Hi, folks. I have written an article for the
Adobe Developer
Center that is due to be published tomorrow (Monday, Feb 19).
The article "Adobe RoboHelp Server 6 improves the feedback
loop" discusses many of the issues mentioned by jochumr and
ChrisRousset.
Meanwhile to jochumr, since you will be removing the old
RoboEngine before installing the new Server 6, you will want to do
the usual backups particularly regarding anything to do with
Feedback Reports relating to the, now outdated, natural language
search. Also, you will want to inform your users of the new Search
format and best practice and they should no longer put their
searches in the form of a question. So instead of them putting in
"Where is the expense report form", they should just put the
keywords, "expense report form". This will take some adjustment on
their part if they've been previously indoctrinated to enter
queries "in their own words".
Meanwhile, here are some excerpts from the article in
advance:
Important tips for upgraders
The Natural Language Search facility of older versions has
been replaced. The new full text search facility is an important
change for those upgrading from an older version of the RoboEngine.
The natural language search concept seemed like a good idea years
ago, but never caught on because users were more familiar with
keyword searches. Since the natural language search technique often
confused users, it has been replaced.
Upgrade Tip #1: Upgraders will want to "archive" their older
feedback reports before the change takes place, because the
RoboHelp Server 6 database will replace the older RoboEngine
database.
Upgrade Tip #2: Those upgrading to RoboHelp Server 6 will
want to let users know that rather than entering questions, they
should use keywords for their search terms.
Upgrade Tip #3: A best practice would be to set up a test
server and publish your existing content. In this way, you can
anticipate any rollout changes you want to make.
What if authors are using mixed versions?
While it is ideal to upgrade both client and server
applications to the new version 6, it is possible to work in a
mixed environment, if you are careful. For example, both the older
RoboHelp X5 and the new RoboHelp 6 authoring client apps can
publish to both the old or new RoboEngines. However, there are at
least two major differences for which you will need to plan.
1. You would want to select WebHelp Pro as the single source
layout (and not FlashHelp) because the older RoboEngine did not
support FlashHelp (RoboHelp Server 6 supports FlashHelp Pro from
the client app.)
2. Be mindful of the differences resulting from the removal
of natural language search, as discussed earlier.
As for purchasing, I'm not familiar the sales aspect, but I
understand that Adobe RoboHelp Server 6 does not automatically come
with the RoboHelp 6 authoring application. Those are separate
purchases, though I presume they may bundle it for marketing
purposes? The idea is that you only need one "server" license, but
any number of "client" apps for however many authors.
Let me know if I missed something!
Hope this helps.
Thanx,
John
John Daigle
Adobe Certified Instructor for RoboHelp, Adobe Captivate
andAcrobat Connect Professional
John Daigle
Adobe Certified RoboHelp and Captivate Instructor
Newport, Oregon