Applications

Nothing is perfect! This is where you can post your ideas and wishes for functions you'd like to see in Help & Manual. Current version only please (H&M7).

Moderators: Alexander Halser, Tim Green

Post Reply
Xtructur
Posts: 6
Joined: Mon Jul 19, 2010 10:06 pm

Applications

Unread post by Xtructur »

 
Hello,

I am surprised about the position of Mr. Wynne when I consider Help+Manual suitable for something more than to generate help authoring content.

I do not believe either that he is too responsible with his proposal to stop using the program due to the minimum disadvantage on its operation. Sometimes complaints can serve to better improvement. On the other hand, any user must have freedom to employ Help+Manual in whatever can be wished, even documenting toy trains.

Desktop publishing

Many developers create their manuals with Help+Manual without customizing the .mnl default template. Nevertheless, the typical way is adapting this template to ensure brand consistency and to differentiate from competitors. Normally, this will involve some works of composition in the Manual Designer section of Help+Manual. In this sense, it is not necessary to put itself furious because somebody uses the expression desktop publishing.

By the way, Mr. Wynne, we can not consider PagePlus or InDesign like structured editors, because they do not have standalone single sourcing capabilities, at least, not so far.

Document drafting and assembly

Related to the example that I am going to show, I request the Administrator of the Forum to erase an old message of mine about a press release of the company Stibbe. This message already performed its function, but it maintains too much prominence at that level of the Forum, reason why I propose to rearrange its place, empty it of content or, better, erase it. I leave it to the decision of Mr. Green. I was disappointed because the article is very vague in methodology, although it is natural that his author does not show his tactics to other competitors of the legal area.

Let us suppose that a lawyer firm decides to begin to use Help+Manual like the substitute of a document drafting program like ACL (GhostFill), HotDocs or XpressDox, and they import in Help+Manual its contracts documentation. As I commented in another message, a problem that will appear soon is the arrival of annoying double spaces and the loss of simple spaces when adding or replacing strings in some line endings. However, although the comparison of changes does not become made with the help of Araxis Merge, Beyond Compare, DeltaXML, DiffDog or Word, most probable is that the contracts are built well, mainly because we are talking about drafts and it is logical to think that somebody will discover the errors and correct them.

All this statements about spaces can be irrelevant for certain users, but integrity as part of quality is very important, and I do not desire less for Help+Manual neither for other software.

Finally, I want to give thanks for letting me participate in this Forum. I have tried in the one of another well-known vendor of help authoring tools, but they have not allowed me to do it.

Farewell,

Xtru

 
User avatar
John Waller
Posts: 827
Joined: Thu Apr 20, 2006 9:34 pm
Location: Adelaide, South Australia

Re: Applications

Unread post by John Waller »

I assume you're adding to this earlier forum discussion back in March?
http://helpman.it-authoring.com/viewtop ... =5&t=11566
Regards

John Waller
v.6.2.2 Build 2636
User avatar
Martin Wynne
Posts: 2656
Joined: Mon May 12, 2003 3:21 pm
Location: West of the Severn, UK

Re: Applications

Unread post by Martin Wynne »

Hi Xtru,

You mentioned my name, and I read your post twice, but I'm afraid I'm not too clear what you are asking for (this is the Wish List section of the forum), or where I come into it. I'm just an ordinary user of H&M, I don't have any control over its development or any connection with EC Software.

You seem to be saying that someone might change to H&M from some other software, and then find that it doesn't work in the way that they want. To which the obvious reply is why change? H&M is what it is does what it says, brilliantly. If a user wants something else, the obvious solution is not to use H&M. That's just my personal opinion, it doesn't represent the views of EC Software or anyone else.

The failings of Search and formatting in the RVF editor are well known and are I believe being addressed by Sergey Tkachenko. It would probably be better to post your comments in the support forum there, at: http://www.trichview.com/forums/

best regards,

Martin.
Post Reply