| Selection of Help Authoring Books |
This selection contains several books on how to write good online help. Some books explain how to do actually create the online help system technically, while others are style guides. They explain what layout you should use, how to chose your words, etc.
If you feel like buying one of the books, simply click on the title to add the book to your shopping cart at Amazon.com (based in the USA) or at Amazon.co.uk (based in the United Kingdom), two huge on-line bookstores. They offer very sharp prices and make sure that the books will be shipped to you as soon as possible. For best services, buy from Amazon.co.uk if you are living in Europe and from Amazon.com if you are living elsewhere.
If you change your mind about buying the book, or wish to order another one as well, just hit the back button of your browser to get back to this page.
The Official Microsoft HTML Help Authoring Kit: Understanding, Creating, and Migrating to Microsoft HTML Help by Steve Wexler, Brett Foster
with CD-ROM - 300 pages - Microsoft Press, February 1998
$ Buy "The Official Microsoft HTML Help Authoring Kit: Understanding, Creating, and Migrating to Microsoft HTML Help" from Amazon.com
£ Buy "The Official Microsoft HTML Help Authoring Kit: Understanding, Creating, and Migrating to Microsoft HTML Help" from Amazon.co.uk
This is Microsoft's official documentation to creating Microsoft HTML Help files, the standard help format for Windows 98. With nothing more than this book and Microsoft's HTML Help workshop (included on the CD that comes with the book), you will be able to create decent HTML Help files.Note that this book does not explain the innards of the HTML Help system. Also, the HTML Help Workshop is free (it can also be downloaded from Microsoft's web site), and you really get what you pay for. If you only need to create an occasional, small help file, you'll be fine with this book.But for serious work, you should really consider acquiring one of the many help authoring tools available. It will save you quite some frustration. Since version 5, my own HelpScribble supports HTML Help.
Microsoft Windows 95 Help Authoring Kit: Guide to Creating Help Files for Windows 95
with CD-ROM - 328 pages - Microsoft Press, December 1995
$ Buy "Microsoft Windows 95 Help Authoring Kit: Guide to Creating Help Files for Windows 95" from Amazon.com
£ Buy "Microsoft Windows 95 Help Authoring Kit: Guide to Creating Help Files for Windows 95" from Amazon.co.ukThis is Microsoft's official documentation to creating help files for Windows. It explains the syntax of the .RTF and .HPJ files you are to create with a word processor and how to use the help compiler to turn these source files into a distributable .HLP file.While modern help authoring tools like HelpScribble make your life as a help author a lot easier by generating the .HPJ and .RTF files with their confusing syntax for you, professional help writers will still find this resource kit interesting. It offers complete descriptions of all the WinHelp macros, which you cannot do without if you want to create powerful help files. It may also help you to make better use of your the help authoring tool you use since most of the restrictions imposed by that tool are probably there because the WinHelp standard imposes them.You can use the info in this kit for creating help for Windows 3.1 and NT 3.5 as well, since the features new in WinHelp 4 (Win95 and NT4) are clearly marked as new.
The Microsoft Manual of Style for Technical Publications
with CD-ROM - 352 pages - Microsoft Press, June 1998
$ Buy "The Microsoft Manual of Style for Technical Publications" from Amazon.com
£ Buy "The Microsoft Manual of Style for Technical Publications" from Amazon.co.ukIf Microsoft-compatibility is important to you, this book is a must have. (If you think Microsoft already has too much influence on your life, do not bother reading it.)This manual was originally written for in-house use by Microsoft only. It provides technical writers and editors with a style standard for technical documentation, including: use of terminology; conventions, procedure, and design treatments; punctuation and grammar usage.In short: if you do things the way this book tells you, you are doing things the Microsoft way. The advantage is that people used to MS products like Windows and Office, will feel immediately at home when they meet your work.The included disk contains the book's text as an online help file.
The Chicago Manual of Style/the Essential Guide for Writers, Editors, and Publishers (14th Edition)
921 pages - Published by University of Chicago Press, 1993
$ Buy "The Chicago Manual of Style/the Essential Guide for Writers, Editors, and Publishers (14th Edition)" from Amazon.com
£ Buy "The Chicago Manual of Style/the Essential Guide for Writers, Editors, and Publishers (14th Edition)" from Amazon.co.ukThis is the essential reference for all who work with the English language - writers, editors, proofreaders, indexers, copywriters, designers, publishers, and students; whether your material will be print or made available on-line.Certainly if English is not your first language (but even if it is), you can hardly do without a good reference. This one is very thourough (though a bit dry, but that does not hurt) and has an excellent index.
Managing Your Documentation Projects by Joann T. Hackos
656 pages - John Wiley & Sons, March 1994
$ Buy "Managing Your Documentation Projects" from Amazon.com
£ Buy "Managing Your Documentation Projects" from Amazon.co.ukIn this book, the author presents you solid methods for managing your documentation projects, based on clearly explained theories and the many years of experience the author has in the documentation process.
Many customers will appreciate it if you provide printable documentation with your software, in addition to context-sensitive help. Reading something written on paper is easier than reading something written on a screen. The best file format to use is PDF (Portable Document Format). The viewer can be downloaded for free and is available in many languages for many platforms. The main advantage is that PDF documents always look and print the same, regardless of the configuration of the recipient's computer.
You can easily convert your HelpScribble help project into flat manual by first using Project|Make Flat Manual in HelpScribble (choose HTML, PNG and no links). Then edit the file HelpScribble generated with your favorite word processor, and use Adobe Acrobat to create a PDF file from the document.
You can buy Adobe Acrobat 5.0 from Amazon.com if you live in the USA, or from Amazon.co.uk if you live in Europe.
PDF with Acrobat 4: Visual Quickstart Guide by Ted Alspach, Jennifer Alspach
191 pages - Peachpit Press, July 1999
$ Buy "PDF with Acrobat 4: Visual Quickstart Guide" from Amazon.com
£ Buy "PDF with Acrobat 4: Visual Quickstart Guide" from Amazon.co.ukIf you want to get started quickly and easily with Acrobat 4, buy this book. It does not try to explain any difficult details, but helps you get started quickly by showing many screen shots with short explanations.
Adobe Acrobat 4.0 Classroom in a Book by Adobe Creative Team
384 pages - 2nd edition - Adobe Press, January 2000
$ Buy "Adobe Acrobat 4.0 Classroom in a Book" from Amazon.com
£ Buy "Adobe Acrobat 4.0 Classroom in a Book" from Amazon.co.ukIf you prefer a printed manual instead of finding your way through the online documentation (hey, isn't that the reason why we're trying to create printable documents), buy this book. It is written by Adobe's documentation team itself. The book is clearly written and has been carefully edited. It is most likely the best book about Acrobat you can find.Note that the book is aimed at beginners. For the more advanced stuff, the book will tell you where you can find more information in the online documentation.
If you feel a particular book of great quality, is missing in my selection, feel free to drop me a message.
| Page URL: http://www.jgsoft.com/bookhelp.html Last Modified: 07 June 2001 | Copyright © 1999-2001 Jan Goyvaerts. All rights reserved. |