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> In my new company it has been suggested that we use RoboHelp to single
> source. From my research I'm not sure that this is going to be very easy.
> I get the impression that RoboHelp is more an online help creation tool,
> rather than one to be used for single-sourcing. Also, we intend to move
> from Word to FrameMaker and I really don't get the impression that
> RoboHelp is very compatible with FrameMaker.
You cannot single-source using both FrameMaker and RoboHelp. The two
products are not compatable.
> RoboHelp for FrameMaker has
> obviously died a death so that's out. When I contacted Macromedia they
> told me that there is a plug-in, included in the latest version of
> RoboHelp, that enables users to convert to mif and then import in to
> RoboHelp.
But then you're repurposing content and not single-sourcing. These are
two distinctly different concepts and they should not be confused for
each other or mistaken for the same thing. See http://www.stcsig.org/ss/articles062002/6_02_when_to_ss.htm for an
overview (sorry for the shameless plug).
> - Has anyone single-sourced using RoboHelp? And what was the result?
No. Even in a Word workflow I've found single-sourcing from RoboHelp
to be impossible.
> - Has anyone had to import FM files in to RoboHelp? If so, I'd love some
> details.
Yes. We ended up saving to RTF to do it, and then we had cleanup and
rework of content to fit a Help scenario within the context of
RoboHelp, and then we had a FM source to maintain AND a RoboHelp
source to maintain (multisourcing).
> - Preferences for single-sourcing tools?
Depends on what your source files are stored as. WWP for both FM and
Word are good choices, as is AuthorIt. My preference, in short, is a
tool that works. ;-)
> - Which online help formats people prefer; WinHelp now being outdated,
> HTML Help getting old ...
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