Matthew, my answer maybe SOT also but here goes. We use the Fusebox framework for development, the relevance of this is that the use of Fuseactions in fusebox makes it really easy to implement not only the application itself but ancillary things like Help Docs, Developer-Client interaction etc. For example, in Fusebox ColdFusion templates are typically grouped into their function by naming convention. Templates used for any sort of display usually are prepended with dsp. We built an in-house tool to enable creation of help files which are then linked to the relevant dsp files using the Fuseaction as the link. Using this sort of methodology allows us to create and update context-sensitive help files quickly and easily.
That is how we handle this, I hope it is of some use to you. Kind Regards - Mike Brunt, CTO Webapper http://www.webapper.com Downey CA Office 562.243.6255 AIM - webappermb "Webapper - Making the NET work" -----Original Message----- From: Matthew Fusfield [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] Sent: Tuesday, July 16, 2002 8:05 AM To: CF-Talk Subject: SOT: Writing good manuals and help systems Hi there, Hoping to get a few opinions on this topic. Most of my company's CF work thus far has been custom solutions, but recently we've developed some apps that we can distribute as a product. (ie download and install on top of CF server) One of the challenges we've uncovered is coming up with a decent manual and help system. What we've found is that the developers aren't always the best people to write the end-user manual - often we'll come up with documentation that is too technical or ends up being a step-by-step tutorial through the easiest tasks, never addressing the more difficult tasks or "the big picture" of how and why you'd use our product. I've worked with firms before that have their own staff of technical writers or outsource this sort of thing; just wanted to see if anyone has any other thoughts on the topic. Thanks, Matt Matthew I. Fusfield Manager of Data Systems Development http://www.ins-business.com/es (856) 401-9000 Ext: 1015 ______________________________________________________________________ Signup for the Fusion Authority news alert and keep up with the latest news in ColdFusion and related topics. http://www.fusionauthority.com/signup.cfm FAQ: http://www.thenetprofits.co.uk/coldfusion/faq Archives: http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ Unsubscribe: http://www.houseoffusion.com/index.cfm?sidebar=lists
