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A
Anonymous
April 9, 2008
Question

RoboSource Control

  • April 9, 2008
  • 2 replies
  • 931 views
I'm the principal writer of a Robohelp project but on occasion my boss likes to get in there and make some minor changes. Up until now I've worked off a local drive and then at the end of the day would copy it to the network to replace the old backup version. Since the boss is now making changes we've talked about implementing RoboSource. If we implement RoboSource I will now have to work off the network (shared) drive. Question: Will I experience any problems from this? Generally the experts advise us to work locally. Any advice on implementing RoboSource? Cheers!
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2 replies

A
Anonymous
April 9, 2008
quote:
Originally posted by: jaguarxox
Any advice on implementing RoboSource? Cheers!


Don't.

That's my advice. Don't implement any source control.

RoboSource (like any source control software) requires maintenance of its database, server, and connections. It adds to the workload, and with only two of you contributing, it just isn't worth it.

In your shoes, I would implement source control manually, in something of the following manner:

1. You own the help project. Your boss must ask your permission, each and every time, to make changes.
2. The 'master' version of the project source lives on the network drive.
3. When you work on the project, you copy the latest project down from the network drive to your C: drive. You work on the project and copy it back up to network. You can keep your local version as backup, if you label it suitably.
4. When the boss needs to work on the project, he/she asks you. You make sure you are done updating the project and have copied the latest version on the network drive.
6. The boss copies the project down to his/her C: drive, and works on it the same as you do, copying the updated project to the network drive.

This works pretty well for content changes; not so well when you delete or rename topics (copying the updated project does not delete obsolete topics from the disk, although they won't be visible in your project tabs).

Sound rigid? Boss hates this idea? Okay, then RoboSource Control might be your best answer - but before you implement it, you need to know that it will eat 10% at least of your time, more in the beginning. Can you spare the hours? Can your boss pay you to work extra? I don't want to discourage you, because I think source control management is kind of fun, but it's not a trivial undertaking.

HTH,
Elisa
A
Anonymous
May 11, 2010

Elisa,

Your points are well taken. I have recently been tasked with the exact same thing. My boss/client is the de facto editor and doesn't want to waste time having me re-key his comments and changes into the help topics. Originally we thought the comments feature in the AIR file would work, but even then, it's too hard to link his comments to the exact spot on the page he wants to amend. He says it's worth it to him to buy another copy of RoboHelp for himself (and I suppose have me teach him how to use it).

Realizing that RoboSource Control is "free" only in terms of not buying any new software, but will cost us some time, I can suggest that if he truly believes he will only work on the files after my day is done, then it might be easier to create some sort of backup script that copies my project folder to the same spot on the server each night.Then I just have to remember to fetch it from the server the next morning (or write another script).

But if he thinks he might ever work on the project during the day, then the notion of him having to ask me permission to copy a topic file to his hard drive and work on them, then return it to the server when done seems unlikely. With all the hyperlinks and references, there's no predicting which files he'll need, and the administrative task seems like a huge hassle. Hey, I don't even have a phone at my desk!

Peter Grainge
Community Expert
Peter GraingeCommunity Expert
Community Expert
April 9, 2008
With source control you would be working locally. The project would be on the network under source control. When you check out a file to work on it, it is copied to your local drive and you can work on it. If your boss tried to change it at the same time, he would be denied access and could only pull down a read only copy.

On implementing source control, see Matthew Ellison's article.

http://www.adobe.com/devnet/robohelp/articles/robosource.html

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