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SETISheryl
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How complicated is it to implement Robohelp Server for multiple authors?

Apr 11, 2012 7:29 AM

I am presently the lone techical writer in my company and I use Robohelp HTML V8 to generate WebHelp for our software. The RH software has been upgraded from an original V5 Robohelp full license, to a V7 upgrade and then a V8 upgrade.

 

I am investigating the use of Robohelp Server to open the possibility of adding another author, and would like to know how complicated it is. Do we still need to buy two seat licenses for Robohelp V9 as well as Robohelp Server V9, or are they included with the Server license?  Also, are there any concerns for upgrading V8 project to V9? 

 

If this information is already covered somewhere in the forums, please feel free to point me in that direction. I have not been able to find it myself. Thanks in advance!  

580 Views   5 Replies   Latest reply: SETISheryl, Apr 11, 2012 9:02 AM
 
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  • RoboColum(n)
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    Oct 8, 2004
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    1. RoboColum(n),
    Apr 11, 2012 7:47 AM   in reply to SETISheryl
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    Hi. You need to check out this blog post to understand your licence needs. However I am concerned that you believe that RoboHelp Server is a tool that could allow multiple authors to work together. It is not a source control application, but it can be used to publish separate content to the same server - albeit to a different area.

     
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  • RoboColum(n)
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    Oct 8, 2004
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    2. RoboColum(n),
    Apr 11, 2012 7:50 AM   in reply to RoboColum(n)
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    I need to understand your requirements. If this new author will be working on the same set of project files as you, you'd be better placed to use a source control application. This does not need a RoboHelp Server licence. Your RoboHelp licence includes a source control application called RoboSourceControl that you can use if you wish, although most prefer other applications such as Microsoft TFS or Tortoise SVN. Both of these can be used with RoboHelp if required.

     
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  • SETISheryl
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    3. SETISheryl,
    Apr 11, 2012 8:24 AM   in reply to RoboColum(n)
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    Thanks for the quick response!

     

    I'm sorry - I jumped to the conclusion that RH Server was the proper solution for multiple authors. Guess the reporting would be the only benefit of using RoboServer then.

    .

    We would be working on the same set of files. We had tried using RoboSourceControl a few years back when there were two of us, but we had performance issues having the project file on a server and I believe the project file was also corrupted on several occasions. 

     

    I have since split the original project into a merged project with 4 children, as outlined on Peter's site. Perhaps we can each just work on a different child in the same project?

     
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  • Captiv8r
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    4. Captiv8r,
    Apr 11, 2012 8:33 AM   in reply to SETISheryl
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    Hi Sheryl

     

    Indeed what you likely want is some form of source control. And certainly, splitting the project up and making different folks "captain of their own ship", is one way to roll.

     

    But it sounds like you may have either misunderstood or had the RoboSource control misconfigured. With any source control system, the way it usually works is by storing all the content on the server in the source control database. But for each client connecting to the database, you establish what is called a "Working Folder". And that is usually on each local PC. When you check files out, they are copied to the working folder. So you work locally, but the application handles copying them back and forth to and from the server as you work. That way, you shouldn't be seeing performance issues.

     

    Cheers... Rick

     

    Helpful and Handy Links

    RoboHelp Wish Form/Bug Reporting Form

    Begin learning RoboHelp HTML 7, 8 or 9 within the day!

    Adobe Certified RoboHelp HTML Training

    SorcerStone Blog

    RoboHelp eBooks

     
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  • SETISheryl
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    5. SETISheryl,
    Apr 11, 2012 9:02 AM   in reply to SETISheryl
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    Thanks for pointing out that we could use TFS instead of RoboSourceControl. We do use this for software development, so hopefully since we are quite familiar with TFS, it will be easy to implement and start using quickly.

     

    Many thanks to you and Rick for all of your help!

     
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