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The powers that be where I work want more information before they make
the leap into placing manuals on-line. I'd be interested to hear
about the experiences of writers who use on-line documentation
applications such as RoboHelp, ForeHelp, and others------except Adobe
Acrobat. I've already researched the use of Adobe Acrobat in
combination with Lotus Notes and had sent a listing of the responses
to this listserv on Oct. 17th.
What is it that you like about RoboHelp, ForeHelp, or other
applications? What do you not like about it? Why did you choose it?
What do you think most tech. writers use? What do you wish you could
have?
* * * Here's a summary of the key points from each respondent:
RoboHelp -- One writer had a bad experience loading it --- it didn't.
When he contacted RoboHelp's tech. support, they weren't able to
resolve the problem.
RoboHelp -- "In looking at RoboHelp, ForeHelp, and Doc-to-Help,
RoboHelp appeared to be the best.
Folio Views -- "Very strong publishing tool" and very good at crossing
various platforms, but expensive.
RoboHelp -- Was positive about it. One criticism, "...can't create
frame-based help...all the files are window dependent only." One big
positive mentioned was that, "If you know Microsoft Word well,
RoboHelp is a breeze to use."
ForeHelp -- An authoring tool that doesn't use Word ("RoboHelp and
Doc-to-Help are add-ons to Word"). "From viewing the WINHLP-L list, I
see four to five RoboHelp problems and four to five Doc-to-Help
problems everyday...but I see about one ForeHelp problem a month."
ForeHelp -- One writer has used RoboHelp and ForeHelp, but prefers
ForeHelp. "ForeHelp worked with the graphics files so much easier and
the results were much better."
Common Ground -- This is a Canadian competitor to Acrobat owned by
Hummingbird Communications. The writer said, "Common Ground does some
things better than Acrobat and offers some additional neat features
(like attaching a miniviewer to their 'digital paper' format output to
allow users of a doc to open it without installing a viewer)." To
look at it, go to: http://www.hummingbird.com/
RoboHelp -- One writer was very positive about it. "Easy to use
interface...its features are very strong...specifically, it automates
very efficiently the common tasks required to develop and compile an
Online resource. For example, topic creation, K-word (index) listings,
pop-ups, graphic integration, graphic sectoring, custom buttons,
hypertext links, etc. One feature I really like is the standalone
Contents Tab Composer, which provides a well-organized UI for creating
a WinHelp 95 contents box, and lets you easily link each item with the
corresponding topic. I found that after several hours of tinkering
with these main features, I felt very comfortable using the tool in
developing my Help file....and it's the popular choice."
RoboHelp -- If you're using an earlier version of Word such as 6.0,
you're relegated to using a more primitive version of RoboHelp.
Corel Ventura, FrameMaker, Word, Doc-to-Help, Word Perfect, Microsoft
Publisher, and Authorware -- For an excellent review of these
applications (pros and cons), contact Martha Lauer at: mailto:Martha -dot- Lauer -at- cexp -dot- com
A big THANK-YOU to all the writers who responded to my questions!
Jim Bauman
IS Technical Publications
Safety-Kleen Corp.
