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Subject:RE: Best tool for updating mammoth user's guide? From:"Gilger.John" <JGilger -at- acresgaming -dot- com> To:"TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com> Date:Wed, 7 Aug 2002 13:52:25 -0700
Elizabeth wants to know...
Have created a monster: a 700-some page user's guide to a less-than-perfect
application, for everyone and their grandma.
<snip>
Now, the request comes that I break down one version of a user's guide into
user tailored user's guides. For example, a "Customer" has access to only
X,Y, and Z functions of the system so does not need to know about the A
through W that a "Supervisor" does. Therefore, I should make a Customer's
Guide for every future version of the app, covering only X, Y, and Z-but
also create a Supervisor's Guide for every future version of the app,
covering only A through W.
You could consider using the same CONCEPT as MS Word's infamous Master Document.
I have been required to meet similar requirements in the recent past. Using MS Word, I made several small docs that could be added together selectively to make a 'custom' manual. I pdf'd each file then used Acrobat's Add Page(s) function to selectively add these mini-docs into a larger pdf for the customer.
Using RoboHTML is also easy -- start a new project for your 'custom' doc and import those topics you need from the Monster Master Doc. This keeps everything looking the same whether you read the XYZ version or the A-Z version.
YMMV :)
John Gilger
Senior Technical Writer
Acres Gaming, Inc.
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