Linking Outlook to eLearning

[tc_jbarker]

New to Robohelp and was curious if someone could point me in the right direction.  How would I have Microsoft Outlook point to my eLearning that I've created in Robohelp whenever they click the Help menu???  Or how do I place my eLearning for Outlook (created in Robohelp and Captivate) as an option on the Outlook help menu?  Is this possible?

How much more difficult would it be to make context sensitive help that is eLearning?

I've scoured the web but can't find what I'm looking for, like a tutorial on the above.  Perhaps I'm not using the proper wording.

Thanks in advance?

[Peter Grainge]

I have not seen anyone ask this question before on any forum and I monitor quite a few.

The best forum I know of for Office matters is http://windowssecrets.com/forums/

I suggest you try there.

or

http://www.slipstick.com/

Slipstick is dedicated to Outlook matters.

---

See www.grainge.org for RoboHelp and Authoring tips

@petergrainge

[Peter Grainge]

BTW I have edited your question title. It will help anyone else who may be seeking an answer to the same question.

---

See www.grainge.org for RoboHelp and Authoring tips

@petergrainge

[tc_jbarker]

Thanks for the response.   So how is the content created in Robohelp normally accessed from any application (Outlook, Word, Adobe Pro, etc)?  In other words, how is the "help" system created in Robohelp normally accessed from the application it was written for?  Do users have to leave the app they're working in (where they need the help) and launch a separate help application or can they access the help we've created in Robohelp from within the application they are currently in?  If so, how?  Seems this would be a very common process.

Thanks again for your feedback.

[Peter Grainge]

The calling of the help is put in place by the developers of the application. In other words, by Microsoft or Adobe's own developers.

A third party, such as yourself, cannot do that. Nonetheless, it is possible that you can create a link from Outlook to an eLearning system. Note, I am not saying you can, just that it might be possible

---

See www.grainge.org for RoboHelp and Authoring tips

@petergrainge

[johndaigle]

Hi and welcome

Regarding your question about how Context Sensitive Help is "normally" accessed from an application, there is information in RoboHelp's online help and Peter's site that can explain the process. This is the link to the Online Help which also includes a link to Peter's site for more.
http://help.adobe.com/en_US/robohelp/robohtml/WS5b3ccc516d4fbf351e63e3d11aff59c571-7ffc.html

HOWEVER, I have a feeling this is not going to be relevant to your situation. This is because MS Outlook has its own methods for adding functionality (like adding a customized Help menu item) and typically it uses "Macros" to accomplish this. The links Peter's post look excellent although I did not find a solution off the bat.

In addition to macros that add menu items, you can also add custom toolbars, etc. to "call" the help, which in your case is actually RoboHelp output.

There are several fundamental items not mentioned in your post.

1. What version of Outlook is this for?
2. Is this eLearning meant to be distributed to a group of folks to work in their local Outlook, or is it just for your local use? In other words "deployment" is a key issue here in terms of the proper output you will want to generate.
   
3. You can output your help as a MS HTML Help (.chm) file installed on the person's local machine, or as WebHelp which would be published on a web server. Either one will impact how you add this to the Outlook menu item.

The Outlook Developer Center might be a good place to look or post a question

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/office/aa905455.aspx

Sorry not to be more specific, but wanted to clarify some things before you go off on rabbit trails 🙂

Oh, and let us know if you find the answer!

John Daigle
Adobe Certified RoboHelp and Captivate Instructor
Evergreen, Colorado
www.showmethedemo.com

[tc_jbarker]

Good Morning,

To answer your questions -

This is for Outlook (and eventually all of Office) 2010.  Then, later for additional "third party" applications as well.

It is meant to be distributed to different groups of people at different organizations.

Thanks for your responses and help.