Using conditions to produce different versions of help

[SYakamavage]

I need to be able to produce two versions of help - one that includes all base functionality and another that includes base functionality plus a new feature that a beta site is testing. Eventually, the new feature will be part of the base functionality.

We're using conditional tags to include new content for features, but I've just come across the first situation where I have a sentence where I would need to exclude part of a sentence from the base sentence to document the new feature.

For example, let's say it's as simple as:
Base: Click Setup to define rooms, staff, and buildings.
New Feature: Click Setup to define rooms, staff, buildings, and phones.

I'm trying to wrap my head around the best way to use conditional tags in this situation so I avoid a lot of maintenance later when the new feature is part of base. This is the first time that we're trying to produce different versions of the help and I'm looking for best practice recommendations.

Am I making this too complicated? Would it be best to just have both versions of the sentence and have two conditions. One condition might be the version number for the base and another for the new feature?

[Andrew]

We do something similar (use conditional tags to add new unreleased content). Usually, in that situation, I would merely add the new version of that sentence, tag it with our internal feature number, and tag the old version with the old app version number, so when release rolls around, we can simply add a target for the latest release and exclude anything tagged with previous release numbers.

We also support multiple versions of our app, so it's really useful to be able to continue to build the old target. Whenever a version falls out of support, we run a report to find all the topics that contain content tagged with that version, and then remove that content.

[GregStenhouse]

If using conditions, I would recommend (in order of priority):
1) use generic language, no conditions
2) condition at the topic level
3) conditon at the paragraph level
4) (if absolutely necessary) conditon at the sentence level

Avoid conditions within sentences (i.e. fragments). That always causes problems down the line when it some time for you (or more than likely someone else) to udpate or translate. It is really hard, especially when you are conditioning punctuation or using 2 or more conditions, to figure out what the oringinal intent was and the meaning of sentences.

So, if possible word it generically, something like "Click Setup to define workplace resources such as staff and buildings." Or if that doesn't work, replicate the whole sentence and conditon.

Cheers
Greg

[SYakamavage]

Thanks for the guidance - It helps to have input from writers who have already solved a problem.