Do I need Robohelp Server or Source Control? and RH installation

[Nick27]

So, I'm still comparing authoring products and trying to filter down requirements.

I've been reading more about RH and have come across RH Server and source Control and wondering exactly if they are needed.

I'm the single author in the company, most likely publishing web help, or html help outputs for use online via our web application.

Is there any need to implement Server or source control, as far as I can see Server gives me reporting abilities and statistic reports, neither of which I really need. Is there anything else about RH Server that would be beneficial?

Also, source control, this is more needed when there are multiple writers accessing the same content at the same time so that problems dont crop up? Correct?

Also, how difficult, or time consuming is the installation process of RH on a single machine. Is it a simple program installation, or will I need to install server-side databases or anything else that could require the IT team to get involved?

Thanks for your help.

Nick

[RoboColum_n_ · Accepted solution]

Hi Nick.

You have got it pretty much spot on. RoboHelp Server is mainly only required if you want the additional reporting functionality. There are some other minor differences between RoboHelp and RoboHelp Server but that is the main one. RoboSource Control is a application to get source files safe and backed up and is designed for a multi-author environment. It adds a layer of complexity for a single author environment although you can still use it if you wish. Personally I'd just ensure you have your source on a local drive (a key requirement of RoboHelp) and backup to a network drive.

The installation of RoboHelp is painless. It is just like any other application with a wizard to guide you. It has various options that you can choose, one of which is whether to install the RoboSourceControl client.

Click here for further reading on the difference between RoboHelp Server and RoboSourceControl.

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Read the RoboColum(n).

[Nick27]

OK brilliant, I didn't think there was much need for either really, since I'm the only author here.

Is it possible to link RH to a database on a server so that all documentation is stored on the network and not locally on my machine.

Storing locally is something I would prefer to avoid, just because of system crashes, losing work and security. Plus if I used RH on a different machine, perhaps in another office I could still acess everything easily.

[Willam_van_Weelden]

Hi,

You don't want to work from a network drive, RoboHelp works best (read: only works ) with source files stored locally.

It's best to backup your source files on a regular basis, or use some kind of source. Personally, I use Visual Source Safe with RoboHelp for easy backups and history of my source files.

Greet,

Willam

[MergeThis]

Just to clarify "storing" and "working" RH projects.

You can "store" your projects anywhere on a server.

However, before "working" on the project, both your RH application and the most current copy of the project must be on your local machine.

You then Generate your output to a location on your local machine, and then Publish that output to a server (or just manually copy the output).

Good luck,

Leon