Adobe RoboHelp

What do you like best?

In my opinion, the best features of Robohelp are 1.) the way that you can create separate chapters -- which is very nice, and 2.) I also love how easy it is to export different versions of the user manual(s). For instance, you can export .pdf, .docx, and online help from Robohelp, whereas if you were using a different document authoring tool, you might have to go through multiple programs in order to generate those deliverables.

What do you dislike?

I dislike the fact that Robohelp requires some basic HTML knowledge to get the most of out the experience. It isn't that hard to pick up basic HTML, but you may find that RoboHelp has some formatting issues that can only be fixed by diving into the HTML and fixing a bit of code. Again, it's not that hard to manage, and HTML is intuitive for working through minor problems, but it would be nice if this feature wasn't included since I think the product is aimed at less technical people.

Recommendations to others considering the product:

It would help if you have another tech writer or someone familiar with the program to show you some basics, since the program could be a little intimidating to newcomers.

What problems are you solving with the product? What benefits have you realized?

I was able to easily access and update the specific sections of a manual that needed to be updated without having to go through the entire document, like I would with Word. One problem I'm solving is the problem continually developing a user manual as the corresponding program is being developed. I have also been able to keep versioning of different manuals under control easily by using RoboHelp.