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Subject:Re: How to Create Online Help? From:Beth Kane <Beth -dot- Kane -at- VENTANA -dot- COM> Date:Wed, 20 Jan 1999 09:57:38 -0700
Debbie,
First you buy a software application that helps you do this, because
creating online help systems involves coding. The applications do the coding
for you, so you don't have to be a programmer. The most popular applications
are RoboHELP, ForeHelp and Doc-to-Help.
If you need to create an online help system that runs in Windows-based
applications, these apps help you create what's called Winhelp.
If the online help system has to run in an Internet browser, you need to
create what's called HTML-based help. RoboHELP and ForeHelp can do that (I
don't know if D2H does).
The steps in the process of creating the help depend on which application
you bought. All of them are easy to learn.
You need to create topics that explain what's in each and every window of
your app (that's known as context-sensitive help), plus numbered steps for
all the tasks your app can accomplish (how-to topics).
Does this help at all? Or did I get too elementary?
Beth Kane in Tucson
kane -at- ventana -dot- com
-----Original Message-----
What is the process a tech writer goes through to produce online help
documentation? And how is an application, such as Robohelp, employed to
accomplish this task?
