To utilize the single source features of RoboHelp effectively, the help author should understand which features are available and how to use them effectively in the development of a help project.
Many help authors have more than one documentation requirement (i.e. print and online documentation), but there are large differences between the layout and organization of printed documentation and online documentation. With RoboHelp, the help author could use a combination of topic templates, conditional text, build tags, single source layouts, and the batch generation feature to create specific content outputs with a single click. Below are some of the features and some areas to consider when using single source technology.
Templates are useful when developing boilerplate text. The author may have several types of topic requirements that reuse layouts, text, and styles. Several templates could be developed to create topics for printed documentation and online documentation. Additional templates could be created to store complex tables, and to produce overview, task, and reference topics.
Style sheets control the formatting of HTML documents. RoboHelp allows the style sheets (CSS) created in RoboHelp to be mapped directly to a Word template (DOT). The Word template is then used to create the printed documentation, and it uses the same style elements created from the original CSS. This would save the author considerable time since only one style sheet would have to be created for both the online and the printed outputs.
Conditional text would allow the help author to use one topic for both print and online versions of the help system. A single topic could be marked up with the appropriate conditional text to allow for both common and unique parts of the topic to be generated at compile time.
Single-source layouts allow all the time spent configuring the output to be saved and reused. Unique settings and outputs could be saved based on the requirements of the help author and the users of the help system or printed documentation.
Batch generation allows the help author to have multiple outputs and special configurations generated in a single "click." By using batch generation with various single source layouts, the author has an easy time updating all the outputs each time a change is made.
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