Gen build "HHC.EXE not found in the PATH" - VS 2017 or 2019

Products

• Gen
• Gen - Workstation Toolset
• Gen - Host Encyclopedia
• Gen - Run Time Distributed

Issue/Introduction

Testing the generation of code using the Gen 8.6 Toolset in combination with Visual Studio 2017 (VS2017).
In the Build Tool, an error that the hhc.exe file is not found is being generated:

*** Error: HHC.EXE not found in the PATH. ***

Environment

Release : 8.6
Component : Gen Build Tool

Cause

The Microsoft Help Compiler (hhc.exe) should get installed with Visual Studio 2017 (VS2017), but there have been reports that it does not and it is not possible to select it on the install menu.

Resolution

The Help Compiler can be downloaded from the following Microsoft web page: Microsoft HTML Help Downloads

NOTE: The above page contains a link for the download of Htmlhelp.exe which may give a 404 error.
Alternative sources for the download that have been found are:
1. This Microsoft Learn page HTMLHelp Workshop - download for CHM compiler installation failed has an "Accepted answer" with "You can get files from MSDN archives =>" and a link for Download Htmlhelp.exe. That link goes to a Wayback Machine Internet Archive of a Microsoft download page i.e. http://web.archive.org/web/20160201063255/http://download.microsoft.com/download/0/A/9/0A939EF6-E31C-430F-A3DF-DFAE7960D564/htmlhelp.exe. The htmlhelp.exe file is immediately downloaded.
2. Help+Manual - Microsoft HTML Help Workshop

Once installed, the hhc.exe can be found in this folder, "C:\Program Files (x86)\HTML Help Workshop".

Additional Information

This problem has also been reported when using Visual Studio 2019.