Hi

2.
I never use keywords indexes because of its bads results. I find my information directly by navigating the tree

3.
Printable documentation is useful when you want to send it to a customer (image are directly visible that is not the case if you print it from the on line help). Some pdf files are not in the on line help (addenda).

IMHO

1. We must take example on the Office help. First try online. And if you are are offline display the offline help.
The format is like a web site

2. Same than Nico Pasquier: I personnaly never searched by keywords but using the tree. But I am not sure that our customers do the same way as we are experienced users and know very well the tree structure.
I think the first thing they do is to search by keywords. The best would be making a survey to our customers if they are satisfied by the help.

3. I dont understand your point Nico P. Why do you need sending the help to a customer as he has this document on the DVD?
Anyway do you really think customers are printing the doc? I have the doubt actually...

Nico K

I clicked too fast!!

I would say somnething else. For me the most important point is: Contextual help is missing. That's actually really not acceptable.

Nico K

I send it to the customer because they don't want to search... or they don't know where to find it (I do it like their mum...)

I send it not for printing (if they want.. ) but just because the help is full (image are displayed directly) that is not the case if you print the same subject from the help.

I agree with you on the navigation with the tree, customers say it is difficult to find something in the help but when you understand the help tree is the same as AE, it is I think quite easy.

Customers don't want to search, they call us...

I agree too with the missing contextual help !

Personnaly when I want sending an help topic to a customer I do a screenshot of the Tree with the selected topic on my computer and sends the image. I do this because I didnt find the way sending the tree path therefore I show him the path using a picture!!! So bad we can get the url of 1 topic....If somebody has the solution...

About the printing, you can print with the pictures but only if you show the pictures 🙁

Nico

Hello everyone,

I confirm and complete comments made by the Nicolas's
- Try online to get information from a Web Site. But be careful, it still exists standalone HMI that do not have Internet Access so we have to keep offline documentation. This online solution has the advantage of being easy to maintain and update
- I'm agree with Nicolas P about having the possibility to have Pdf exportable topic (or a printable) to send to client. It could be also useful for the HL.
- By my experience,client often use keyword so I think it's an important thing to maintain
- We need contextuel help
- And we need also a way to easily get the tree path because we often send this information to client for HL files

The help file is very complete but often overlooked or under exploited by users...

Stef

Hello,

Accessing help from a Web site is a great idea, but providing neutral help on this Web site (without any mention of ARC Informatique and PcVue) is contestable.
Yet, to this day, our help and doc are neutral, because of OEMs.
So, I think that the first step, before providing on line help is to customize it.

Jacqueline

Hello,

It would be really fine having a contextual help.

Then, before reviewing the keyword indexes, is there any way to compile the chm or do something to improve the search feature?
Maybe I'm wrong or I don't know the right syntax but let me give an example.
In PcVue help search tab, when the words 'project management' are input we get a result.
We get another result with '"project management"' because the exact sentence should match.
Is there a solution to include operators such as 'AND', '"AND"', '&', '"&"', '&&', '+', ... ?

About printable document, I never use it except for presales when a customer has no DVD and needs some stuff to understand a feature.

Hello,

I have a new idea. Why not put all the public KB in the help file.

There is public KB?

Thank you for your feedback.

Here is the summary I take as the list of requirements for investigating a new output format.
Apart from the contextual help 😉 let me know if I am missing anything important.

The characteristics of a new output format:
- The output format needs to be packaged:
○ For being installed locally on a target computer
○ For online publication
○ There are request for mixing both, but cannot be achieved without disclosing a public web site Url, which does not work for OEMs (until the help is customized per OEMs)
- Topics needs to be printable
○ And then it gives us the option to get rid of Pdf files on the DVD
- Topics need to have a unique address
○ Under the form of a Uri
○ So that anyone can send a direct link to a topic
○ Breadcrumb to navigate in the books and topics - Path to a topic in the treeview
- Ability to export a topic to a printable format
○ Pdf for example
○ So that a plain topic can be sent by email and printed
○ But sending the link to an online publication satisfies the same needs

- Some interesting plus:
○ Ability to switch from one language to the other without losing the topic context
○ Fallback to English for topics that are not translated in the current language

- Content rework as part of the migration: Indexes
○ Review the rules to make it simpler
○ And more useful
○ Probably less indexes to detailed topics, more to overview topics and groups of topics
- Content rework as part of the migration: Image toggles
○ Appears to be a hinder more than an helpful feature
○ A hinder for printing in particular