Installation-side compiling

[ScottMartin]

This may be a crystal ball-type topic, but I thought I'd ask.

We have a large suite of programs (12 or so), and we're using a central webhelp system to manage the context-sensitive help for all of them. It's fast, comprehensive, and works great.

But since our customers rarely install the entire suite of products, their help system contains lots of stuff they don't need. Their table of contents references applications they don't run. This isn't a deal-breaker at all, but we'd like to move someday to a platform that can recognize the unique installation and compile only the help they need.

Anybody tried anything like this, without compiling a separate version for every possible combination? Are the Flare APIs available to the point where we could construct a compiler to manage this on the machine's installation, rather than at the tech writer's desk? Anything projected for such a thing in the future?

Again, this may be pie-in-the-sky stuff, but we have fun pushing the envelope! Thanks.

[KevinDAmery]

You could try a merged help system. This entails making a separate help system for each module that can be included, then setting it up so that each one "sees" the other help systems if they are present. Then all you have to do is modify your installer so that each module installs with its help topics (plus any common topics that you need for all of them). This way the customer has all the topics they need but none of the ones they don't.

[ScottMartin]

Wow, thanks for the fast reply! I see that you are able to set up links between 2 separate help projects and merging projects; however, is it possible to configure a Table of Contents, Index, and Search to work for only those applicable software applications installed?

For instance, if I wrote the help for, say, Microsoft Word and Excel and linked the two help projects together, how would the TOC, Index, and Search function if only Excel is installed? Would it still show the TOC information for Word, but not display any information because that application would not be installed? And if not, how would the Search_Chunks work? Would the searches still display the results of both help projects because it would be available in the chunk?

I am looking at this situation from a website type of standpoint. You can still access pages through doing searches even though those pages may not be visible via a link. Also, if a link is available all the time, but the information is only installed when the application is installed, wouldn’t the user see some kind of “broken link” message if they were to access this?

Sorry, for the long post, but you've got me intrigued!

[KevinDAmery]

I haven't done it myself so I can't say for sure, but I think you can do all those things. There are topics about merging here in this section of the forum, so you should be able to find some info with a little searching. I think there is also some info in Flare's help system.

[ScottMartin]

Thanks! I'll check that out.