outputs for context-sensitive help

One more thought that might help. I'm guessing the reason you have 30,000 topics is that a large number of them are the help for one field in your software. That is the scenario that I faced.

The structure I inherited was a topic that described a certain function and then listed the fields with a link to the topic describing the field. I hated it both because of the number of topics and because users had to click a link to see one topic, then come back and click the next or click previous/next. Either way it was messy.

With the agreement of the Product Manager, I moved the list of fields into a table and then described them alongside. The users loved it and said they learned more because while looking at one field, they could see information about another that actually solved their problem. It reduced the number of topics from something like 14,000 to as best as i can remember around 6/7000.

Fortunately the developers had created their own calls (URLs) that if the field level target was not found, it opened the function page that listed the fields. Thus it still worked.

Maybe your developers can work something like that?

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My site www.grainge.org includes many free Authoring and RoboHelp resources that may be of help.

30,000 topics in a Classic version project surprises me as most people hit performance issues well below that level. I found 4/5000 slowed things down when working and split the project up and created merged help.

Here's the dilemma I see. From Classic you can generate Responsive HTML5 help and that would address your IT Departments concerns. However, as @Jeff_Coatsworth has pointed out, the output will comprise one file per topic plus a bunch of other files that support the help. I suspect the developers will not be too keen on that. There is no single file alternative from RoboHelp or any other authoring tool. As I pointed out before, yes there are security risks and that is why Microsoft stopped developing the compiler that all tools use to create a CHM. I am not aware of any breach but that does not mean there hasn't been one as most companies would keep quiet. 

Next Responsive HTML5 help was Adobe's first move to producing a layout that adapted to screen size. In RoboHelp 2020 and 2022 Frameless help was introduced and that is where future development is focussed and where new features will be introduced. Responsive HTML5 help is currently still supported but I don't see any new layouts or features being added.

Thus the first decision is whether the number of files generated by Responsive HTML5 help is acceptable. 

• If it isn't, you are stuck with the CHM output. As above, there is no single file alternative. Flare does not even support the output.
• If it is, then the issue do you go for Responsive HTML5 or Frameless?

With Responsive HTML5 you can stick with 2019 Classic but as above that is now going nowhere and I'm guessing at some point you will want to upgrade. With that in mind, you need to think about when. If you don't defer that, you could instead go to Frameless help. It's a better output but the bigger point is you will address all the issues in one go. The issues being:-

• Calling the help.
• The upgrade process.

@Jeff_Coatsworth has already pointed you to my page on calling the help. The upgrade process in this case would be my concern. Fortunately 2019 came in both Classic and New UI versions so you can try the upgrade with no risk. RoboHelp doesn't change your Classic project. On the fly it creates a copy and upgrades that so if it goes wrong, your Classic project is still intact.

Personally I would sit down with IT and the developers to discuss whether or not they want to abandon CHMs given the alternatives. If they do, then I would see how upgrading to the New UI goes. The issue then becomes which version to perform the upgrade in.

• If you have a perpetual licence then try it is 2019 as that will cost you nothing. Then review whether or not to take out a subscription and install 2022. That would be my recommendation as it is a much better version and you can go to Frameless.
• If you have a subscription, then install 2022 and upgrade in that. 

My concern is the number of topics but there is only one way to find that out.

I hope this helps.

Let us know what you decide.

________________________________________________________

My site www.grainge.org includes many free Authoring and RoboHelp resources that may be of help.

First of all I strongly recommend you change your username from an email address, unless you are hoping for a letter from a solicitor telling you they have millions left to you by an unknown relative:-)

Good to to see IT are aware of the security risk that was identified in 2004. In practice no  such use has been reported here so it's probably fair to say it's not a high risk. 

I can reply more in the morning (it's late here) but I need to know which version you are using. 

________________________________________________________
My site www.grainge.org includes many free Authoring and RoboHelp resources that may be of help.

CHM?!? Dinosaur tech (lol) - Newest versions of RH are concentrating on Frameless Responsive HTML5 as the output that's getting all the dev love these days. This doesn't create a single file - it would have thousands & you would have to use another tool to package them up (like a zip or self-extracting .exe created by WinRAR for example) and include them in your product's build. CSH calls also change with HTML5 - your MapIDs are still good, but the syntax used by the devs will need to change - see Peter's excellent site on this - https://www.grainge.org/pages/authoring/rh_tour/rh2022/outputs/calling_csh_help.htm