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Re: (was WinHelp on Vista - was a useful link) Now, what if...

Subject: Re: (was WinHelp on Vista - was a useful link) Now, what if...
From: "Bill Swallow" <techcommdood -at- gmail -dot- com>
To: sbuckley <sbuckley -at- onlinewriter -dot- com>
Date: Wed, 20 Sep 2006 21:22:48 -0400

W3C's recommendations for HTML apply to any and all HTML-based Help
formats, including CHM, JavaHelp, and OracleHelp, as well as the
various non-compiled formats. Clean and accessible HTML is clean and
accessible HTML. The TOC/IX/Search, however, is another story. There
are standards out there for these things, and they are provided by the
format owners (Microsoft, Sun, Orcale, etc.).

I don't think the W3C should or would consider informing Help format
design. Not all Help is web-based, and many use certain technologies
to work in certain environments. It would be akin to asking the
Oxford English Dictionary (not to be confused with the lofty Uxbridge
English Dictionary) to inform how all publications should be printed,
down to paper composition and glue.

On 9/20/06, sbuckley <sbuckley -at- onlinewriter -dot- com> wrote:

I apologize for creating the storm that I did with my response. I really
just wanted to provide a link to helpful information. Now, maybe not.

I liked the response below because it asked for something specific. The
problem is we, the technical communication industry, need to start providing
the recommendations for what's needed and make them heard. How? I'm not
quite sure. Currently, and I know this from experience, if a tech writer
says to a large company "this is what we need for an authoring tool and how
to deliver the information in Help" at best we are not listened to or at
least not completely. Big companies can, sometimes have to, and do ignore
us.

What about the World Wide Web consortium? They have standards on Web sites
and how to deliver them for accessibility and localization. There's also
standards on making software fit these standards or similar standards.

What if there were WWW3 standards on how to create and deliver Help for
software? Presently I can't find such standards. Maybe I'm out of the loop
and missed something on their site. If so, please provide information.

If not, we need to provide readability and other Help oriented usability
information to WWW consortium to create standards for Help. Then the large
companies will have the information they consider official enough to create
the tools we need to do our jobs.

--
Bill Swallow
HATT List Owner
WWP-Users List Owner
Senior Member STC, TechValley Chapter
http://techcommdood.blogspot.com
avid homebrewer and proud beer snob
"I see your OOO message and raise you a clue."
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

WebWorks ePublisher Pro for Word features support for every major Help format plus PDF, HTML and more. Flexible, precise, and efficient content delivery. Try it today! http://www.webworks.com/techwr-l

Easily create HTML or Microsoft Word content and convert to any popular Help file format or printed documentation. Learn more at http://www.DocToHelp.com/TechwrlList

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References:
RE: WinHelp on Vista - a useful link: From: Dan Goldstein
RE: (was WinHelp on Vista - was a useful link) Now, what if...: From: sbuckley

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