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By Steven Oppenheimer ROBOHELP, VERSION 4.0, the latest release of Blue Sky Software's popular help-authoring system, generates Microsoft Windows online help, as well as printed documentation and Web pages, from a single Microsoft Word file. Thanks to the program's ease of use, regular programmers as well as technical communicators can use RoboHelp.
Like several peer programs such as WexTech Systems' Doc-To-Help and Solutionsoft's HelpBreeze, Robo Help serves as a template, providing macros that run within Word for Windows. Unlike standalone authoring products such as ForeFront's ForeHelp, however, RoboHelp does not provide a fully WYSIWYG editing environment.
Bear in mind, though, that online help is not the same animal as printed help. Even Windows help and HTML are only cousins at best. If you want the optimum documentation in all modes - online, printed, and Web-based - then expect to spend the time and money to create...