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Subject:Re: HTML 5 web help versioning From:Julie Stickler <jstickler -at- gmail -dot- com> To:TECHWR-L Writing <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com> Date:Wed, 19 Nov 2014 12:59:51 -0500
I think that most companies that have hosted Help include the version in
the URL. The product I used to work for that was bought by IBM has the
version in the URL. MadCap's Flare Help has the version in the URL.
If you want to keep the same URL, another option is to include a link to
"other versions" or "previous versions" somewhere in your Help that links
to older but still supported versions. I've seen it done both at the
bottom of the TOC, and as a link on the Help landing page.
On Wed, Nov 19, 2014 at 12:38 PM, Robert Lauriston <robert -at- lauriston -dot- com>
wrote:
> The simple way to do it is to have the developers change the directory
> for the help files in each version, along the lines of those
> FrameMaker URLs.
>
> Then you don't need to do anything special in Flare, and the versions
> can coexist happily on a web site.
>
> On Wed, Nov 19, 2014 at 9:24 AM, Hannah Drake <hannah -at- formulatrix -dot- com>
> wrote:
> > Flare
> >
> >
> > On Wednesday, November 19, 2014, Robert Lauriston <robert -at- lauriston -dot- com>
> > wrote:
> >>
> >> Which authoring tool are you using?
> >>
> >> Standard practice is to put the product and version in the URL, so
> >> each release of the product has a unique base URL for the help. For
> >> example:
> >>
> >>
> >>
>http://help.adobe.com/en_US/FrameMaker/11.0/Using/WSd817046a44e105e21e63e3d11ab7f7561e-7fff.html
> >>
> >>
> >>
>http://help.adobe.com/en_US/FrameMaker/10.0/Using/WSd817046a44e105e21e63e3d11ab7f7561e-7fff.html
> >>
> >> Typically on the web site the latest release has no version, so a URL
> >> without a version gets you the latest and greatest:
> >>
> >>
> >>
>http://help.adobe.com/en_US/framemaker/using/WSd817046a44e105e21e63e3d11ab7f7561e-7fff.html
> >>
> >> What tool Adobe uses to generate the pop-up version menu in the bottom
> >> corner I don't know but that's external to the help. Maybe
> >> Dreamweaver, Flex, or Cold Fusion.
> >>
> >> MadCap used to do much the same thing but they seem to have removed
> >> the older versions from their site.
> >>
> >>
> >>
>http://webhelp.madcapsoftware.com/flare10/Default.htm#Output/Determining_the_Output_Type.htm
> >>
> >> On Wed, Nov 19, 2014 at 8:13 AM, Hannah Drake <hannah -at- formulatrix -dot- com>
> >> wrote:
> >> > Hi all,
> >> >
> >> > Hope you're having a wonderful Wednesday. I'm wondering what you do
> for
> >> > products that have online help and different software versions. We are
> >> > thinking we need versions, as in website.com/3.1, and so on, but I
> don't
> >> > think I've ever seen a release in a URL? How is this done at other
> >> > companies?
> >> >
> >> > The concern is that the users with older products will go find online
> >> > help
> >> > and it will be unhelpful since it's not related to their version, if
> we
> >> > only put the latest up.
>
> ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
> Read about how Georgia System Operation Corporation improved teamwork,
> communication, and efficiency using Doc-To-Help | http://bit.ly/1lRPd2l
>
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Read about how Georgia System Operation Corporation improved teamwork, communication, and efficiency using Doc-To-Help | http://bit.ly/1lRPd2l
