Frame & WWP vs. Word & RoboHelp

[Linda Sims <lsims -at- DSET -dot- COM>]

OK, here's the background:

1.      There are two documents here which were originally WRITTEN
in RoboHelp and then saved as Help files and Word documents.
(I'm told that converting from RoboHelp to Word required a huge
amount of reformatting.)

2.      On the current pass through these documents (my first time
working with them), we decided to update the Help files and the
Word files separately to avoid having the reformatting issue raise
its ugly head.

3.      I know nothing about RoboHelp and am mostly a beginner at
Word.

4.      We have a poobah here who is in love with Word and RoboHelp
and who seems to think that most people don't need or want actual
manuals anymore (PDF or hardcopy); instead they want to use
Help files.

My perspective:

1.      I don't have any objection to learning RoboHelp and Word, but I
don't think they are the right tools for the job.

2.      I don't agree that most people would rather use on-line help and
not have any manuals to refer to.

3.      I'd rather use Frame with WebWorks so that I can single
source the documentation. Maintaining this stuff separately is
pretty stupid, and I'm not savvy enough with the Word/RoboHelp
set up to get things to the way they're supposed to be (Word as
the source, with RoboHelp generating files from the Word
document). Heck, I'm not even sure if it's possible.

My plea:

I need ammunition. By next week, I have to present a good case to
the poobah that:

(a) Going strictly to on-line help for documentation is not the best
choice ('Why' would be very useful). As I recall, there was some
discussion on list about the best way to present information to
users, and I'm going to check the archives for it; however, I don't
remember this issue being directly addressed.

(b) Going to Frame + WWP rather than sticking to a Word +
RoboHelp is a better scenario. (The stability of Frame over Word
will be a big plus, here, but some people are so blinded by the
MicroSmurfs that they may not care.) I have all the Frame vs Word
comparisons that have been referenced on the list; the poobah,
however, wants us to 'stick to the industry standard'.

Thanks

Lin

Where am I going, and what am I doing in this handbasket?

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