Standalone Help Systems

Hello Sharon -

One other product to consider is QuickHelp for Linux:

http://www.excelsoftware.com/quickhelplinux.html

You wrote:
"...These are the reasons for this request. Does this make more sense now?"

Reasons make sense, still wonder about the approach. Your product must be available on portable media so my question remains: what is wrong with the WebHelp (pure HTML) format?

Also, why haven't you mentioned man files or DocBook? (Just curious...)

Regards,
GEWB

Thank you for your responses. I must say, I have to find out the answers to your questions; I don't know enough about the users or the usage to say whether multiple files would be acceptable.

The initial request had to do with having a series of online help systems, which are associated with an application we've developed. The application resides on web servers worldwide. Some of the users are at smaller sites where a .chm was envisioned, let's say, as the document used on a workstation in a server room in Nigeria. The .chm would provide the information necessary to build either workstations or servers of varying types.

On Windows workstations, it was agreed that .chms would be used. When it came to UNIX workstations and servers, I understood that a .chm would not work, but thought a single versus multiple file was preferred under conditions such as (1) sending a DVD of the application with a help system; (2) putting a copy of the help system on an intranet website; and (3) viewing a help system from a Linux workstation. Ultimately, one or two of these systems might be very large.

The concept of a .chm viewer that can be downloaded (as long as Security approves it) sounds promising. I will be looking into the links Linux Rules provided.

I'm certain this does not clarify, but perhaps explains my confusion about this.

Thank you for your help and regards,

Sharon

A couple other leads:

Open / view .chm file under Linux or FreeBSD (client side)
http://www.cyberciti.biz/faq/open-chm-file-under-linuxfreebsd/

CHM viewer "xchm" (client side)
http://xchm.sourceforge.net/

Regards,
GEWB

Peter is right. Please give us more info as to why multiple files cannot work for you.

If you place all of the WebHelp files in a separate directory and point the calls there, the app shouldn't care nor would the server.

As for standing alone, same thing. Place in a directory and launch the start page. I do it all the time on my Linux workstation at my home office (Firefox and Konquorer).

Regards,
GEWB

OK, Gary's your man for Linux stuff but if it is on a server I don't understand why it has to be a single file rather than webhelp or flashhelp with a whole bunch of files. It's something the user will never know about. What do they care if it is one file or a million?

A Linux server.

To run from a server or the user's PC? Hopefully Linux Rules can then point you to something suitable.

Yes, that is what I mean.

Why not? You just double click the start page or create a URL to it. Do you perhaps mean it is not a single file?

Dear MergeThis (love the name),

Yes, WebHelp is working for us on Firefox (Linux, HP, AIX), but it cannot function as a standalone system.