Re: Client access to edit Help

[Suzette Leeming <suzette -dot- leeming -at- gmail -dot- com>]

Thanks to all who replied and offered suggestions.

We're leaning in the direction Steve Hudson suggested. We are going to
discuss having a topic called "Internal Information" or something like
that, which any of our clients can modify the html file to add links to
their own help information, whether it's another help file, PDF files, or
whatever they want.

We can't offer this service to our clients (nor do I think they'd want us
to) because every client has their own process, so while we can tell them
what our software does and how to use each feature, we don't tell them what
their own process should be. That's the type of information they want added
in.

Thanks again for all the responses!

Suzette Leeming

On Thu, Mar 24, 2016 at 8:15 AM, Steve Hudson <sh1448291904 -at- gmail -dot- com>
wrote:

> I'd be inclined to have a 'Localised' include HTML file which isn't
> shipped,
> but the client can complete at will. If they don't complete it, they get
> bog
> std help, if they do, they get the std help + the include file. These
> include files would have set names, so that shipping updates wont overwrite
> the client 'addendums'. Maybe one step further, 2 such include files, one
> 'pre' and one 'post' so the client can choose whether their stuff goes
> before or after the bog std stuff.
>
> -----Original Message-----
>
> Background:
>
> We deliver browser based help files for our enterprise software but it`s
> installed on our clients' servers for security reasons (let`s not debate
> that).
>
> Our clients want the ability to "modify" the help files so that it can
> include their own internal process information and links to their internal
> documents as well.
>
> This has been fairly straight forward in the past and all they required was
> an html editor because we deliver the help in an uncompressed format.
>
> We now have much more complex help files and it`s not straight forward
> anymore and some clients may have an issue with this, and it`s become a bit
> of an internal thorn in my side. Indeed, many of the RFPs we respond to
> specifically ask "can the help files be modified?"
>
> My question to the group is this; is anyone else in the same situation and
> if so, how do you handle it?
>
> Suzette Leeming
>
> PS - My most recent suggestion was to give clients our source files and
> suggest they buy a license to the help authoring tool we use. That
> suggestion did not go over very well.
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