-sensitive help to their GUI applications.

(Btw, I myself have moved to non-context PDF files that can be printed as manual. It's a lot easier to maintain.)