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Jennifer Hager wondered: <<[RoboHelp for .NET] Anyone used this--or have
opinions about the benefits/disadvantages of running help as a Web
service?>>
Can't speak to the RoboHelp question, but I can see no reason I'd ever want
to put application help on the Web--with the obvious exception of Web sites
and intranets. Forcing people to establish a net connection just so they can
go to your Web site for help imposes an unnecessary burden: time, delay,
complexity, and for many users outside North America--a per-minute cost
while they're online. Many rural users may lack access to the Internet,
others have only slow (dialup) access, and most mobile users won't have any
access, thus potentially depriving several classes of user of any help at
all.
Ask yourself two hard questions:
- Does this approach offer any advantages?
- Do these advantages outweigh the drawbacks?
The argument that Web-based help provides access to the most recent version
of the help doesn't hold water. If the software has changed since the
original help file was created, and the users download patches or updates,
they should receive (and automatically install) the updated help file at the
same time.
--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
"It's one thing to see death coming at the hands of your own creation.
That's part of the human epic tradition, after all. Oedipus and his father.
Baron Frankenstein and his monster. William Henry Gates and Windows
'09."--David Brin, _Kiln People_
RoboHelp Studio maximizes your Help authoring power by combining
RoboHelp Office and RoboDemo, so you can easily create professional
Help systems that feature interactive tutorials and demos.
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