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RE: Does the new RoboHelp really handle print manuals better?
Subject:RE: Does the new RoboHelp really handle print manuals better? From:"Miller, Alan" <Alan -dot- Miller -at- prometric -dot- com> To:"TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com> Date:Mon, 2 Dec 2002 15:10:23 -0500
I agree with Geoff... with some amplification. I've tried RoboHelp's (RoboHelp 2002) printed manual function (from HTML Help) and was disappointed. The amount of work needed to turn the results into something useful and even marginally professional-looking was prohibitive. I found it far faster and easier to create the printed manual in Word (substitute the word-torturing device of your choice) and export to HTML. I could then import the bits I wanted to reuse in the online help with a minimum of fuss, muss, or bother.
Al Miller
"Chief Documentation Curmudgeon"
Prometric, Inc., a part of The Thomson Corporation
Baltimore, Maryland
No matter what happens, somebody will find a way to take it too seriously.
-- Dave Barry
-----Original Message-----
From: Hart, Geoff [mailto:Geoff-H -at- MTL -dot- FERIC -dot- CA]
Sent: Monday, December 02, 2002 1:32 PM
To: TECHWR-L
Subject: Does the new RoboHelp really handle print manuals better?
Chiming in a week late, as I got called away by an emergency:
Salan Sinclair wondered: <<Does the new RoboHelp really handle print manuals
better? I stayed away from RoboHelp in the past because I heard print was
challenging. Most of my clients need both print (PDF) and MS HTML Help.>>
Since RoboHelp uses Word for its standard WinHelp, it should provide you
with all Word's formatting options. Whether that's a good thing for manuals
I leave to each individual's taste. (I haven't used HTMLHelp, and will
continue avoiding it for as long as possible, so I can't comment on
RoboHTML.)
The bigger obstacle is that printed manuals and online help are different
beasties. I've yet to see a good implementation of a Help file as a manual,
or a good implementation of a manual as online help, and that being the
case, I'd suggest the answer to your question is "no way". You need to write
a manual specifically for its intended usage pattern and intended medium,
and unless you pick a true single-sourcing approach, you're not going to
succeed particularly well at meeting the needs of the online and in-print
reader by trying to take shortcuts.
Of course, if the client insists on an inadequate solution...
--Geoff Hart, geoff-h -at- mtl -dot- feric -dot- ca
Forest Engineering Research Institute of Canada
580 boul. St-Jean
Pointe-Claire, Que., H9R 3J9 Canada
"User's advocate" online monthly at
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