Ways to deliver context-sensitive help

[Ruth]

I am looking for examples/advice/thoughts about how people deliver online help in web apps.

Do you open a new web tab for the help?
Do you deliver it in a pane that’s part of the product web page?
Do you deliver it in a dropdown pane, as Facebook and GooglePlay do?

Currently, my help opens in a new browser window. I want to embed the help delivery into the product, but am having trouble finding examples in web browser products, largely because of access issues. The Madcap Showcase has examples of help, but none of them show the delivery mechanism.

[NorthEast]

You could just display the help inside an iframe; e.g.

Code: Select all

<iframe src="https://help.madcapsoftware.com/flare2017r3/" width="40%" height="70%"></iframe>

[Ruth]

Hi Dave Lee - Thanks!

I'm not having problems figuring out how to do it. I'm really just looking for examples of embedded help panes in browser-based apps. I have been completely unable to find them. I can find examples in installed apps (eg Flare). I can find similar delivery methods in browser-based apps (such as the dropdown area of Help in Facebook and Google Play). But I can't find any examples of a fixed help panel in browser-based apps.

I widened the question because I started to wonder if help panels are as common as I thought they were, given that I can't find any in browser products.

Any ideas would be appreciated!