RoboHelp HTML Capacity

[wdrru]

Hi,

In building a system helpfile, are there concerns to the capacity of RoboHelp that I should be aware of... where the performance of the system begins to degrade due to the how many folders/topics and features are included?

I am using RoboHelp HTML X5.0.2 ... and currently my project is about 20 MBs (still very small... but it is in the very early stages of development.

I am creating a system file for corporate wide use, and wondering if it would be better to break into 'smaller' systems rather than one 'large' help system.
thanks!

[RoboColum_n_]

Hi wdrru.

This is a simple and yet difficult question to answer. What you need to do is think carefully about what you are trying to achieve and the ease with which you can do it. It sounds like you will end up with a big help system. Will this be is a single RH project? I suggest you split it up into logical chunks and merge the relevant chunks with the larger "whole" help file. IMHO this makes the management and operation of editing a help file easier. You don't say how many topics you have but once your topics grow, opening dialogs to add links, related topics, etc, take longer and you may have to go away to make a cup of coffee and drink on initially opening the project each morning. It's hard to put a figure on this as it depends on how many other components such as images, bookmarks and links are in the project.

As far as whether you should ship the "whole" or part help file is down for you and your developers to agree on as it depends on the user requirements, marketing, etc.

[wdrru]

Thanks Colum, this is helpful.

I/we are in the deciding stages of how to grow/develop the 'corporate wide' help system.. so the asking, and your response is good timing.

I like your suggestion of "split it up into logical chunks and merge the relevant chunks with the larger "whole" help file" as this will allow for ease of managing each chunk, but still provide the sense of 'one stop' assistance for the organization. I was actually thinking how this might be done in the wee hours this morning, and needed to draw on the forums expertise to know if it could be. Thanks again.