Board index » delphi » Re: Help authoring tool

2006-01-25 05:45:55 PM
delphi141
GenHelp allows you to run a command file instead of a topic file:
genhelppro @commandfile.tpcc
The command file can perform a whole set of actions:
import files, set titles/copyright, generate help files in many formats,
delete unwanted temporary files when done.
In fact once GenHelp is installed, you can double click the command file and
it will run and import/create your help file(s)
There is information on the command files in the built-in help but if you
need more information, please drop me an email.
--
HTH Pete
=================================
www.frasersoft.net
GenHelp: "Making writing help fun"
"JED" <XXXX@XXXXX.COM>writes

Hi
Which is the best help authoring tool for Delphi?
I would like my app to download the help from my website and replace
some codes with client definitions and compile it.
Regards
Sandeep
 

Sandeep,
What kind of help? End-user "how to use application" help, or
developer help - "how to use libraries", etc. ? How extensive help?
There are a lot of different help products out there, but they are
tailored for different needs.
To mention a few...
For Delphi code documentation:
www.time2help.com
For Word based end-user help:
www.doctohelp.com/
www.robohelp.com/
Or check some of these:
www.google.no/search
If you need to recompile the help at client site, replacing some
content with custom content for each client - you are most likely
looking at creating custom help extentions that dynamically retrieve
and modify the content. A local compile doesn't sound trival - not
technically, nor with regards to licensing.
If you could exemplify what you have in mind, it would be easier to
give you an opinion on how it could be solved.
Lars F.
Sandeep Chandra <XXXX@XXXXX.COM>writes:

Hi Lars
I need end-user help.
The reason I need to recompile help on end-user help is to make it easy
for the user to relate to our software. Our software is used by people
dealing in seafood and fresh produce. Most of the UI is same for these
users except for the words on the screen.
Regards
Sandeep
 

"Sandeep Chandra" <XXXX@XXXXX.COM>writes
ambitious to get it running on your customer's PCs. For example, it can
lock up, give error messages, etc and you will have support problems.
Microsoft HTML help is basically a set of web pages compressed into a single
file, so I suggest you just put the web pages and graphics in folders on
your users PCs and don't compile them. That way you can easily modify or
replace HTML pages as required. You can show the pages in the default web
browser on each PC.
Roger Lascelles
 

How many variations? "Infinite", like in tailored to each specific
client? How complex? User side configurable, requiring further
changes to the help?
How extensive? Will the help need to be very comprehensive?
Have you considered merging the help text directly into the
application, adding application context information to the help text
within the application?
Lars F.
Sandeep Chandra <XXXX@XXXXX.COM>writes:

Hands down, Help & Manual is the best tool I have used. Compiled the RTFs into
PDFs, Word, HTMLHelp, etc. Easy to use and I love their screen capturing
tool TNT.
Whether or not it has a runtime compilation engine, I don't know. Check out
www.helpandmanual.com and post on their webforums to see if they do
or not...
-BKN
 

Sandeep Chandra writes:
www.vizacc.com
I just noticed this site is down right now. Check it out later.
--
 

Sandeep Chandra writes:
advantage is that one uses a single source code for help file and
documentation (pdf).
But why don't you reverse the process?
Let the end user upload the strings that you want to replace in the help
file
to your website, let an automated process on the website compile the help
file and return it to the user.
--
Arthur Hoornweg
(In order to reply per e-mail, please just remove the ".net"
from my e-mail address. Leave the rest of the address intact
including the "antispam" part. I had to take this measure to
counteract unsollicited mail.)
 

+1
I really like this one, and you can not beat the price.
Ian

Bryce K. Nielsen writes:

It sounds as if you want to use WebBrowser based help which
should be very easy to create on the fly.
--
HTH Pete
=================================
www.frasersoft.net
GenHelp: "Making writing help fun"
"Sandeep Chandra" <XXXX@XXXXX.COM>writes

+1
Simple and to the point, can compile to various formats.
Eric
 

I also use and recommend Help & Manual.
--JohnH
 

Sandeep Chandra writes:
Myself I did a thorough research on this topic some months ago, and
ended up with Doc-O-Matic:
www.doc-o-matic.com/
It is written in Delphi, and satisfies my requirements:
- Support for Delphi, C#
- Can generate HTML 2 Help and PDF and Visual Studio kind of help from
the same source (one click operation)
- Can generate a complete source code documentation by scanning the
source and also extract comments you have added to the source, these
comments then appear in the help file.
- Highly configurable, almost everything is customisable
If you have documented your source properly, you can actually generate
real professional help files without adding much to the help topics.
These were the pros. The cons are mostly, and in my IMO, that it is not
especially intuitive, expect a few days to find out how it really works.
And it costs money, around $ 1000. And that is a reasonable price
considering what you get.
--
Ingvar Nilsen
www.ingvarius.com