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App for making a hypertext (self-contained) software manual
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Posted by Jeffery Smith
Jun 18, 2020 at 09:59 AM
I’m putting together a user guide for a complicated database for creating teaching schedules, assigning faculty to classes, and coding the classes with payment amounts. In short, a narrative that is on continuous pages (about 50 of them) would be difficult to read and use. I would prefer to have an app that would allow me to make 50 self-contained pages, each with several paragraphs and maybe a table, and have all of these pages hypertext-linked to one another but not outside of the document.
All modern word processors seem to have this sort of functionality, but the writing still exists in what Neil Larson used to call a “toilet roll” document. I would prefer a *file* that allows me enough freedom between pages so I can sort them alphabetically, but not have separate files for all of the pages. Like Tinderbox, I would like to be able to drag the pages into alphabetical order, or possibly group them, not for the user’s benefit, but for my benefit in organizing the topics.
Tinderbox and StorySpace (fraternal twins from Eastgate) seem to have possibilities, but so little is written about them, I’m not sure. VooDooPad can do the hypertext, but can the file serve as a free-standing document with internal links, with no need for a runtime solution? I’ve also considered Filemaker Pro with lots of buttons and scripts sending the user around. And some of the PDF editors seem to have some of this capability.
Have any of you had this challenge and found something that is self-contained (needs no app to be bought by the end user)? I’m hoping for something that would allow me to paste tables and figures on the pages as well.
Posted by Paul Korm
Jun 18, 2020 at 10:36 AM
If you are creating a file for distribution, then most likely you want to give your readers something “standard”—e.g., like a PDF.
Futzing around with Tinderbox or Storyspace might be interesting for developing your narrative, but export to PDF with linked pages intact can be more effort than it’s worth. I use Tinderbox extensive, have for years, but decided a long time ago that it’s a time suck when it comes to producing high quality exports that I am willing to give to other people. Love the app, but it’s like having to invent new software for every exported document.
But why not use Word (or Pages—if you’re on a Mac). The linking you want is easy to do—the export is a snap.
Posted by Andy Brice
Jun 18, 2020 at 10:53 AM
For writing use help documentation for https://www.easydatatransform.com/ and https://www.perfecttableplan.com/ I use the excellent https://www.helpandmanual.com/. It can output in PDF, CHM, HTML and various other formats. It only runs on Windows. Might be worth a look.
Posted by Jeffery Smith
Jun 18, 2020 at 11:36 AM
Thank you for the insight Paul. I thought about doing all of the pages in Tinderbox (w/o hypertext), organizing them alphabetically, and then dropping them into Pages or Word. Whatever I use, it will have to be a PDF file. I think that Word relies on bookmarks instead of note names. I’ll need to figure out how best to do that.
Posted by Jeffery Smith
Jun 18, 2020 at 11:39 AM
I do have Windows by way of Parallels, so that isn’t completely off the table. I’ll give your suggestions a look. They *sound* promising.
Andy Brice wrote:
For writing use help documentation for
>https://www.easydatatransform.com/ and https://www.perfecttableplan.com/
>I use the excellent https://www.helpandmanual.com/. It can output in
>PDF, CHM, HTML and various other formats. It only runs on Windows. Might
>be worth a look.