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Subject:Re: user expecttations - web-based help From:Keith Hood <bus -dot- write -at- gmail -dot- com> To:Erika Yanovich <ERIKA_y -at- rad -dot- com> Date:Wed, 2 Jul 2014 10:51:40 -0500
Whatever you think users expect, give them what they actually need. DON'T
just host a forum where they can post questions - that's worse than
useless. What users want most of all is a help system that allows them to
find the info they need *quickly*. That's why help forums are almost always
a complete waste of time.
I would advise authoring the help in something that will allow you to
produce a PDF or other printed documentation, even if you think that won't
be needed. Later, someone may decide a print version is necessary, so go
ahead and have a source that can produce a print version. And what if they
can't access the electronic help because the problem is, the software won't
run? In that case they'll need hard copy for troubleshooting.
On Wed, Jul 2, 2014 at 9:25 AM, Erika Yanovich <ERIKA_y -at- rad -dot- com> wrote:
> Dear all,
>
> It's been a while since we've prepared help files and we now need to make
> them again. What do users expect these days? Any good examples out there?
> We only need to prepare web-based help for one SW product that will reside
> on the customer's server. Versions are released quarterly. No need for PDF
> or other output.
>
> Does it make sense to continue authoring in Word and convert, or author in
> a help authoring tool? I noticed that most help authoring systems have
> features that we already use in our authoring environment (such as single
> sourcing and conditional text) and I'm not sure it's a good idea to pay for
> them again.
>
> Insights appreciated.
>
> Erika
>
>
> ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
> Doc-To-Help 2014 v1 now available. SharePoint 2013 support, NetHelp
> enhancements, and more. Read all about it.
>
> Learn more: http://bit.ly/NNcWqS
>
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^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Doc-To-Help 2014 v1 now available. SharePoint 2013 support, NetHelp enhancements, and more. Read all about it.
