I'm working on a large solution containing dozens of projects. I am approaching the point where I will need to add help. I expect to use RoboHelp to create the html help file(s), but this is the first time in .NET so I am looking for advice on how to do this. I know how to create a help file and do not need any advice on that. I need help with the best way to integrate the help into my solution. Do I create multiple help files, say a separate help file for each project, or do I create a single help file for the entire solution, and do I add a Help folder for organization?
+1
A:
Ask yourself: do you have dozens of DLLs compiled into one EXE -> use one help file.
Do you have dozens of EXE files? And are those EXE files forming an application system for just a single user sitting in front of it -> just one help file will do it.
Or are those EXE files for multiple groups of users with different kinds of use cases? (-> then you might need more than one help file).
Another point may be: do you want to provide your users with a printable manual (or PDF file), generated from the same source as your help files? If so, consider how many different user manuals you need (installation manual does not count). The number of different user manuals should be the same as the number of help files.
Doc Brown
2009-12-18 19:13:12
I like you analogy very much, and I hadn't thought at all about printing out the help file.
Beaner
2009-12-18 19:49:24
It is more than an analogy - you can actually do that. In our team we are using docbook for this purpose, producing input for HTML help workshop on one side, Apache fop on the other side, both from the same source. This produces a PDF and a CHM file with almost the same content.
Doc Brown
2009-12-19 09:48:46