Re: Configurable On-Line Documentation: Tools and Technologies

[Amanda_Abelove -at- toyota -dot- com]

Hi--

Here's how I did it...  If anyone has a less painful solution, please set 
him straight...  Don't want to send him up a fjord without a longboat!

I hit this problem with Island Pacific's retail solution and did it with 
help from the nice folks at eHelp.  The hardest part is figuring out 
within each module, what the different combinations are, especially if the 
config file is set at the system level and there is no 
function/component/table traceability...  The total possible combinations 
are finite.  Once you map that out, id 2 names for the feature: on or off. 
 

Choose whether it is organized by task or function...Then:

1. Design the help so that each module has it's own master help project 
and per module the UI points to the layout for it based on the config 
file.
2.  Create sets of tasks or sets of functions according to how the config 
file is set
3.  Flag them at the topic level as to which ones they "belong" to when 
"on"
4. Sort it down from that level.  Try to avoid having the flags set at the 
text level if possible.
5. Create layouts for each possible combination. 
6. QA it. Use the "Off" setting to get around problems.
7.  Publish it.

This is a nightmare to implement.  I was able to do 2-6 before management 
changed.  The developers had the hardest time doing #1 because there was 
no way to do it without the web interface which was coming out in a 
planned iteration. 

Tip: The script that points to a help URL should pull the URL from a table 
b/c future versions will require additional layouts.  Don't hardcode the 
help URL into the GUI.

Thanks!

---Amanda

Amanda Abelove
Technical Writer, (562) 468-6678
amanda_abelove -at- toyota -dot- com
amanda -at- abelove -dot- com
Cell: 310-430-0049


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