First experience writing on-line-help, HELP!

[Hillary Russak <hrussak -at- SLAC -dot- STANFORD -dot- EDU>]

I have a meeting tomorrow to go over a new documentation project.  It
involves writing user-documentation for a customized database, created in
4D.  (It's a Hazardous Waste Track System [WTS].)  I was thinking that it
might be an opportunity for me to write my first simple on-line help (plus
a procedures manual).  I'm not yet clear that this is the best way to
document the operations of the WTS, but it's the first writing opportunity
which even seems that on-line help might be an option, so...

Since I work in a place where there's an, "oh, you decide" attitude, I
wanted to ask you-all what tool you would start with as a writer new to
on-line help (and new to just about every aspect of on-line writing).
Since I've read that the future of on-line help is html, I'm hoping to find
a good application which allows the use of html for the actual writen
portion (and perhaps has a Javascript-driven search function?... am I
making sense?)

What say ye, techwhirlers?
-hil

Hillary M. Russak, Technical Writer
Stanford Linear Accelerator Center
ES&H Division, Waste Management Department
hrussak -at- slac -dot- stanford -dot- edu
Office: (650) 926-3193
Pager:  (650) 940-0741

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