RoboHelp Review

[Tim Altom <taltom -at- IQUEST -dot- NET>]

>>A pod of programmers is convinced that RoboHelp is the solution for our
>>WinHelp authoring needs.
>>
>>Anyone out there using it currently? If so, could you please give me a quick
>>overview on how it works and whether there are any alternatives?
>>
>>Thanks much,
>>
>Jeez, I'm tired of hearing that "this tool over here" or "that there tool"
>will make all of our WinHelp woes vanish! It won't. No tool will.

>Many writers think of Windows help authoring tools the same way they view
>DTP packages...different file conventions, different capabilities, and so
>on. Nada. Nay, nay. Nope. Not. Every help tool produces EXACTLY the same
>result, bar none. (This is, of course, ignoring the occasional DLL that's
>supplied with an authoring tool. Such DLLs aren't, IMO, worth the high price
>of the tool.)

>I've used Wysi-Help, RoboHelp, Doc-to-Help, Help Writer's Assitant, and
>others. All of them do precisely, exactly and totally the same thing.
>WinHelp files are the same whether produced in these things or in Word for
>Windows, which is what RoboHelp is REALLY doing. I just learned how to do it
>without RoboHelp.

>That's the key to all WinHelp work...you have to know what's going on, and
>how to use it to best advantage. That means learning the codes, the
>processes, and how to manipulate the compiler. It means learning the
>capabilities of WinHelp, not Robo-Thiso or Thato help tool. That's the
>approach we take in our classes: teaching WinHelp and help file creation,
>not a tool. We use and support ForeHelp, but that's more a result of
>happenstance than a massive commitment to the product. ANY tool will produce
>great help files in the hands of a skilled, trained and experienced writer.
>I've used Word for Windows extensively for help file creation. Conversely,
>any tool with produce dreck in the hands of a neophyte.

>In short, please tell your programmer friends that you need a tool that
>suits your own workstyle, because all tools are functionally identical,
>despite the hype around Robo-Help. Personally, I'd prefer a standalone tool
>like ForeHelp over RoboHelp or Doc-to-Help, just because I may need to edit
>some of the RTF myself later, and I can't do that as effectively while
>plowing through the thousands of K of bookmarks and field codes that tools
>running on Word have to insert into the RTF. The compiler ignores that
>chaff, but I have to pick my way through it in the editor.

>I'd suggest that you get Doc-to-Help's decompiler, find a help file you
>really admire, and decompile the thing. See how the author did it. Learn how
>that's done, then pick a tool on the basis of how you prefer to work. Ignore
>hype. Don't focus on the tool. Focus on what you want the help file to do,
>then pick a tool for your own cubicle. Jim Mischel's book is excellent for
>background, and you can find comparison articles in back issues of several
>Windows and PC magazines. You might also pick up a book or two on hypertext
>development. And be sure to learn proper techniques for preplanning the
>hypertext project. As you may have noted, this ain't like putting together
>brochures. It's a different paradigm and thought process.

>Feel free to email me directly if you need to, and best of luck.



>Tim Altom
>Vice President
>Simply Written, Inc.
>Technical Documentation and Training
>Voice 317.899.5882
>Fax 317.899.5987
>WWW: http://www.iquest.net/simply/simplywritten/



Tim Altom
Vice President
Simply Written, Inc.
Technical Documentation and Training
Voice 317.899.5882
Fax 317.899.5987
WWW: http://www.iquest.net/simply/simplywritten/