Has RoboHelp Server stability improved in recent versions?

[Craig_Haiss]

I'm just looking for general impressions here. Does the stability of RoboHelp Server seem to have improved since the Java rewrite (version 8)?

When I evaluated version 7, RoboHelp Server crashed frequently, as others describe in this thread: http://forums.adobe.com/thread/28113?tstart=30. The features of RoboHelp Server look great, but only if stability issues are a thing of the past.

Thoughts? Opinions?

Thanks!

[RoboColum_n_]

Hi Craig.

I've been using RHS8 for almost two years now and it hasn't crashed once. It is also a breeze to set-up and install. No more permission issues. I had the server setup inside 30 minutes. The Java rewrite is a big step forward. Why not download the latest RoboHelp Server 9 trial, and install it, even if you just test it using your own PC/Laptop as the server. There are many improvments in this version over version 8.

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The RoboColum(n)

@robocolumn

Colum McAndrew

[Craig_Haiss]

Great, that's exactly what I was hoping to hear. Thanks for the feedback, Colum!

[Guest]

Unfortunately, our experience has not been as good as Colum's. In fact, we've been wondering if there are improvements in RH Server 9. Here are some of the things we've found:

• For RH Server 8 you must install the pieces in the exact order listed in the installation pdf document. If you don't, RH Server doesn't run.
• We've had issues where the published help doesn't overwrite a previously published project with the same name. What we found when we overwrite an existing project, the changes didn't appear. We've implemented the process of manually deleting the project, restarting the server, then compiling and publshing the project.
• Another issue we've seen is occasionally when you access the index of a project and scroll down through the index, you'll receive a message that the index is loading, but the message doesn't go away and the rest of the index doesn't display. (We've wait 5 to 19 minutes.). We have to restart the server to clear this problem.

We've been disappointed with these issues and were hoping RH 9 server has corrected these problems and stabilized RH Server.

Dee

[johndaigle]

Hi, Dee and Craig!
As Colum suggests, there's very good news on the RoboHelp Server front.
I have been using and installing RoboHelp Server since the ancient eHelp "RoboEngine" days and I agree that it was not always easy to install or maintain.

The improvements seen in RoboHelp Server 9 are like night a day with the older versions.
I would suggest downloading the Adobe RoboHelp Server 9 Reviewer's Guide to get more details. There are around 40 pages of details as well as 2 Captivate animated and narrated demos that tour the features.
This guide incorporates the experience of not only Adobe, but folks like Colum and myself who were asked to contribute to the content.

Dee, you'll be glad to know the "slow index loading" issue has been solved even for RoboHelp Server 8. If you will email me offline (see my forum profile for the address), I'll see if I can find the fix for you.

Easier installation, easier administration, better performance and MUCH better Feedback Report Analytics including custom reports.

Worth a look.
john

John Daigle
Adobe Certified RoboHelp and Captivate Instructor
Evergreen, Colorado
www.showmethedemo.com

[RoboColum_n_]

Hi Dee.

To add to what John has already contributed, the publish step does not delete any existing content from the server. Neither does the WebHelp publish process BTW. It is therefore good practice to occasionally delete the content from the publish location just to ensure you have a totally clean set of output files. Any redundant files left shouldn't cause a problem as they are not "known about" in the output. It is just good server maintenance.

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The RoboColum(n)

@robocolumn

Colum McAndrew