Re: HTML and Intranets

[Steve Taylor <breakaway -at- BREAKAWAYNET -dot- COM>]

We are currently (or I should say I) are creating an intranet, essentially
for our tech support depart, but eventually for the entire company.

I am using Word/FrontPage98, and HTML Help Workshop 1.1 from Microsoft.
Here, briefly, are my experiences. (I have not published the thing yet;
still in development):

1. HTML Help Workshop is a bit buggy, but makes great help system (we have
already released a help system for software, with good results, though it
is more complicated to distribute at this point, because of the dll and ocx
files that must be installed along with the software).

2. HTML Help is great because of its interactive table of contents, easy to
create index, and nice full text search.

3. Once you create a HTML help system, it is very easy to transfer it over
to a browser-based intranet, though some re-formatting was needed.

4. I use Word to create the original docs, then save them as HTML. If you
create a correct template for the Word Doc using HTML formats (such as H1,
H2 for headings, rather than Heading 1, etc.), then the formatting
transfers over. However, the use of Style Sheets, which HTML Help can use,
is even better. But remember to use an HTML template in Word)

5. I use Front Page to create and manage the intranet web site. The only
problem I have discovered, and not solved yet, is I find the Search bot
provided with Front Page to be not accurate...I may have to use an Index
Server once I get the main site up...

6. We have not used RoboHTML or Doc to Help, but are studying whether to
purchase the extra tools, so any feedback on these would be help to me as
well.

Steve Taylor
Senior Technical Writer
Breakaway International, Inc.
staylor -at- breakawaynet -dot- com