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Rocky_XYZZY
Inspiring
February 17, 2011
Question

How do I simultaneously deliver a local and a web-based help system?

  • February 17, 2011
  • 1 reply
  • 4577 views

I have to beleive that someone out there knows if this is possible...

Some of our users install on systems without external internet access, so even though we really want them to use the web-based help so that we have analytics on the help usage, we need to install a local version of the help, too, rather than force them to have an internet connection to get help.

It's obvious that the TCS lets us create the help system we need, host it on RoboServer, and run reports and such. I've got that working using the demo version of the suite.

What's unclear to me is if it's possible to create something close to the Adobe Community Help experience so we can create help content that installs locally on a user's system, allow them to always run locally and update content from online when they want, or more importantly, view the online version instead of the local version.

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1 reply

R
Rocky_XYZZYAuthor
Inspiring
February 18, 2011

Really?

I can't be the only person on the planet Earth who is interested in having offline and online content simultaneously for users who don't have internet connections all the time.

Nothing?

johndaigle
johndaigle
Legend
February 18, 2011

Hey Rocky_XYZZY.

Glad to see you're digging into the many flavors of output provided by RoboHelp and TCS.

The Adobe Community Help (ACH) client application is a hybrid proprietary system developed by Adobe for all their products and not available as such. However, from the scenario you describe, I think you could emulate something very close to what you see in ACH by using AIR Help output. As you have discovered, it has favorites, commenting, moderation, and can be installed locally and easily updated. You can even deploy it in such a way that the end user can select from different help systems or knowledge bases. Plus External Content Search allows you to pre-select certain keyword searches which would provide resources outside your help system similar to the way ACH works.

Unfortunately, at the present time the AIR Help format is not supported on the Adobe RoboHelp Server 9. Only WebHelp Pro or FlashHelp Pro.

So, while not ideal, one solution would be a dual deployment: Publish your web-based content via RoboHelp Server 9 and redeploy local help via AIR Help. The downside is that you would only get Feedback Analytics on the RoboHelp Server-based activity and not AIR Help traffic.

My experience with the Adobe team is that they are very responsive to new ideas and what you describe would be terrific. I'll be at WritersUA in Long Beach on March 13 and will mention this to Ankur Jain, the Adobe RoboHelp and TCS Product Manager. In fact, it would be great if you could join us there. It's a great conference. My RH colleagues on this forum (Peter Grainge, Rick Stone and Tom Aldous) will also be there.

http://www.writersua.com/conference/agenda.htm

Thanks

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

@hypertexas

John DaigleAdobe Certified RoboHelp and Captivate InstructorNewport, Oregon
R
Rocky_XYZZYAuthor
Inspiring
February 22, 2011

Ah! I see the problem. You are using the regular WebHelp publishing "wizard". Create an SSL for WebHelp Pro and make it your Primary Layout. Then put your Tomcat address into the Server Name field with your username and password (default is admin / admin)

Until you set up "Areas" on the server, the "Help Area" field will remain blank. You will get an alert when you first publish. Don't be alarmed. It will simply publish to the default "General" area even though it might not show up right away.

Hope this helps.

John

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


I have successfully created and published a webhelp pro SSL early in this effort. The problem I'm having now is in attempting to publish an Air html project.

I thought that to do what we were discussing previously (as described in Praful Jain's blog), that the complement to the offline Air app would best be an online Air html project, not a WebHelp Pro Project. This would provide essentially the same "Air Help" experience whether the person was online or not.

Am I overlooking something?

<<<Time Passes >>>

I've just gone back in and modified the Air executable help properties to use online help in the hope that this will allow the behavior we're seeking and it seems a step in the right direction. My locally installed Air Help app now features a button for one to click and go online, however, when I click it, the screen refreshes and the system stays offline.

Even with the mystery of the nonworking transition to online, this is fantastic progress. I feel like I'm on the cusp of an acceptable solution. Very exciting.

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