For help, I’ve stuck with the CHM format. It does what I need and is easy to integrate with a .Net application. I must admit though I haven’t spent time investigating alternatives and I’ve just gone with what I know about.
I used to find the process of developing a CHM a bit laborious. I’d use Microsoft FrontPage to generate HTML pages and then use the Microsoft Help Compiler to turn them into a CHM. There were always index files etc. to edit in Notepad. The process wasn’t really diffcult, just a bit lengthy. I tend to put pictures into my help files too and maintaining help pictures with overlayed text and pointers in something like Paint .Net is a bit tedious.
Nowadays I use a package called Help & Manual (www.helpandmanual.com). This is a superb, well-rounded package that allows you to write WYSIWYG help in a Microsoft Word like way. Help & Manual also invokes the Help Compiler for you behind the scenes and there are no independent text files with weird formats to edit.
Help & Manual also includes its own image editor that allows you to easily write text and pointers/ arrows in different layers. When screenshots change, all you need do is update the background image and the text and pointers can be reused. This saves me hours and hours of time.
The other thing I like about Help & Manual is that you can generate output in different formats just by making a simple selection from a dropdown.
For example you can generate a PDF document of your help file. This can then be placed on your website for download or made available to users in printed form.
The other output format I use Help & Manual to generate is HTML help. I upload this to my website and it adds about 90 pages to my site - all full of good keywords relating to my applications. Google is also meant to prefer bigger sites so the extra pages might help me look bigger and more information heavy.
Within Help & Manual you can specify common headers for different output formats. For the HTML help I make sure each page links back to the homepage of my site. I also add links in the footer of each help page so that if the help pages are landing pages, a visitor can find their way to the main part of my site.
by ML
Euro Share - http://www.euro-share.com
This is a long running discussion group which talks about shareware authoring. They’ve also got a searchable archive.
Software Marketing Resource - http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com/software-marketing-resource.html
This site provides lots of links to other sites. It’s seems to have quite a good selection, I’m still looking through it
Have fun making great looking masks with our Software!
by JM
For help, I’ve stuck with the CHM format. It does what I need and is easy to integrate with a .Net application. I must admit though I haven’t spent time investigating alternatives and I’ve just gone with what I know about.
I used to find the process of developing a CHM a bit laborious. I’d use Microsoft FrontPage to generate HTML pages and then use the Microsoft Help Compiler to turn them into a CHM. There were always index files etc. to edit in Notepad. The process wasn’t really diffcult, just a bit lengthy. I tend to put pictures into my help files too and maintaining help pictures with overlayed text and pointers in something like Paint .Net is a bit tedious.
Nowadays I use a package called Help & Manual (www.helpandmanual.com). This is a superb, well-rounded package that allows you to write WYSIWYG help and invokes the Help Compiler for you. It also includes its own image editor that allows you to easily write text and pointers/ arrows in different layers. When screenshots change, all you need do is update the background image and the text and pointers can be reused. This saves me hours and hours of time when I release an updated version of a package.
The other thing I like about Help & Manual is that you can generate output in different formats just by making a simple selection from a dropdown.
For example you can generate a PDF document of your help file. This can then be placed on your website for download or made available to users in printed form.
Another other output format I use Help & Manual to generate is HTML help. I upload a HTML help version of the help file to my website. This adds about 90 pages to my site - all full of good keywords relating to my applications. Google is supposed to like bigger sites so the extra pages hopefully help me in looking bigger and more information heavy.
With Help & Manual you can edit a common header/ footer for your pages. I make sure the header and footer include hyperlinks to my homepage. If any of the help pages are landing pages, visitors can use the hyperlinks to find their way to the main part of my site.
by ML
Having previously used CHM help with VS6, I thought I’d have a look at the Help Project provided with VS.Net.
Before I go any further, I think I may put you off.
After I had followed an example through to its conclusion and created a setup project for my HXS help file, added necessary merged modules I found my MSI was a 1mb. That’s not including an application, just the necessary files to run the help file.
The Help Project UI to create this type of help files is quite good, although just slightly better than the HTML Help workshop.
I decided to try and integrate it into an application. Added a help provider to a form and to my surprise there was no HXS fie type for selection, just CHM, HTML etc.
I selected it anyway, I tried running my app.
I pressed F1 and because I don’t have the Dexlpore program registered properly it brought up a message asking what program I would like to run it with.
The one advantage I can think of from using this type of help, is that you can create dynamic help, although I didn’t go that far into it.
I think it’s aimed at providing standalone help, e.g. not for use with application, primarily. Like SQL Books Online.
I think I’ll stick with CHM especially as I don’t need dynamic help and download size is important.
Ideaspad - An Award winning information manager for home and professional use
by JM
