Next Meeting: Wednesday July 9, 2003
This month Linda Urban will be our presenter. Linda Urban is an award-winning technical writer, help author, and instructor. She won a Distinguished Award from the 1999 Northern California STC Touchstone Competition for "Scenario Help," an HTML Help System which she designed and developed.

HTML Help "Under the Hood"
The job description says "develop html help", and the requested tool experience is with one or more of these: RoboHelp, RoboHTML, WebWorks Publisher, AuthorIt, Doc2Help, or ForeHelp.

Or perhaps you've inherited an online help project at work, and haven't worked on one before.

So what is it, exactly, that they want? What skills should you learn? Do you really have to learn all those tools? Where should you start? You took a class in Dreamweaver. Does that count? Or perhaps you created WinHelp a few years back. How does that compare to "html help"?

In this presentation, Linda Urban takes you "under the hood" of "html help" and shows you what distinguishes it from any other collection of web pages. She'll point you to some free and low-cost tools you can use to begin creating html help projects. And she'll talk about some of the similarities and differences among the major help authoring tools (HATs) often used in the industry.

You'll learn the differences between:

  • Compiled Microsoft HTML Help. (".chm" files)
  • Uncompiled HTML Help * Cross-browser, cross-platform "html-based help"
  • WinHelp (old Windows-based help)
  • Single-sourced documentation, output in print and online versions
  • Context-sensitive help

You'll also:

  • Take a look at the insides of a Microsoft HTML Help project file, Contents file, and Index file
  • See a demo of a small help system being created and compiled into a .CHM Understand what the help authoring tools automate, and why people use them
  • Take away a list of references and resources for learning more

Of course, making the shift from developing information for printed documentation to developing online help is more complex than just learning the mechanics. But taking the mystery out of the mechanics is a start.

Linda Urban is a technical communications consultant and independent contractor. Her clients range from startups to large corporations throughout the Bay Area, and beyond. She focuses on developing quality information that is both useful and usable. She teaches in the Technical Communication programs at UCB Extension and UCSC Extension, where she has taught courses in developing online help, introduction to technical communications, usability testing, and information architecture. She is scheduled to teach "Developing Online Help" in July and August at UC Berkeley Extension. Her Web site is www.urbancreations.com.

STC-Berkeley Chapter Meeting Details
Vo's Restaurant in downtown Oakland, is within easy walking distance to BART, is wheelchair accessible, and has both street and nearby garage parking.

Networking and conversation start at 6:00 p.m., and dinner at 6:30 p.m. If you want to eat dinner, reservations are required and must be received no later than 12:00 noon the Monday before the meeting. Reservations are necessary so that we can order the right amount of food. Do not contact the restaurant.

RSVP Online Use your credit card to order meeting reservations via the chapter website. The meeting fee with dinner for those with advance reservations is:

$18 for members
$15 for student members, and
$21 for nonmembers

If you come for the program only, starting at 7:30 p.m., the fee is $12 for members and nonmembers, and $10 for students. If you are not eating, payments may be made at the door.

RSVP by Mail Send checks to Berkeley STC, P.O. Box 1007, Berkeley, 94701.


All material ©2003 Berkeley STC/Ragged Left. The Ragged Left is published ten times a year.
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