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Online help formats (Was: ANNOUNCE: WebWorks Publisher training)



On Wed, 17 Mar 1999, Debbi Leipold wrote:

> I feel we (the help industry) will end up with some sort of html/xml base
> and that is where I am putting my resources.  Why go from frame to rtf to
> help when you can go from frame to help pretty easily.
> 
> As a tech pubs manager for a software developer, I have evaluated the trend.
> Look at most major software and aside from microsft products that still use
> winhelp, everyone is going to an html based solution.

I'd like to ask you, and everyone else, what you think of PDF as
an alternative? I admit that PDF isn't primarily designed for
online help, but it works and Acrobat 3 itself uses it.

The main advantages are of course very simple conversion from Frame,
nearly all types of hypertext links are preserved, complete control
of layout, the possibility to get good print-outs, built-in search
engine, and automatic bookmarks (TOC).
The main problems we have with our own HTML conversion (not using WWP),
are that complex graphics convert badly, the limited formatting
capabilities of plain HTML, lousy print-outs, and the fact that the
user can change the size and fonts, thereby reformatting the whole
document and "destroying" the layout (which I think is a Good Thing
with HTML in general; I don't like fixed page sizes in HTML).

Disadvantages are problems with fuzzy text and graphics online, a
binary and proprietary format, limitations in the API for calling
Acrobat Reader as help viewer (cross-platform), and perhaps (?)
performance issues (memory, speed, filesize).

Have anyone seen any help system using PDF, apart from Acrobat 3?
What help format is used in Acrobat 4?
*If* you think PDF is mainly for distributing electronic documents
for end-user printing, why do you need all the hypertext links?
I mean, if you distribute PDF and expect your users to read the PDF
docs on-screen and follow all links, doesn't it then in fact become
a PDF online help system?

There, was that provocative enough? ;-)

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Thomas Michanek, Documentation Manager, Telelogic Tau
Telelogic AB, Teknikringen 9, SE-58330 Linkoping, SWEDEN
PHONE/FAX:  +46 (0)13 200656/212166
EMAIL:  mailto:Thomas.Michanek@telelogic.com
WWW 1:  http://www.telelogic.com
WWW 2:  http://hem1.passagen.se/framers
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See you at the Telelogic User Conference '99, May 19-21, in
Barcelona, Spain: http://www.telelogic.com/news/userconf.asp


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