Update Adobe AIR help content without necessity of installation for users???

[MelanieeOo]

Hello there,

I want to make our manuals available as Adobe AIR help applications. Unfortunately for our users it is not possible to regularly install these applications. Therefore I decided to generate a help viewer as AIR file and help content as RHA file ("help content only" ssl option). So admins only once have to install an initial AIR file. Afterwards users are able to replace help content to update help files.

I proceeded in a similar way as described here:

http://blogs.adobe.com/techcomm/2010/07/merging_multiple_helps_in_air_help_output.html

In principle this is a good solution - but here is my problem:

Help content itself already consists of different projects (merged projects). Merged projects unfortunately cannot be generated with "help content only" ssl option.

Anyone has got an idea how to satisfy all my conditions:

- Customers only once have to install an AIR file

- Afterwards help content can be updated by replacing files (without installation)

- Help content itself contains merged projects .

Generate different outputs (RHA files) for the merged projects is not a possibility. The merged projects with regard to content belong to ONE single manual - I'm not talking about different manuals. So users should be able to search the whole manual and so on ...).

Thank you so much in anticipation!

Melanie

[Jeff_Coatsworth]

You may have butted up against a limitation of the locally-installed AIR Help scheme – what about using the browser-based option? Or is that completely out?

[MelanieeOo]

I don't think that I exceeded the limit; I tried with one main project (for the Help viewer) and two projects for content (two RHA-files).

I thought of browser-based help - but the most interesting options of Adobe AIR help are not available: favourites, comments, evaluation, ...

[Jeff_Coatsworth]

No I meant the limitation of producing help content only from merged AIR Help projects.

[MelanieeOo]

Well, this also is a current issue for me.

We have to deal with modular software and a team of 6 technical writers with the necessity that different technical writers are able to edit the manual for one software. And our RH-projects are maintained in SVN. I don't know if there is another possibility than work with merged projects?!? 

[Peter Grainge]

It has always irritated me that the blog you refer to uses the term "merged help". It is not merged help, it is simply a collection of outputs where the user can select the one they want.

My site does have instructions for a true merged AIR Help output but that will not achieve your objective of one install. Sorry but I don't think what you want can be achieved.

http://www.grainge.org/pages/authoring/merging_webhelp/merging_method_rh9.htm#air

The method is the same for Rh10.

Please feel free to use the Contact page on my site.

---

See www.grainge.org for RoboHelp and Authoring tips

@petergrainge

[MelanieeOo]

You are right, this is not a merged help. What I want to do is to combine the described method and merged projects - but this does not work.

I've just generated true merged AIR help outputs, but our users are not amused because of the necessity of more than one install.

Well, we will see. I'm thinking about changing the structure of our RH-projects. But this is a momentous decision because of collaborative writing and SVN...

Thank you so much for your help.

[thuddles]

Peter,

I'm a little confused, but the discussion is bouncing between "merged help" (which is not an issue for me) and the AIRHelp installation issue. If I may simplify the question: Is it possible to create a help system in AIRhelp that is installed on the end user's PC only once, and which then updates automatically whenever the source files (which are housed on a Web server) are modified? I got the impression from the RoboHelp documentation that this is possible, but you know how thin the docs are.

Like Melanie, I really like the AIRhelp interface and the fact that it supports favorites, RSS feeds, etc. It also has a nice print feature that lets you print the page in the current help window or the entire help system.

Anyway, what do you think of the installation issue?

Thanks!

Tim

[Jeff_Coatsworth]

I believe that the answer is yes – if you have locally installed AIRHelp you can create “content-only” updates (the RHA file referred to) and plop that down in a common location where you’ve told the initial install where to look for updates. It’s specified in the SSL recipe I believe.