Is RoboHelp v7 backwards compatible?

[John_Meidl]

We are still using RoboHelp version 5 to update the online help files at our company. We're wondering when we upgrade to RoboHelp version 7 whether the transition will be smooth and whether we'll still be able to update:
- RH for Word help files that were originally created about a decade ago, but have been updated more recently with RH 5 and
- RH HTML (WebHelp and Microsoft HTML Help) help files

Thank you.

[RoboColum_n_]

Hi Janatwork.

RH7 is not backwards compatible at all. Big changes were made to the underlying HTML code in RH7 which makes it impossible to edit topics in any earlier version of RH. As far as RH for Word is concerned I am less sure but I guess as you have Webhelp and CHM files you'll have to upgrade both apps as both come together with RH Office. The actual upgrade to RH7 from RHX5 should be straightforward but you may want to download a trial version and run a few tests.

[Captiv8r]

Hi Janatwork

As always, keep backups just in case. Also, before you attempt to upgrade your projects, ensure you apply both patches to RoboHelp. Click Help > Updates... to coax RoboHelp into checking for them.

Cheers... Rick

[John_Meidl]

Colum and Rick, thanks for the information. What a shock that RoboHelp 7 cannot be used to update older Robo-Word and Robo-Web projects! But perhaps I misunderstand your note.

I'm wondering, for those people who have upgraded their RoboHelp application to version 7, how are they maintaining their existing help projects? Is there some way to open the older project or its topics in RoboHelp 7? Surely, they wouldn't need to re-create those projects all over again?

Thanks.
Jan

[Peter Grainge]

Not being backwards compatible means projects in RH7 format cannot be opened in earlier versions, not the other way around. A project from any earlier version can be opened in RH7. If that were not true, nobody would upgrade.

Note the advice given re applying patches and making backups BEFORE you upgrade any project.

[John_Meidl]

Peter,
Thank you for clarifying that we WOULD be able to update our old projects using the newer RoboHelp 7 application. That is a tremendous relief! And it is what I would expect of an upgraded application.

(To clarify what I meant when I used the term "backward compatible," I meant "Can a person open the RoboHelp 7 application, and then from that application, open projects previously updated with RoboHelp 5.")

So thanks again for this clarification.

Jan

P.S. We don't have immediate plans to upgrade to 7, but we just wanted to do some scouting early on. By the way, does it seem that the Robo users generally pleased with the version 7?

[RoboColum_n_]

Hi Jan.

You are asking a RoboHelp forum frequented by RoboHelp users whether RoboHelp 7 is OK? There are a lot of changes made to version 7 that are a real bonus. There are also things that I wish they'd kept the same but this is true of all applications I use. What is one man's saviour is another's nightmare. You just have to test and retest until you know the application is right for you. Look back at these forums and download a trial to see for yourself what a killer documentation tool it is

[Peter Grainge]

There were some initial glitches but the patches dealt with the main ones. See my site for information about RH7.