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Help Authoring on Steroids

By: Robert Richardson

Being a computer programmer you might have tested many help authoring tools - from simple applications to complex and expensive software. My recent review tells about HelpSmith, a program that has become my favorite HAT, which really takes the process of help file creation to a new quality level. So let's take a look at the main possibilities of this great tool.

Make CHM HTML Help Files

With HelpSmith, you can easily make professional HTML Help CHM files. Based upon the What-You-See-Is-What-You-Get principle, HelpSmith provides you with a full-featured word processor with native support for dynamic styles and the live spell checker feature. So the process of working on a help file simply gets to a new quality level. You can use full-featured tables, insert images, create hyperlinks, and so on. Finally, as an ultimate help authoring solution, HelpSmith allows you to create the Table of Contents and the alphabetical Index for your help file just in several minutes thanks to the in-built editors with drag-and-drop support.

Create Web Help from the Same Source

You can build Web Help by exporting all the data from your original help project into a set of HTML files: simply click "Project/Create Web Help" on the menu or click the corresponding button on the toolbar (similarly to when you want to export your project into other help formats) and HelpSmith will prepare all the necessary files. A WebHelp system generated with HelpSmith includes a collapsible TOC (similar to the TOC in CHM), a keyword Index, and the Search ability.

All you have to do then is just upload all the files of your browser-based help system to your internet server or simply copy them to a shared folder if you want to provide access for coworkers in your local area network.

Create a Printable Manual

HelpSmith allows you to supply documentation both in the electronic and printed formats. With HelpSmith, you can see all the results as they are before the final version of the documentation is compiled or printed out. You can print out the manual directly from HelpSmith; or you can export the manual into Word or any other text editor, for ex., to demonstrate it to your clients who may have no the HelpSmith installation on his/her pc.

Save Your Time by Using Dynamic Styles

Mentioned above, the HelpSmith system of dynamic styles is a mandatory facility for any help authoring application. Styles allow you to store all information about formatting separately from topic documents, which lets you make any changes in formatting at any time without having to manually process lots of help topics.

Moreover, with styles, you will not have to apply the same parameters over and over while writing help topics. Simply select the part of text and then double-click the necessary style to set the required formatting attributes to the selection.

Besides that, HelpSmith allows you to define alternative views for a specific style (including your own styles), so the same style can have different views when the project is compiled into CHM, HTML, or as a Printed Manual.

Styles will save much of your time and dramatically speed up the process of writing technical documentation and help files.

Manage Graphical and Video Files Effectively as Never Before

HelpSmith lets you use graphical files in your help files and offers an alternative way to manage that multimedia. All media files that you paste into your project automatically get into the built-in repository. This approach makes it possible for you not to care about copying any file from its original location on your computer. In case you need to copy the entire project to another computer, for example, to make a backup copy, all multimedia files are already stored in a single place together with your help project.

Another great benefit of the multimedia repository is that you can update any graphical file without having to edit all the topics where that media is used. For instance, if you have a dialog window that has changes in the newer version of your software, you can create a new screenshot and insert it into the repository instead of the obsolete one.

Additionally, HelpSmith has an automatic converter for graphical formats that is able to convert metafiles (EMF) or bitmaps into a more appropriate graphical format such as GIF or JPEG when you export your project into HTML Help or Web Help format, for example.

No HTML Coding

HelpSmith is very easy to use just like a usual office application we use duirng our everyday computer activities. And even if you are new to help authoring, you can start writing technical documentation without having to learn anything about technical aspects of the help files creation. There is no need to code HTML/CSS or even know anything about it. By concentrating on writing with the help of such features as dynamic styles, you will complete your help file much faster than it could be done with any other help authoring system.

Article Source: http://www.thecaymanhost.com/articles

Robert Richardson is an independent technical writer and reviewer of help tools such as Dr.Explain, HelpSmith from www.helpsmith.com and others.

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