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| We will shortly be supporting all of the following outputs:
| - PDF version of User's Guide (designed to be printed by the user)
| - JavaHelp (the product is Java-based)
| - Web-based Help (for multiple browsers, multiple platforms)
|
| We currently use FrameMaker for our User's Guide and cut, paste, and alter
| into ForeHelp for the JavaHelp. There must be a better solution.
Definitely! ForeHelp is a good tool, but since you are authoring your
content in FrameMaker and must support both JavaHelp and HTML for the Web, a
single source solution based on FrameMaker will be much less painful than
your current cut and paste process.
| We haven't yet used ForeHelp's MIF conversion. We are also looking at Web
| Works Publisher.
ForeHelp does a pretty good job of letting you import .mif files. However,
it's a one-way process. Once you've imported into FH, you have two sources
to maintain, unless you want to go through the import process every time the
FrameMaker content changes. An improvement over copy-and-paste, but not good
if your documentation tends to change with any frequency.
| I'd love to hear from any of you who have knowledge of ForeHelp and how we
| can better use its features and/or WWP and how it can help us. Any other
| suggestions, hints, or comments will be welcomed with open mind.
With WebWorks Publisher, you can fully automate the process of producing
your JavaHelp and Web-based Help directly from FrameMaker. A significant
commitment is required to get everything set up right, but once you do,
producing JavaHelp and Web-based Help really is a one-click operation. (Well
... two clicks really--one for the JavaHelp version and one for the
Web-based Help.) As consultants, we do this for our clients on a regular
basis, and it really does work. There's more information and a few samples
available on our Web site.
Another benefit of working with WWP is that you have complete and total
control over the actual code (HTML, JavaScript, CSS, etc.). I don't think
you can get this with ForeHelp, and -- especially for JavaHelp --
controlling the code can be quite important.
FYI, you can't do this using WWP Standard Edition (the version that's
bundled with Frame). You'll need to upgrade to WWP Professional.
RoboHelp MVP & Certified RoboHelp Instructor
WebWorks Publisher Certified Trainer
Member, JavaHelp 2.0 Expert Group
Member, RoboHelp Community Advisory Board
Co-moderator, HATT & wwp-users
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Develop HTML-Based Help with Macromedia Dreamweaver 4 ($100 STC Discount)
**WEST COAST LOCATIONS** San Jose (Mar 1-2), San Francisco (Apr 16-17) http://www.weisner.com/training/dreamweaver_help.htm or 800-646-9989.
Sponsored by ForeFront, Inc., maker of ForeHelp Help authoring tools
for print, WinHelp, HTML Help, JavaHelp, and cross-platform InterHelp
See www.forehelp.com for more information and free evaluation downloads
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