Close to End of Story: Single-source with Word - Help solutions question

["Hemstreet, Deborah" <DHemstreet -at- kaydon -dot- com>]

Hi all,

 

This is a review of my findings regarding tools that would let me
generate web-based help from Word files.

 

There have been several contenders, and the choices have been narrowed
down to either Doc-to-Help or Flare. 

 

There were two products that I was quite interested in, but they fell
out of the running because:

 

1.	The pricing model for one was outrageous - so high as to be
laughable - I received a modest quote of $1995 dollars for one user.
Sadly - it was the one that would have been easiest to implement in our
situation - but the price is too high to even discuss.
2.	The other product could not be installed as a demo for testing
on a laptop - only on a standard PC. We were told that we could buy a
license and if we didn't like it we would be refunded.

 

I am not naming the two products on-line as I do not want to face libel
charges, and I know that there are many people who use and love those
products. I know they are also good and would have actually preferred to
focus my demo on one of them.

 

Having said that, I am new to Doc-to-Help and Flare. My initial thoughts
on these are as follows:

 

Doc-to-Help

          I was stunned at how easily it took my Word file and generated
it into something that could be used for on our network. Really smooth.
I am finding the customizations a bit difficult and having to really
focus on the Help files. Sadly, the Help files could have been better
written. They assume a familiarity with terminology that I did not have.
However, I have begun making enough inroads to be able to provide a
respectable demo that could justify purchase.

 

Flare

          I've only used Flare for a few hours so far. In that time I
was able to generate Help, regenerate Help, and make some sense of their
style sheets and basic text customizations. The Help is huge but does
give me the info I need. Initial thoughts? I like the ability to map
Word Styles to Flare .css sheets. (I could not find a similar option in
Doc-to-Help - if its there, it is not obvious). I also liked the
interface, smooth and clean. I have also begun creating a respectable
demo that could justify purchase.

 

I believe either tool will provide us with good work instructions
distributed via our intranet site. I have heard from users of both tools
- all of whom are happy with them.

 

After price, my guess is that with many of these tools, personal
preference and work-style also play a role in the final decision making
process.

 

I hope this info is helpful to others.

 

Deborah

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