Re: I'm sticking with WinHelp (was Re: WinHelp on Vista - a useful link)
Absolutely... they took away functionality that I consider to be very
useful to the user and as far as I can tell, didn't implement any "new
design considerations" that added any value for the user.
Well, if you're looking for others to implement "design
considerations", then there's obviously nothing more to be said but
"good luck with that". ;-)
> Hmmm. Well, it's certainly not mythical, because I've seen it many
> times over the past 2 years.
And how soon will it be before someone other than Microsoft can create it???
I'm sure when they're done developing it we'll have an answer. ;-)
After all, how many of you were developing HTML Help before 1996?
> I won't deny you that this functionality is hard to implement or is
> not possible to implement in other help formats, but have you explored
> other design considerations?
What exactly are these "other design considerations" you keep talking
about and how do they add value for the user?? So far the only "other
design considerations" I've encountered are the loss of functionality
inherent in the earlier product and an inability to run due to security
flaws <grin>. What exactly do these other formats give me that provides
a superior user experience to a well-developed WinHelp approach??
Design considerations are those things you consider when designing.
You're talking features, but that approach is akin to tackling every
home repair with a hammer and nails. You need to step back and look at
the big picture, take in all the design factors, and consider them
based on what your users need. Then you make informed decisions,
ideally write specs, have them reviewed to see if it makes sense, and
then work out a schedule and implementation plan.
The computing world is not going to come to a firey end because
someone can't view a formatted popup. ;-)
I may be short-changing myself but so far I haven't read anything about
a help format that offers any new functionality that justifies leaving
the old format... I'd certainly be amenable to reading about it but I
try to keep my ear to the ground and so far haven't heard anything that
gives me a chubby. Point me to something... I'd love to know about it.
Help 2.0 seemed promising but I can't for the life of me figure out why
they discarded it. Any ideas??
Essentially it's a PITA to build. I've been doing it for 3 years now.
Trust me, it certainly is, and I wouldn't wish it on the general Help
authoring population. ;-)
Bear in mind that I've had my manager spend somewhere around a kilobuck
to buy me a RoboHelp license and I'd really rather not p*ss away that
investment unless I can see that there'd be good ROI in throwing it
away and adopting a new tool.
Well, you wouldn't have to throw it away. RoboHelp builds a lot more
than HLP and CHM.
> Compelling argument to switch? WinHelp no longer meets Microsoft
> standards. It may not be broke, but it doesn't fit the context of
> current and planned future Windows computing standards. This is not me
> saying this; it's well-documented by Microsoft.
I've read the same announcement as you and I can't for the life of me
figure out how that's possible... I'll take their word for it but it
just doesn't make sense to me. Now, I'm not by any stretch of the
imagination a security expert, but the only mechanism I can see for
them to justify that position would be if there were a security flaw in
WinHelp and I'm not aware of any exploits out there in the wild that
take advantage of a security flaw in WinHelp. Seems kinda like one of
those "we're going to do this and we've gotta come up with an excuse
for it... give 'em the old generic 'doesn't meet standards' pablum"
deals to me.
Have you ever tried running software aimed at Win 3.1 and Win95? Some
of it runs, and some of it has some serious problems. As technology
advances, increased computing efficiency eventually means leaving some
things behind. The same goes for the real world, in everything natural
and man-made.
--
Bill Swallow
HATT List Owner
WWP-Users List Owner
Senior Member STC, TechValley Chapter
http://techcommdood.blogspot.com
avid homebrewer and proud beer snob
"I see your OOO message and raise you a clue."
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
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I'm sticking with WinHelp (was Re: WinHelp on Vista - a useful link): From: Mike Starr
Re: I'm sticking with WinHelp (was Re: WinHelp on Vista - a useful link): From: Bill Swallow
Re: I'm sticking with WinHelp (was Re: WinHelp on Vista - a useful link): From: Mike Starr
Re: I'm sticking with WinHelp (was Re: WinHelp on Vista - a useful link): From: Bill Swallow
Re: I'm sticking with WinHelp (was Re: WinHelp on Vista - a useful link): From: Mike Starr
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