Finally…….a RoboHelp 9 review
You know how it is. You get asked to do something for a friend. You are only too happy to help, say “Yes” and before you know it life takes over and you just quite can’t seem to find the time. One such example of this was when fellow countryman and Techncial Writer Ivan Walsh asked me to do an article on Adobe Robohelp for his blog. It was a great idea and one I was more than happy to do. However the practicalities of maintainging a healthy work / home life balance whilst maintaining four blogs, a full time job and a very unhealthy football (soccer) obcession, meant I just never quite got my act together.
Until now that is. The arrival of Adobe RoboHelp 9 gave me the perfect opportunity to give my views on this great product. So if you want to read what I think of the new features and how it could help you with your documentation needs, head over to Ivan’s site now. OK so now that I have one deliverable complete, it is time to start on the next, a full review of Adobe Robohelp Server 9. Hopefully you and Ivan won’t have to wait too long for that!
The prime of RoboHelp's 20 year history
It wasn’t too long ago that the soothsayers were talking about the demise of RoboHelp. The Macromedia team had dismissed the majority of the development team who in turn had gone off to create Madcap Flare. Even when Adobe purchased Macromedia, the same people were continuing to say that the future of the product was far from positive. Personally I’ve never been one of jump off the cliff with the rest of the lemmings. As a long standing RoboHelp user, I’ve seen the product go through many, many hands; Blue Sky Software, e-Help are others that spring to mind. Each time a takeover occurred there were people saying that RoboHelp was finished. From where I stood though, a solid product is still a solid product no matter who owns it.
12 years after I took my first tentative RoboHelp steps, Adobe has released version 9. Bizarrely this is the same version number as I first started with back in 1999, yet after four company acquisitions and nine different RoboHelp versions it would be safe to say that RoboHelp is as alive today as it has ever been. In fact the commitment shown to RoboHelp by Adobe and the changes implemented in version 9 must surely kick any suggestion that RoboHelp is a goner well and truly into the long grass. RoboHelp 9 is a major release incorporating many pieces of new functionality following a major customer feedback exercise. You’d be well advised to read the What’s New section of the RoboHelp 9 help file which also contains links to reviews by various power users.
To celebrate this major RoboHelp version, Adobe has planned a number of initiatives focusing on the forthcoming Writers UA conference in San Diego, California. These include a:
- $200 discount on registering for the Writers UA conference.
- Exclusive workshop and networking event at the Writers UA conference.
- Chance to win a copy of the Adobe Technical Communications Suite (which incorporates Adobe RoboHelp).
Full details of all these big opportunities can be found on the Ankur Jain’s blog. Ankur is the Product Manager for the Technical Communications Suite and RoboHelp at Adobe. If you follow his posts, and those of other Adobe RoboHelp power users, you will be able to exorcise the ghost that RoboHelp has been sunset. RoboHelp’s teens may have been a difficult time for Macromedia, but under Adobe’s wings it has developed into a powerful and full fledged help authoring tool that has truly come of age.
Menu to new Adobe product version posts
After all the excitement of the last couple of days with the launch of new versions of Adobe’s Technical Communication Suite 3, RoboHelp 9, RoboHelp Server 9 and FrameMaker 1o, I’ve decided to change the menu at the top of this blog. Obviously I will be posting a lot about the features to be found in these products over the coming weeks and months. In order for you to quickly and easily find my posts relating to these products, you just need to click on the relevant link under the blogs header.
A RoboHelp CPD file dissected
The .CPD file that comes with each RoboHelp HTML project is an item of wonder. The problem is a lot of users wonder what it is. It is a file that for the most part sits in the background and is rarely, if ever, touched. Even if users do venture near it, it is normally to delete / rename it so it can be recreated. Such is the mystic surrounding it that recreating the file is the nearest most RoboHelp users will get to understanding it.
What is the .CPD file ?
The file is a Microsoft Access database (in MS Access 2002/2003 format) that is created as part of each RoboHelp project. The file’s name is taken from the project’s name and is required regardless of the output types being produced. For example if I create a RoboHelp project called “RoboColumn”, the file name would be “RoboColumn.cpd”. Should the file not be present when the project is opened, it is created, hence the ability to recreate it by deleting / renaming it. The CPD file is sometimes referred to as a configuration file. This is slightly misleading as it should not be used to configure the project, but it does contain cached information about the makeup (i.e. content) of your project.
What does it contain ?
As it is a database file, it contains a number of tables. Take a look at the following list of tables and see if you can spot any similarities with RoboHelp project elements:
- BaggageFileList
- BuildTagList
- Colors
- FolderList
- MapFileList
- SkinList
- SnippetList
- TopicList
- Windows
As you can see, you should be able to ascertain the type of information contained in each project’s .CPD file and therefore when it gets updated. There are 54 tables in the .CPD file in total. Take the following example of the CPD file of a brand new RoboHelp project with no additional content added that has been opened in Microsoft Access 2007. Four of its tables have been opened displaying their content.
Now I know what it contains, what can I do with it ?
The simplest answer is, “Nothing!” Under normal circumstances you should never have to touch your project’s CPD file. It just goes on being updated as and when the need arises and you are none the wiser. Very occasionally you may be advised to take what may appear to be a drastic course of action; deleting or renaming the file. This is normally advised following a forum post where the user:
- Is having trouble opening a project.
- Noticed a marked increase in the file’s size.
On occasions, recreating the .CPD file can solve issues opening a project. Additionally the .CPD file, like any cached database file, can suffer from file bloat. Recreating the .CPD file normally removes any bloat returning the file size to normal. As a guide, any .CPD file in excess of 2MB may suggest a sign of file bloat. To help prevent this, RoboHelp versions 8 and after has an option to create the .CPD file each time a project is opened.
Should I delete or rename it ?
If you need to recreate your CPD file, the safest action is to rename it (e.g. “RoboColumnOLD.cpd”). In this instance RoboHelp spots the “RoboColumn.cpd” file is missing and recreated it when the project is opened. Renaming also means you have a backup of the original file should you need it.
Bulls, cats and festive spirit
In this time of seasonal good will to all, our team has played its part. We have decided to stop ranting. Actually to be more precise, we have stopped awarding the Rant Bull to those among us whose rants justify just such an accolade. The Rant Bull “trophy” has graced the presence of most team member’s desk since it was inaugurated two years ago. Whether a rant merits the bull is a very arbitrary process based on an ever moving set of criteria. In fact on occasions the process is downright corrupt! The only rule is that solely uttering expletives does not constitute a rant. We don’t necessarily need a full blown rant either. Just going on about something a little too much could qualify.
You can rant on any subject and team members often do. Previous winners have received the bull for moaning about the bus driver not allowing them to take a coffee on board, what their cats get up to (or don’t get up to) at home and, a little perversely, not having won the Rant Bull for awhile. However one topic is head and shoulders above anything else: software usage. As users of Adobe software, this company’s’ applications feature heavily as does Microsoft and the scientific research applications our company produces! It’s all a bit of light hearted fun designed to relieve some of the pressure and frustration of working for a living.
Statler and Wardorf would be proud of us. Now if you don’t mind I have a reputation to maintain (see below) and as there’s an amnesty…
Merry Christmas!
UPDATE:
I am pleased to report that the be benign dictatorship that governs whether something is a rant or not (i.e. my boss) has decided on an amnesty and expunged all rants from last year. Rumours that my first rant of the new year was seconds after this gallant action are wide of the mark. For the record it wasn’t a rant and I don’t think commenting about winning the rant count from last year counts!
