TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
Rick Stone <rick -dot- stone -at- WORLDSPAN -dot- COM> asked if anyone had ever documented
help files and how they did it.
Before I start writing a help file I write an outline using Excel. In the
spreadsheet I list each topic, topic ID, rtf file, alinks, klinks, browse
sequences, and anything else appropriate. I organize the topics as they
would appear in the help TOC. If I use a topic more than once, I show the
topic in the spreadsheet in a different colour.
I try to keep this spreadsheet up to date as I work. This way, if I have
to work on a help file months or years after I wrote it, I can see, at a
glance, what I did. I also hope that, if another writer has to work on one
of my projects, he or she whould find the spreadsheet useful.