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The most common tool does not mean it's the best tool or the correct tool to
use. Size up your needs and your wants, and then do a cross-comparison of
all the more major tools out there to see what functionality you need and
what is delivered with each toolset.
RoboHelp may indeed be the most commonly-used tool out there, but I can tell
you from experience as a contractor that over 50% of the companies I have
contracted for have implemented it blindly... another tool would have been
more appropriate for their situations. Some tidbits to think about:
* If you don't use Word as your doc tool, you probably should use a tool
that caters to that word processor. RoboHelp uses Word...
* If you are authoring from scratch and don't need to repurpose the source
info in a format other than Help, you may want to investigate another tool
that may be more robust either in source handling or in output
features/stability (not that RH's output is unstable...).
I know there are a few folks on this list who chant that the tool doesn't
matter, that it's the person using it that counts. I'm one of them some of
the time. ;) But I do firmly believe that if you are making the leap into
purchasing a new tool to use, at least make an informed decision based on
YOUR NEEDS... Don't worry about keeping up with the Joneses.
*****************
BILL SWALLOW
Technical Writer
C O U R I O N C O R P O R A T I O N
1881 Worcester Road
Framingham, Mass. 01701
T E L * 508-879-8400 x316
F A X * 508-879-8500
www.courion.com
*****************
:: -----Original Message-----
:: From: Viviano, Tony [mailto:tony -dot- viviano -at- eds -dot- com]
:: I searched the polls on the techwr-l site, and I couldn't
:: find anything. My
:: manager asked me what tool is most commonly used to create
:: help. I said that
:: it was RoboHelp, but she wants some research to back it up.
:: Do any of you
:: know of a survey that shows what most writers are using?
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