Co-existence with Confluence

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Gerold Krommer
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Joined: Fri Mar 06, 2015 12:09 pm

Co-existence with Confluence

Unread post by Gerold Krommer »

Hi,

I have several situations where customers (mainly larger) have standardized on confluence for documentation. I'm totally unhappy with this, but you know how customers are. I'm constantly trying to convince them to use H&M but ....

Now I'm wondering if there is a (I would assume only semi-) automated way to copy (or sync) contents and at least some formatting between those two products. I searched the forums for 'confluence' and was surprised to find it only 3 times in sidenotes...

Confluence seems to have an XML Output. Any experience out there on 'massaging' this to H&M XML? Or would it be better to use primarily H&M and copy that somehow to Confluence?

Any input appreciated,

/Gerold
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Tim Green
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Re: Co-existence with Confluence

Unread post by Tim Green »

Hi Gerold,

Confluence is only mentioned a couple of times because that is exactly how many times we have had questions about it in the last almost 20 years... Apparently the demand is not very high, in general terms. :?
Regards,
Tim (EC Software Documentation & User Support)

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Gerold Krommer
Posts: 113
Joined: Fri Mar 06, 2015 12:09 pm

Re: Co-existence with Confluence

Unread post by Gerold Krommer »

I see... so I wonder if I'm positioning those two products in that respect correctly against each other.

Confluence has many features for project management (user stories, etc.) but also all system documentation is usually held in there, less so user documentation

I'll do some research ...

/Gerold
Jan Sverre Haugjord
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Joined: Wed Sep 08, 2021 2:31 pm

Re: Co-existence with Confluence

Unread post by Jan Sverre Haugjord »

Dear Sir,

I assume we are in a similar position, R&D using Confluence for their documentation/project management. It would therefore be a nice asset if their work on this platform could be have a seamless integration to the documentation needs we have at Marketing (where I work.. we manufacture software and hardware acoustical measurement systems/products). PS! I am evaluating different products (incl. Help+Manual, ClickHelp, MadcapFlare, Robohelp, Docsie). Pros and cons I guess, but I see that at least one of these mentions Confluence.. whatever that really means. FWIW, my simplistic way of trying to figure out what to buy is based on a small set of criteria, ie. what we need to achieve, what we have to pay and not the least: how easy it is to use. By far, this in sum favors Help+Manual. Especially the UI means a lot.. that you can actually, with no previous experience, just start producing a document (although small/simple at the start), be it an online manual from scratch or re-use the material we have produced (.chm from a software application, a .html from an onboard instrument platform or reworked from a .pdf instruction manual). Support and sharing info, like in this forum, also helps a lot!

Kind rgds
Jan Sverre,
Norsonic AS
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Tim Green
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Re: Co-existence with Confluence

Unread post by Tim Green »

Hi Jan,
R&D using Confluence for their documentation/project management. It would therefore be a nice asset if their work on this platform could be have a seamless integration to the documentation needs we have at Marketing (where I work.. we manufacture software and hardware acoustical measurement systems/products).
What format does Confluence require for hosting your documentation? I'm assuming that it's another web-based "everything bucket" like SharePoint, with possibly/hopefully a more accessible configuration interface. I just spent a nightmare month getting WebHelp embedding to work in SharePoint with the Premium Pack skins -- it's a task which should be very simple and straightforward, unless you're dealing with anything designed by Microsoft, which is like shelling peas wearing boxing gloves while standing up in a hammock. :roll:

Fundamentally, if Confluence has a halfway decent web setup and doesn't try to second-guess or interfere with the content you put in it, it should be quite easy to put WebHelp in it, either by simple linking or in an iFrame. If you contact me directly at support AT ec-software.com (replace the AT with @) I could discuss this further with you and provide some content and/or suggestions for testing. :)
Regards,
Tim (EC Software Documentation & User Support)

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Jan Sverre Haugjord
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Joined: Wed Sep 08, 2021 2:31 pm

Re: Co-existence with Confluence

Unread post by Jan Sverre Haugjord »

Sorry for the untimely.. ie. late reply :)
We continued our research & evaluation process and decided that H+M answered to our requests so I will order a floating license..
Thnks anyway!.. so far, I assume there will be loads of question coming your way when we start using the program
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