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Subject:Re: Four Questions Various Subjects From:Bill Burns <BillDB -at- ILE -dot- COM> Date:Tue, 9 Mar 1999 11:27:31 -0700
Lisa is pretty curious today:
> 1. What is the development tool that Microsoft uses to produce "TECHNET"?
> Requirements for my current project make seem similiar to the ones for
> TECHNET based on its look and feel, so I'm very curious about the tool
> Microsoft used for its development.
>
I couldn't tell you specifically what they used, but it looks like they used
DHTML (JavaScript, CSS). You could probably do something similar with
Macromedia Dreamweaver. The more you know about DHTML, the better for this
kind of design. I've just ordered a demo of Tango, a site design tool that's
supposed to do some pretty cool stuff. (A 60 MB download just seemed a bit
much.)
> 2. Before I call BlueSky and get put on hold for hours, has anyone had
> problems with the SHED graphic editor not finding help project topics? I
> think it has to do with the extended file and directory names I'm using,
> but I'm not sure. I
>
The SHED editor shipped with RoboHelp is a 16-bit application, so you have
to use the 8.3 naming convention for the bitmaps. However, I'm not clear
what you mean about the *editor* not finding the topics. Do you mean you
can't select the topics from RoboHelp's interface for the shed editor? If
not, how are you adding your topics to the help file? More detail here might
help to identify the problem.
> 3. I am using an Access database to store "Information Objects." These
> are text and graphics very specifically limited to a single topic or idea.
> (I'm trying to promote information reuse in a very, very large project.)
> Access works great with text, but I can't export to HTML any graphics
> .gif
> or otherwise. Has anyone else had this problem or know a workaround (or
> know what I might be doing wrong)?
>
Again, I think more detail is necessary here. Are you using ASPs or some
other kind of web-enabled query mechanism (e.g., Cold Fusion)?
> 4. Last question - has any used the tool 4Keeps? I'm going to be
> evaluating it soon for its ability to convert my .vsd diagrams to .gif and
> produce HTML. I was wondering what experiences you all have had with it.
>
Sorry, no help for you there.
I guess I'm raising more questions than providing answers at this point.
Bill Burns - Eccentric Technology Consultant
ILE Communications Group
billdb -at- ile -dot- com
Call me fishmeal.
