Learning About RoboHelp and MadCap Flare

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Learning About RoboHelp and MadCap Flare
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Topics for Tonight

• What do we (I) mean by online help
• Different formats which one when and why
• RoboHelp hands on
• WebWorks ePublisher Pro demo
• Flare hands on

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Online Help, Context Sensitive Help, Tools Tips,
Balloon Help, Dynamic Help

• Online help usually from menu, Help gt Contents
  (maybe Contents and Index)
• Context sensitive help Whats This? (fairly
  rare these days), select the question cursor,
  then select UI element in the application.
• Tool tips and balloon help (mouseover) (term
  balloon originally from Apple), the pop-up when
  cursor is placed over UI element (usually over
  buttons)
• Dynamic help usually part of the application,
  can update based on what you are doing in the
  application

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Online Help Systems

• Considerations
• Client/Server
• Operating System (Windows, Mac, Unix, Linux)
• Browser Compatibility
• Distribution (Web-based, with software, CD, etc.)

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Common Formats for Online Help Systems

• Simple HTML
• WinHelp (compiled .CHM)
• MS HTML Help
• WebHelp (supports DHTML, scripting)
• JavaHelp (typically with Java applications)
• Miscellaneous others

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Simple HTML

• Generally no issues with browsers, operating
  systems
• Source relatively uncomplicated allowing hand
  editing
• Difficult to maintain when large
• Does not support DHTML features
• Can work with scripting

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WinHelp (.CHM)

• Often called Chum file
• Easy distribution as it is a compiled single file
  (including any graphics, etc.)
• Limited to Windows
• Not easy to make minor fixes after built (have to
  rebuild)
• No longer supported by MS

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MS HTML Help

• Numerous versions (4?)
• Versions can be browser dependent
• Can include Active X controls (potential browser
  and OS issue)
• Outputs various files - .hlp, .hhp

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WebHelp

• Works with many OS and browsers
• Supports DHTML
• Can do some minor hand editing without rebuild
  (depends on the extent)

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Online Help Functionality Options

• Table of Contents (expanding or not)
• Search (key word, full text)
• Index
• Links (cross references) and Jumps
• Expanding Text (in line and expand below)
• Pop-ups
• Bread crumbs
• Other navigation (previous, next, related topics,
  etc.)
• NOTE
• Certain online formats do not support all types
  of features

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Introduction to RoboHelp

• History of RoboHelp (eHelp, then Macromedia, then
  Adobe) purchase of Macromedia appears not for
  Robo but other products like Flash, support for
  Robo questionable
• RoboHelp Office, RoboHelp for Frame (no longer
  available or supported)
• Allows creation of multiple formats and allows
  document generation (Word)
• Works with Word
• WYSIWYG

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Hands-on Getting Started with RoboHelp

• Select RoboHelp Starter
• Select Help Type in this case WebHelp (select
  New Project on that window)
• Provide information, select Finish

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Navigating, Application Layout

• Menus and toolbar
• Left pane note tabs at bottom
• Main editing pane

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Adding Topics

• Adding, editing directly in RoboHelp
• Importing files such as Word
• Manually add a number of topics (directly in
  RoboHelp)
• Try various character and paragraph formatting

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Topics and Books

• Each topic represents a screen in online help
• Each book is a collection of topics
• Books can be nested underneath other books
• Topics are only within books

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Creating Table of Contents (TOC)

• After creating a number of topics, select TOC tab
  (left pane)
• Select Topics tab (right pane)
• Drag topics from right to left pane
• Add a book in right pane right-click, new, book
  or select book icon (upper left)
• Play with organizing books and topics

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Generating Output

• Generate and view multiple outputs
• Select Project tab in left window
• Right-click output type (e.g., WebHelp) and
  select Generate
• Or from File menu, select either Generate primary
  layout or Batch (where you can select the output
  type)
• Compare results

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Importing Word Documents

• Consider styles, headings (see tips in RoboHelp
  help)
• After you import, changes to original Word file
  are not automatically updated. You have to
  re-import.
• You can have the character and paragraph
  formatting of Word transferred into RoboHelp (if
  that works for online).

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Other RoboHelp Features

• (Time permitting)
• Skins skin editor
• DHTML effects and other navigation options
• Indexing (smart index option)
• Formatting (text styles similar to Word)

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WebWorks (actually now ePublisher Pro)

• Quadralay Corporation WebWorks used to be
  packaged with FrameMaker, hence somewhat popular
• Current version is ePublisher Pro 9.3 (and
  ePublisher Express)
• Interface is a bit unintuitive.
• Documentation is weak but getting better.
• Very powerful handles large help systems.
• Very flexible but again non-intuitive and can
  require playing with .asp and .xml
• Expensive (more than 1K for a license requires
  maintenance fee)

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Demo of ePublisher Pro

• User interface
• How handles FrameMaker source files
• How to set up topics
• Paragraph formatting
• (time permitting, conditional text and drop-downs)

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MadCap Flare

• Started by a core group from RoboHelp when
  Marcomedia purchased by Adobe
• Up to version 3.x
• Tout a similar UI as RoboHelp but more powerful,
  much cleaner output, .Net capabilities, more
  built-in editing and content-management
  capabilities.
• FrameMaker support came a little later and still
  might not be to the level of WebWorks.
• Word support good.
• Competitively priced.

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Flare Hands On Starting and Navigating

• Start Flare do not start the project wizard.
• Navigating the UI with floating/anchored (pin)
  windows, tabs on the side
• Add a new, blank topic (any name).
• Now look at view menu. Project Organizer, Content
  Explorer. etc.,
• Experiment with floating, dragging (dragging to
  arrows, etc.)

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Flare Hands On XML Editor TOC

• Add content in topic editor note snippet
  concept
• Create numbered list and manipulate via snippet
  control
• Create another topic or two.
• To create TOC, Project Organizer TOCs, shows
  Master double-click Master to show Master TOC
  editor (or view Open Master TOC).
• Drag topics from Content Explorer to Master TOC

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Flare Hands On Importing Frame Files

• In Project Organizer right-click imports, Add
  FrameMaker Import File (brings up New Import
  Editor)
• In editor, select Add Files (select book or
  individual files)
• Select New Topic Styles (to map online topics to
  Frame paragraph styles)
• Select Import (scans Frame files, note graphic
  conversion goes through Distiller can take a
  while)
• Accept import documents
• Open new topic TOC (Project Organizer TOCs)
• Review TOC

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Flare Hands On Building Output

• Make new TOC the master TOC either right-click
  and set Make Master TOC
• The Build primary help (from menu or Project
  Organizer Targets)
• View output.
• To publish (generate only those files for output
  no Flare project files) need to set publishing
  destination first
• Select Targets double-click MyWebHelp opens
  publishing editor
• Select Publishing tab then Edit Destination to
  file (then save)
• Then Build Publish file user Explorer to see
  output

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Time Remaining?

• Skin editor in Flare
• Play with Flare or RoboHelp