Books / links on best practices when writing on-line Help

[M-C_Hammer]

Hi everyone
Not sure were to place this topic...
I have not posted in here for ages...
I am a RoboHelp user and I am looking for one or several books about best practices when writing on-line help. For examples, what are the "rules" or "do's" and "don'ts" for CSS, topic linking, number of clicks, links within a topic, index building, etc.
Just wondering if some people on this forum know about some good books where all of the rules or do's would be compiled?
Thanks in advance for any input.
Regards

[RoboColum_n_]

I doubt you will get all this in one place or publication as best practice is likely to be determined by lots of factors. personally I try to have only three TOC book levels, minimal internal topic clicks and index like there's no tomorrow.

[MergeThis]

KeepItSimple,Stupid!

That is, just because there are neat things like drop-down text, marquees, and such, doesn't mean you should use them.

Stick to the basic HTML fonts and colors (use the w3schools web site for all things HTML and CSS.

Instead of styles, create your lists by selecting Normal paragraphs and formatting with the Bullet and Number toolbar buttons.

Keep your tables as simple as possible (try not to nest them and have all sorts of row and column spans, and try to avoid lists and figures, if you can). Also, break up very long tables into functional groupings with introductory headings.

Use Peter Grainge's web site and Rick Stone's web site for all the best workarounds and diagnostics.


Good luck,
Leon

[M-C_Hammer]

Hi again
I am a bit surprised at not having had more replies to this but would like to thank Colum and Leon for their help /advice.
I have been advised to look at a few books on 2 other forums so I am currently reading reviews.

[RoboColum_n_]

Hi Marie-Claire.

There is a lot of information on technical authoring best practice and RH usage but unfortunately for you, not in one place. The problem is that the topic area is huge and open to many external factors. You are doing the right thing though. Look back through these forums for RH best practice, read the books, look at the websites and feel free to come back here with specific queries. Best of luck.

[three_penguins]

There is a good list of resources available from WritersUA.com. There are segments on books, periodicals and web resources.

[M-C_Hammer]

Hi Colum and Esch
Thanks for your input. Maybe I should write a book about Best Practices in On-Line Help Writing once I have had a look at books, websites, documents,etc that were recommended to me.
I am going to have a look to the Writers UA site now.
Thanks again

[Steve_Gaghan]

Hi Marie-Claire,

Would you mind sharing the names of the books that were recommended to you? I would really appreciate it.

Thank you,

Steven

[Steve_Gaghan]

Hi Marie-Claire,

Would you mind sharing the names of the books that were recommended to you? I would really appreciate it.

Thank you,

Steven