RoboHELP 2000 Bible (with CD-ROM) [ILLUSTRATED] (Paperback)

~ John Hedtke (Author), Elisabeth Knottingham (Author) "This chapter tells you how to install RoboHELP Office 2000 and introduces you to the various parts of the product..." (more)
Key Phrases: authorable button, sequence string name, online help project, Help Composer, Smart Index Wizard, Insert Help Hotspot (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

RoboHELP 2000 is the standard tool for developing help files for Microsoft Windows applications. RoboHELP 2000 Bible explains how to use RoboHELP's interface to develop electronic documentation in HTML Help, WinHelp, and other popular help-file formats. This book naturally serves to introduce its eponymous software and make its readers competent users of RoboHELP, but it also takes on the larger task of teaching readers something about the art and science of writing documentation. Authors John Hedtke and Elisabeth Knottingham thoroughly explain strategies for chunking information and presenting it effectively, showing how the RoboHELP environment fits with the larger goal of communicating facts.

Partially as a result of the authors' holistic approach, and partially because they like to explain concepts in patient detail, this book has more explanatory prose than a lot of others in the Bible series. Although sequences of steps appear when they contribute to the reader's understanding of RoboHELP and the documentation process, thankfully this book does not take an interface-centric approach, in which buttons and other interface elements are documented as they appear on the screen. The emphasis is on how to write good documentation and how RoboHELP's features can help you achieve that goal. The balance between RoboHELP documentation and discussions of larger processes is almost ideal. --David Wall

Topics covered: RoboHELP 2000 and the process of developing online documentation (help files) with it. The basics of text, graphics, hyperlinks, tables of contents, indices, context-sensitive help, and all other parts of RoboHELP's feature set are explained in terms of both traditional WinHelp and relatively new HTML Help formats.

Product Description

This guide, endorsed by eHelp, offers explanations on everything from installing RoboHELP 2000 to creating many different types of online help systems, including WinHelp, HTML Help, WebHelp, and more. You'll also get expert advice on maintaining your system once you've created it.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 967 pages
• Publisher: Wiley (January 15, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0764546449
• ISBN-13: 978-0764546440
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.4 x 1.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,284,732 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

34 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Robohelp 2000 Bible- A bit disappointing., September 24, 2000

By	David at bullyeq - See all my reviews

Most of it covers Winhelp, rather than HTMLHelp and WebHelp which is more at the leading edge and where the excitement is.

Also this book has been much delayed. It is bizarre to publish it just a week before the next new version of RoboHelp (version 9) is launched, although, as it happens WinHelp is unchanged.

It is not really a bible, more just a competent user guide.

It would have been interesting to give warts and all information, for example how it compares against Forehelp which has less market share, probably because of less agressive marketing, but may be an easier and more feature rich product to use.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An excellent reference, August 9, 2003

By	David Kirk (Upstate, New York USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Robohelp is advertised as "easy to use", but nothing that produces useful help tools can really be "easy." A good reference is needed, and this book provides it. The intro part focuses on Winhelp, and the last half of the book focuses on HTMLhelp. There are many examples and tips throughout the book and I found my confidence growing in using Robohelp by having this book nearby. Probably nothing works as well as experience, but this is a book I would recommend to new writers working with Robohelp 2000 or 2002.

5 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Robohelp 2000 Bible- Great Buy, August 25, 2000

By A Customer

I thought that this books was great and very informative.