TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
March 2006: "WinHelp32 will be a download for Windows Vista to assist
customers with the transition."
April 2006: "The WinHelp engine will not be included in Microsoft Vista.
In addition, the engine will not be available for download or
redistribution."
May 2006: "The download for Windows Help is still in development and
will not be available for the release of Windows Vista Beta 2."
Given that they briefly (but loudly) announced that the download project
was canceled, and that the download still isn't ready, I agree with you
that it's probably a technical (rather than policy) issue.
For now, no one knows whether the download will be redistributable, or
even how the installation of a WinHelp-reliant app will work under
Vista.
And here's the thing about "old technologies": Even when they continue
to work, they just don't bring in cash for the mother company. (Hello,
Notepad.) This is as opposed to "technological advancements," which
*always* bring in the cash. (Hello, Office 2007.)
I'd rather not rehash the threads about WinHelp and HTML Help's relative
advantages and disadvantages -- people can Google those if they're
interested. But let's not generalize as to what other writers' users
really need.
-- Dan
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Bill Swallow
> Sent: Monday, September 11, 2006 1:49 PM
> To: Dan Goldstein
> Cc: techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
> Subject: Re: WinHelp on Vista
>
> MS never changed their position, rather they finally made a decision
> on what to do. I believe their official position has always been to
> drop WinHelp support since it relies on old technology that would hold
> Vista and future OSes back. Their last decision (which seems to be a
> final decision) is to allow for legacy WinHelp support via a download.
> Also, it's my understanding that they needed to make some changes to
> the WinHelp engine in order for it to properly function in Vista.
>
> Let's face it, although it is solid, WinHelp is an old technology. At
> some point it needs to be put to bed to promote technological
> advancement within the Windows OS, among OS-friendly applications, and
> of course within the community that authors user assistance for those
> applications.
>
> Very true, but the decision to change now or wait depends on the level
> of intrusiveness you want to "package" with your products, as the
> WinHelp engine for Vista is not redistributable. Every user will need
> to download and install it on their machines in order to run your
> application's user assistance should you deliver that UA using
> WinHelp.
>
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
WebWorks ePublisher Pro for Word features support for every major Help
format plus PDF, HTML and more. Flexible, precise, and efficient content
delivery. Try it today! http://www.webworks.com/techwr-l
Easily create HTML or Microsoft Word content and convert to any popular Help file format or printed documentation. Learn more at http://www.DocToHelp.com/TechwrlList
---
You are currently subscribed to TECHWR-L as archive -at- infoinfocus -dot- com -dot-
