I had some time today for testing the RoboHelp Packager for Adobe AIR (isn’t saying “Adobe AIR” like saying “ATM machine” or “PIN number”?), so I went to town. I kept notes as I went. I would be flooding the Packager forum with threads after exercising the Packager, so I thought it would be better to not be the kind of guest who makes himself at home to the point of leaving his clothes and dirty dishes strewn all over the house. Instead, I’ll provide my critique here in my own space.

Please be aware that these are coming generally in the order that I made the notes, though there is some semblance of organization of related topics. And unless otherwise noted, I’m talking about the “Classic Help” layout, since that’s the one I tried first.

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The idea of not trying to guess what users are looking for in documentation has been bumping around in my head since the STC Conference. I was talking to my manager yesterday about altering my approach to help. So far, what I have done (at least in context-sensitive help situations) has been to think about the details of application screens—how to use the controls, where prepopulated data come from, what happens downstream, how to get displayed data changed—and provide information in those areas.

I don’t think this cuts it anymore. Why? It’s the crystal ball approach.

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