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Re: RoboHelp or WebWorks ePublisher for Word 2000 and FrameMaker 6?
Subject:Re: RoboHelp or WebWorks ePublisher for Word 2000 and FrameMaker 6? From:"Bill Swallow" <techcommdood -at- gmail -dot- com> To:"Rick Stone" <rstone75 -at- kc -dot- rr -dot- com> Date:Sun, 12 Mar 2006 22:15:04 -0500
> While it may be true that the former RoboHelp development team has created
> their own company and have begun creating their own product, it would be a
> foolish mistake for someone to think they could simply acquire Flare and
> begin working immediately. The interface is nothing like RoboHelp's was. The
> outputs are substantially different.
The UI is definitely different. It has a more IDE feel to it, which is
where a lot of HATs are going, getting away from the "document as Help
source" mentality. The outputs are not substantially different. A CHM
is a CHM is a CHM.
> The whole workflow is different enough
> that I'd be surprised if any former RoboHelp user well versed in the
> application could be up and running with Flare in a day or so.
Many people on the HATT list don't seem to be having too many problems with it.
> In other
> words, there is a bit of a learning curve. ;) Actually, my guess is that
> users that have never seen RoboHelp before will have an easier time of it. I
> know I still struggle with it. But then again, I fall into the category of a
> long time RoboHelp user. ;)
As do I. I began using RH in 1996, and used Doc-to-Help at the same
time. Both tools had very different workflows, but that didn't mean
they were difficult to learn to use. They were just different. I then
began to use Dreamweaver, FrontPage, and NetObjects Fusion to do HTML
editing, all of which had a very different UI. In 1998 I began to
author in FrameMaker, and used RH, then Mif2Go, then WWP to create
online Help. All these tools are different, but that didn't make them
difficult to learn or use. I've used Flare as well, and yes, it's
different, but in my opinion it wasn't difficult to learn.
> And I'm not sure I'd say RoboHelp is dead just yet. I've heard some
> rumblings from various sources claiming that Adobe may be planning on
> bringing some development back. I heard a similar fate occurred with the
> Captivate developers. All development has moved off shore. Yet development
> continues with this product. And at a surprising pace!
RoboHelp and Captivate (aka RoboDemo) are like apples and oranges in
this regard. eHelp was purchased by Macromedia mainly for RoboDemo,
which was extremely quickly renamed and launched as Captivate.
Meanwhile, RoboHelp was virtually liquidated of resources by
Macromedia and was put on hold. Now Adobe owns Macromedia, and no
formal announcement has yet been made with regard to RoboHelp. True,
there was an announcement from WritersUA as prepared by Adobe:
"February 23, 2006 -- Adobe Systems is pleased to announce its
participation at the WritersUA Conference for Software User Assistance
in Palm Springs, April 10-12. Several Adobe representatives will be on
hand demonstrating the Adobe products of interest to the user
assistance community. In addition to FrameMaker, the Adobe exhibition
booth will feature RoboHelp and Captivate. Stop by to see the latest
demos and to discuss the current capabilities and future directions
for these important products. Adobe is also pleased to be sponsoring
the WritersUA Conference Reception on Monday evening, April 10."
I personally am not vested in RoboHelp's life or death, but I will say
that I will believe further development when I see it. Adobe has some
big issues to resolve with it. The code base is like FrameMaker's -
old, different, and unfamiliar to Adobe development. Plus, I'd be
interested how Adobe's support for RoboHelp will be handled, given
Adobe has a business agreement to package WebWorks Publisher Standard
with Framemaker.
I guess we'll have to wait until April 10 to find out what the plan is.
--
Bill Swallow
HATT List Owner
WWP-Users List Owner
42.8162,-73.7736 http://techcommdood.blogspot.com
============================
I support Char James-Tanny for STC Secretary.
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