The following is a selection of enquiry e-mails I have received and my responses to them. Perhaps the information may be useful to you too. Use the Index and Search functions on the left to look for information relevant to you. If you don't find answers to your questions, send me an e-mail.
This page is regularly updated with new enquiries.
a friend passed on your web site details as they thought it would be useful to me...but what is RoboHelp? and why would I want to go on one of your courses? How would it help my business?
Many thanks,
Thanks for your enquiry. RoboHelp is primarily designed to help software developers (or Help authors) to create Help systems for software quickly and easily. However, RoboHelp is also a very good HTML-editor for creating Web or intranet based systems (my web-site was created using RoboHelp X5). You don't need to know any HTML coding as it incorporates a Microsoft Word-style WYSIWYG interface. It also creates excellent complex Word documents and Java-based systems if required.
A Help system is simply a bunch of information (text, pictures, sounds, multimedia, etc.) linked together with hyperlinks, a table of contents, index and a search function. As well as application help, this format can be used as intranet or web-sites, computer-based training (CBT) tutorials, online manuals, handbooks, catalogues or sales and marketing material - any system that contains information that people need to access on a computer.
For more information about the software, I recommend exploring the Robohelp web-site
My course not only shows you how to use all the major functions of RoboHelp but looks at uses and benefits of the systems you can create with it. We can also look at planning and development strategies if required.
As I provide private, personal, on-site training sessions, we can concentrate on areas that are most applicable to your business and modify the course as we go along if necessary (most class-based courses stick to a rigid syllabus).
Delegates are provided with a RoboHelp textbook that includes a CD with exercise files. I am happy for up to six members of your staff to attend the course - perhaps attending just the areas that interest them - for the set course fee (most on-site courses charge you per person).
Our sales department received your e-mail this morning and passed it on to me. It was good timing, as I was having so much trouble with our current help software, I was about to throw it out the window.
We are a software house based in Milton Keynes, and have been using HDK for several years now to maintain a help system for our software. The company that originally set up our help system were the ones who made the decision to use HDK, and they provided limited training at the time, specific to maintaining the help they had provided.
We're now looking to expand our help system, and are considering transferring the whole of the existing help to a more widely-available and supported product, and Robohelp looks like the most likely candidate.
Have you had any experience with importing/transferring documents from other systems such as HDK? I know nothing about Robohelp, but I assume it works in conjunction with MS Word documents as HDK does??
We were also looking to make our help system a bit more modular so that different types of our end users could be provided with different versions of the help system - do you know if Robohelp supports this, and would it be possible to include it in a course?
Look forward to hearing from you.
Regards,
Thanks for your response. RoboHelp HTML uses HTML files rather than Word documents to create the topics in your Help system. However, you don't need to know any HTML as there is an excellent WYSIWYG interface that includes many of the features of Microsoft Word (the intention was to make the feel as close as possible so that it's intuitive for people familiar with Word).
It is very simple to import Word documents into a RoboHelp project - the files are automatically converted into HTML, retaining any Table of Contents, index, styles and formatting. We can do some test conversions of your existing Help system on the course.
The HTML format is much more user-friendly, compact and flexible than Word-based (Visual Basic) Help systems - for both the designer and end-users. Many of the major software houses in the US (including Microsoft themselves) have completely switched to HTML for their Help design.
A project designed using RoboHelp can output a single compressed HTML (*.chm) file (no separate TOC or index files), a web or Intranet site (my web-site is designed using RoboHelp), a very impressive Word document (including TOC, Index, styles, page numbering etc) and even Java formats if you want them.
RoboHelp allows you to specify "conditional" topics and text so that you can produce different "builds" for different purposes quickly and easily. This means that, using the one original project, you can output an unlimited number of different versions, specifying exactly what topics and text to be included in each one. This is covered in the course and we can concentrate on it if you like.
I am interested in retraining to work as a Technical Author. I do not have a computing background, I have scientific background.. I am about to go on a training course consisting of ECDL, CISCO, MOUS, MCSE 2000. Ideally I would like to write end-user documentation and Win help files. Could you advise me about Robohelp. Is there a structured training course for this kind of work?
I look forward to your reply.
It's good to hear of your interest in embarking on a career in Technical Authoring. I would think that a scientific background is an excellent basis on which to start as it would indicate a systematic and inquisitive approach to the task.
RoboHelp is an excellent tool for designing end-user online documentation (it's considered the "industry standard" in the US). Although you can use it to create WinHelp files (designed in conjunction with Microsoft Word based on the Visual Basic programming language), over the last five years or so the emphasis has been on HTML-based Help systems.
HTML is commonly known as the language used to design Web pages but it can also be used to create Help for software programs.(Application Help) and even the software programs themselves. In the Help-design context, HTML gives you more flexibility, better integration and more features. Consequently, Microsoft now designs all their help systems using HTML and this format is quickly gaining popularity over here.
A consequence of concentrating on HTML Help has allowed the developers of RoboHelp to put a lot of effort into developing a format called WebHelp.
A Help system (or any computer-based information) produced in the WebHelp format is essentially a Web site and can be stored on an organisation's central server and accessed by users using a browser (such as Internet Explorer).
A WebHelp system can be seamlessly incorporated into the company's Intranet or accessed over the Internet (my Web-site is a WebHelp system and the Help for the latest version of RoboHelp is stored on the Internet, although a local version can be accessed if you're not connected to the Internet).
The main advantage of this type of online documentation is the ease of updating, modifying and expanding the information centrally. Another advantage is the ability to monitor how people use the information - which topics are accessed more often; whether questions were answered, etc, making evaluating and reviewing the system so much easier.
RoboHelp Office Pro includes an excellent tool that generates all sorts of statistical reports (and beautiful charts) that give you up-to-date information about the effectiveness of server-based online information. I suggest you have a look at the Robohelp web-site for more information.
The courses that you mention will give you an excellent all-round knowledge of computers and (in particular Microsoft) software. I run a structured "Essentials of RoboHelp HTML" course over three days that covers all the skills you need to design Help for software programs and WebHelp systems (as well as excellent Word documents and Java-based systems if required) using RoboHelp. In addition, we spend some time looking at guidelines, strategies and best-practices in the planning and development of end-user documentation. I can also customise a two-day course if required, or provide a day's consultancy. My courses are run at a location of your choosing and at a time convenient to you.
Best wishes and good luck with your endeavours.
Should I upgrade to RoboHelp X5?
RoboHelp X5 provides excellent new collaborative development and Adobe PDF features.
See the Robohelp web-site for more information.
If you have any questions about RoboHelp, Help authoring or Online documentation design, please feel free to send me an e-mail:
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