Re: RoboHelp vs Flare

[Deborah Hemstreet <dvora -at- tech-challenged -dot- com>]

I'm a bit late putting my two cents in, but would like to add the 
following: (note all refs to RoboHelp relate to V7)

Service and Support:
    MadCap Software: Costly but worth every cent. Amazing and every 
question answered/related to
    Adobe: Frustrating, costly, rarely get an answer right away, drove 
me nuts

Software Function:
    Flare: High learning curve but amazingly powerful, style sheets 
don't get corrupted, support contract reduced learning curve. Rel Tables 
(outside of topics) make links between topics easy to do, help me find 
errors quickly.
    RoboHelp: Moderate learning curve, buggy, crashed a lot, style 
sheet was always getting corrupted; links between topics are all in the 
topic, and you have to go into the topic to change them... can be really 
clunky with huge projects.

In-House Testing
    Flare: All major browsers except Chrome (when I got it), including 
Safari on a Mac
    RoboHelp: Claims compatibility with Safari on Mac but not actually 
tested

Graphics:
    Flare and Capture: Simply awesome for single sourcing. Capture 
still has a ways to go for my standards (I'd like it to have everything 
it has plus everything SnagIt has to be perfect), but if you want to 
single-source graphics - it really works and is great. Also has a great 
thumbnail feature.
    RoboHelp: Nothing remarkable that I can think of. I found working 
with graphics to be incredibly clunky.

I am currently working on two huge Help projects, one in Flare and one 
in RoboHelp. I am finding that once I got the hang of things in Flare, 
my work goes much faster, and is far less buggy. In addition, I am 
developing Help for a Mac application, viewed in Safari browser. MadCap 
Software was VERY helpful in helping me customize the skin and getting 
everything set up. We found a couple of bugs, found workarounds, and my 
client is VERY happy with the output.

Importing big projects into Flare or RoboHelp is time consuming. (I've 
done both) At the end of the day, I'd choose Flare for all my projects, 
if I could.

I hope this info is helpful.

Deborah

P.S. Happy Thanksgiving

**
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Create and publish documentation through multiple channels with Doc-To-Help. 
Choose your authoring formats and get any output you may need. Try 
Doc-To-Help, now with MS SharePoint integration, free for 30-days. 
http://www.doctohelp.com

---
You are currently subscribed to TECHWR-L as archive -at- web -dot- techwr-l -dot- com -dot- 

To unsubscribe send a blank email to 
techwr-l-unsubscribe -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
or visit http://lists.techwr-l.com/mailman/options/techwr-l/archive%40web.techwr-l.com


To subscribe, send a blank email to techwr-l-join -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com

Send administrative questions to admin -at- techwr-l -dot- com -dot-  Visit
http://www.techwr-l.com/ for more resources and info. 

Please move off-topic discussions to the Chat list, at:
http://lists.techwr-l.com/mailman/listinfo/techwr-l-chat