Re: multiple help files

Subject: Re: multiple help files
From: "Wing, Michael J" <mjwing -at- INGR -dot- COM>
Date: Mon, 15 Sep 1997 17:53:56 -0500

> You wrote:
>
> Here's the situation:
>
> Our company maintains several software products, all of which can work
> in conjunction with the "parent" product. However, some of those
> products can also work on a standalone basis. Our dilemma is that when
> these products work together, they share certain processes. We want
> to be able to link each of the products together so you can find help
> on a certain topic without having to go into the other product and
> access Help.
>
> Our question is how we should structure our Help Files:
>
> One Help/multiple .RTFs
>
> Or
>
> Multiple Help files.
>
>
> Aaron W. Morrison
>
Aaron;

I'm a strong advocate of multiple help files and single source RTF
files. This aids greatly in maintenance of the source and for easy
reconfiguration. Should a common topic have changes, you only have to
make one change to the source. With multiple RTFs, you have to chase
down every reiteration of the common topics. Plus, if your source files
go out for translation, you are only translating one set of files.

The technique is to use build tags to denote the common topics. The HPJ
files contain the list of build tags corresponding to the topics to
include. Therefore, product A and product B compile from the same RTF
files. However, the HPJ file for product A only compiles those topics
tagged for product A and those topics tagged for both products.
Whereas, the HPJ file for product B compiles only those topics tagged
for product B and for tagged both.

You can also increase the efficiency of the compile by including topics
that are only found (never cross-referenced) in product A and in product
B in separate RTF files. Then, the HPJ's list of source files only
lists the RTF files with the product-only topics and the RTF files with
the shared topics.

Mike Wing

> Michael Wing (mailto:mjwing -at- ingr -dot- com)
> Principal Technical Writer
> Intergraph Corporation; Huntsville, Alabama
> http://www.ingr.com/iss/products/mapping/
> (205) 730-7250
>
> "But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good"
> -- Paul (1 TH 5:21)
>
>
>

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