Page and user specific help systems

[AKosh]

Has anyone created a Robohelp system for customized software applications where each page and/or functions are based on the user's login.  Basically not all pages and functions (and the context help that goes with the specific function/page) should be visible by all users. I do not want a user that does not have access to a particular function in the application to have access to the help that goes with that page. 

[Peter Grainge]

Is it a case of "you do not want" users to see non relevant pages or "they must not see non relevant pages"?

If they must not, then one RoboHelp option is to generate WebHelp and publish it to RoboHelp server. I believe that will give you what you want. The price is the RoboHelp Server licence which is separate. It would also require that users have access to that server.

Otherwise you would have to generate different outputs and let your developers control the access.

If it is a case of you do not want them to see other pages but they could to avoid the above, then you could use Dynamic Content Filtering introduced with RoboHelp 2015 or Dynamic User Centric Content introduced with RoboHelp 9. DCF allows option boxes to be ticked by the user to get their content. DUCC has multiple TOCs where users select their content.

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See www.grainge.org for RoboHelp and Authoring tips

@petergrainge

[AKosh]

Thanks Peter,

It is a situation where the end users must not see non relevant pages.  I was thinking RoboHelp Server may be needed, but was curious if there was another way around it. I currently have RH v11.  Although the company I am working with may have or get the latest version of RH.

In your last paragraph concerning DCF and DUCC - who is the user that ticks the option boxes? - Is it the end user of the help or the author of the help? How/where is that option?  Would the end user see multiple TOCs in their help?

Currently the application has a Help link on each page of the application to the page-specific help for the content on that page.  The company is wondering if some type of RH system would let them accomplish the same thing.

[Peter Grainge]

First of all I found over the years that when questioning people who said the help must not show it was because it explained steps they did not want some users to action. On questioning though, those users could not perform the actions anyway because of permissions. That might help you.

The user who ticks the options or selects the menu is the end user

Sure each page can link to a topic but from there the user could access the rest of the help. I guess you could call the help so that the TOC did not display and you hid the Show link and also disabled the search and index and made sure no topic linked to another! Could you still call that Help?

Either your developers controlling access or Rh Server does seem to be the way to go.

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See www.grainge.org for RoboHelp and Authoring tips

@petergrainge