TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
Subject:JavaHelp or Something Else? Conclusion (Sort of) From:Kathy Das gupta <kdasgupt -at- NOTES -dot- CC -dot- BELLCORE -dot- COM> Date:Wed, 17 Feb 1999 11:10:33 -0500
Well, as promised here is a conclusion to my dilemma:
As a recap, I am faced with delivering Help for a Java application. The
developers are resistant to requiring a browser. I am currently using
ForeHelp. The app must be ready for GA on June 30. JavaHelp is not a viable
option.
Readers of this list were very helpful in giving me ideas that helped me
negotiate a temporary solution with the development team. What we decided
to do was: 1) Test going from ForeHelp to RoboHelp so I can output WebHelp.
2) If option 1 takes too much of my time (defined as >5 days to convert and
figure it all out), then I will provide NetHelp, and we will require a
Netscape browser. Requiring Netscape should not be too much of a hardship
on our users. Some are using PCs, and some are on UNIX workstations. The
UNIX folks would not be using IE, anyway. All of this was decided with the
understanding that the next release (likely in Dec) will feature JavaHelp.
If I can be of assistance to anyone on the list, or provide more details,
please don't hesitate to ask. Thanks for the assistance; your comments are
invaluable.
Kathy Das Gupta
Tech Writing Consultant
Currently Posted at Bellcore