RoboHelp Features Question

[victoriam61197881]

Hi, 

I am just starting to dive into RoboHelp. I have the need for end users to be able to add like a favorite list to

personalize thier view, or be able to add highlights. Is that something RoboHelp can do, or does anyone have ideas ? Our document is a procedures manual, around 1800 documents and some workers only use certain sections.

Thank you 

Tori

[Jeff_Coatsworth]

What sort of output are you producing/looking to produce?

[Jeff_Coatsworth]

What are you publishing to Sharepoint? PDF? HTML pages? CHMs?

[Jeff_Coatsworth]

There's a variety of different approaches you can take - create HTML5 responsive help content using dynamic filters (provided you don't care if someone sees stuff that isn't relevant to them if they go poking around) or you could create multiple outputs conditioned by what's applicable to each audience. How are you currently handling this? And what are you currently using to create your existing content?

[Jeff_Coatsworth]

The only form of output that RH produced that allowed for favourites and commenting was the Adobe AIRHelp format - it creates a single .air installer that unpacks into a locally installed AIR-based app. It doesn't have much going for it anymore, as responsive HTML5 output has stolen all the thunder. You might want something like what's described by Peter Grainge on his site with dynamic content filtering - http://www.grainge.org/pages/authoring/rh_tour/rh2019/outputs/rh2019_dynamic_content.htm - it's like a faceted website that would launch in a browser and allow workers to see what content is relevant to them.

[Jeff_Coatsworth]

You can do "favs" with HTML5 content since it's just in your browser - you just bookmark pages. I would download a trial copy of RH on some non-produvtion machine, update it, and then have it suck in a copy of your current help content (depending on how it's authored).

[victoriam61197881]

The maunal is published to our Sharepoint site and also made into a HTML that becomes a MSI direct download/install. Hopes are to find ways to use the app building in RoboHelp. Those two features are what our workers have been asking for with the current Robohelp output, via RoboHelp2017 which an contracter uses. I am just learning about the 2019 to move us over too

[victoriam61197881]

HTML pages

[victoriam61197881]

Currently it is just one big manual that you can search the index or know where your section you need is located. Our main focus is our field workers who download a local viewer to use. There are over 9,000 users and everone one of them could use any of the content. So making views isnt what i think will work. I was hoping maybe there was feature that allowed the user to like content and it save it in some kind of easy list or highlight content 

[victoriam61197881]

really the sharepoint version can be a standard view.

[victoriam61197881]

Add favourites in Responsive HTML5 layouts

Provide users the option to mark topics as favourites in Responsive HTML5 layouts, saving them time and effort to locate frequently used content.

I see this posted about the 2017 robo help but our contractor says that they can not do that?

[Amebr]

Favourites are available in the Frameless output in RH2019 New UI, although I haven't tried them. You could have a look at that output and see if it works for you.

[Amebr]

I think they might be in RH2017 and RH2019 Classic for Responsive HTML5 using the Indigo skin as well. From memory.

[Jeff_Coatsworth]

Peter reminded me that Commenting is supported when using RH Server - but that wouldn't apply to your use-case of isolated field workers (no Internet, right?).

[Peter Grainge]

Creating a mobile app is not difficult and even easier in 2019 New UI.

If you control the smart phones and they are Android you can install it without going through the Play Store, you just have to temporarily allow apps from non Play Store locations. If users will be installing on Android you will need developer assistance.

For iPhones you will definitely need developer assistance.