Re: Is RoboHelp still a viable way to go for help?

[Dizzy <infodziner -at- gmail -dot- com>]

http://help.robohelp.com/RoboHTML/Whats_new_in_this_release.htm


So what's up with this? All indications are that Macromedia is
scrapping RoboHelp but these descriptions of the new product features
suggest otherwise.

I hope so, because I'm spending a lot of time transitioning over to
FlashHelp and convincing our Citrix administrator to allow us to
transmit swf over the network.

Is there any way that we could band together to let Macromedia (and
Adobe) know how we (and our users) depend upon them?

Or is there another way to embed self-running demos in help files that
run in a regular browser that can be configured for network users?

thanks
Kathy Burke




On 8/9/05, Char James-Tanny <charjt -at- helpstuff -dot- com> wrote:
> 
> > Will RH only really stop being competitive (in terms of
> > functionality) if it fails to support MS Vista when it
> > emerges, blinking, into the sun?
> 
> It depends...as David Knopf says in another message, browser changes could
> also have an impact. (The WebHelp files that RoboHelp produces are loaded
> with browser-sniffing JavaScript. As Mike O. says in another message, it
> should be possible to do some post-production stuff so that the files
> work...but that case depends on whether the author really wants to go
> through it, and if it's even possible to make changes that work.)
> 
> Also, when Microsoft updates Office, it will affect RoboHelp Office
> (specifically, RoboHelp for Word) installations. RoboHelp for Word has been
> hard-coded to only work with specific versions of Word. Users who want to
> upgrade Office will have to keep the old version around if they want to
> continue using RoboHelp. (And, no, I don't have any idea what the
> ramifications of that are.)
> 
> In the specific case of Vista, it will depend on what the Help author's
> company needs...if they don't plan on supporting Vista or producing Vista
> Help, then there's no problem.
> 
> > Isn't it odd that Macromedia would throw away, as is being
> > suggested, the brand? I don't know how many times I've seen
> > RH described as the "de facto" HATT, and even "non-technical"
> > technical writers saying that they're "doing their
> > documentation in RoboHelp" without really understanding what
> > a CHM is or what it's made of (which is a Good Thing or a Bad
> > Thing, depending on your point of view).
> 
> One of the things that has happened here many times is that someone calls
> wanting a "RoboHelp Help file." :-)
> 
> It's long been assumed that Macromedia purchased eHelp for the Flash-based
> components. In that regard, it's not odd (nor surprising) that Macromedia
> doesn't care about RoboHelp. (MM has already dropped many RoboHelp products,
> and has transformed others, such as RoboDemo, which is now Captivate.)
> 


On 8/9/05, Char James-Tanny <charjt -at- helpstuff -dot- com> wrote:
> 
> > Will RH only really stop being competitive (in terms of
> > functionality) if it fails to support MS Vista when it
> > emerges, blinking, into the sun?
> 
> It depends...as David Knopf says in another message, browser changes could
> also have an impact. (The WebHelp files that RoboHelp produces are loaded
> with browser-sniffing JavaScript. As Mike O. says in another message, it
> should be possible to do some post-production stuff so that the files
> work...but that case depends on whether the author really wants to go
> through it, and if it's even possible to make changes that work.)
> 
> Also, when Microsoft updates Office, it will affect RoboHelp Office
> (specifically, RoboHelp for Word) installations. RoboHelp for Word has been
> hard-coded to only work with specific versions of Word. Users who want to
> upgrade Office will have to keep the old version around if they want to
> continue using RoboHelp. (And, no, I don't have any idea what the
> ramifications of that are.)
> 
> In the specific case of Vista, it will depend on what the Help author's
> company needs...if they don't plan on supporting Vista or producing Vista
> Help, then there's no problem.
> 
> > Isn't it odd that Macromedia would throw away, as is being
> > suggested, the brand? I don't know how many times I've seen
> > RH described as the "de facto" HATT, and even "non-technical"
> > technical writers saying that they're "doing their
> > documentation in RoboHelp" without really understanding what
> > a CHM is or what it's made of (which is a Good Thing or a Bad
> > Thing, depending on your point of view).
> 
> One of the things that has happened here many times is that someone calls
> wanting a "RoboHelp Help file." :-)
> 
> It's long been assumed that Macromedia purchased eHelp for the Flash-based
> components. In that regard, it's not odd (nor surprising) that Macromedia
> doesn't care about RoboHelp. (MM has already dropped many RoboHelp products,
> and has transformed others, such as RoboDemo, which is now Captivate.)
>

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