Show Whats New in Help file update

[Pamb10]

Is it possible to deliniate changes and updates between help file versions to the user of the help file? We are planning to use the Feedback server and host our help system online, giving the users the ability to get the latest help updates all the time. I want to be able to show what is new or updated when they visit.

Any ideas?

Pam

[LTinker68]

There's no way to do it automatically. If you want to do it at the topic level – that is, indicate which topics are new – then there is an option in the Properties screen for each entry in the TOC Editor where you can select "Mark as New" or something like that. I can't remember if it applies a different icon to that topic or if it adds "New!" after the title. Anyway, that's a manual option, so you'd need to manually add it to new TOC entries and remove it from old TOC entries.

If it's content inside a topic you want to call out, you might want to create a custom paragraph class that adds "New in this Version" or something like that to the beginning of the paragraph, maybe add a border and/or background color, etc. Again, you'd need to manually apply the class to new content and remove it from older content.

[Pamb10]

Since I have not used the Feeback program yet, is it possible to do it from there? How about adding a last updated date to the footer of each topic (automatic?)?

[LTinker68]

You don't need Feedback to be able to add a footer to every topic -- you can do that in the masterpage. I don't have Flare open at the moment, but you might check to see in the system variables if there's an option for last modified date under the system variables. If there is, then in the masterpage, below the bodyProxy, insert that variable. I'm just not sure if such a variable exists if it'll display the last modified date of each individual topic or the last build date.

[NorthEast]

The date/time variables will include the date the output topic was built, so all topics in your output would have the same date.
Presumably if you just choose to publish the changed files, then the older topic dates will remain intact. However, bear in mind your 'new' files would also include ones that Flare has modified too - e.g. if cross-references in a topic have been updated.

[i-tietz]

Is it possible to deliniate changes and updates between help file versions to the user of the help file? We are planning to use the Feedback server and host our help system online, giving the users the ability to get the latest help updates all the time. I want to be able to show what is new or updated when they visit.

Any ideas?

Cookies.
You place them on the PC of the user and so every user gets an individual list of what's new - but it needs programming know-how ... and users with security settings that accept the cookies ...