Help Authoring

This is part of the Help Authoring Tips series. There are many options for presenting additional information in a help system. In the olden days, you created information and then you added a hyperlink or a popup. Today, with current help authoring tools, there are so many more options. Here's a brief review of some of them. Jump/hypertext link: This takes the reader from one location to another. Typically, it offers expanded or related information. These are very useful when…

This is part of the Help Authoring Tips series.  A nice looking help file that contains bad content (inaccurate information, missing information, poorly organized, etc.), is still a bad help system because it fails the fundamental challenge  - to give help. Having said that, the look and feel of a help file is important. It offers a sense of professionalism, confidence that the user can find information. It provides branding benefits - this is our company, our colors, etc.…

I've been asked to present a seminar to a team of writers of a large hi-tech company in Israel. The topic is one that I am familiar with; one that I have "lived" with for more than a decade. Help Authoring Tips. Fun, I thought. I began preparing the slides based on an outline one of their senior writers gave me. As I added content, I found myself expanding the base outline. Wondering if they might be interested…