End user documentation framework

[matthardwick]

Hi There,

Does anyone know of any software that I can use to provide end user documentation for some inhouse software?
It'd need to be flat file.

Thanks in advance.

[pbmods]

Heya, Matt.

Check out PHPDocumentor (http://www.phpdoc.org/).

It's generally used to generate HTML documentation, but you can generate e.g., PDFs, and I'm sure there's a way to generate a flat text file of some kind.

[matthardwick]

Thanks, but that is meant for documenting PHP software that have javadoc style comments in them, that's not what I was after.

I want to create a HTML software manual for the people that are goign to be using my software on their desktops (not a web app) - and wondered if there was anything out there that could assist in that.

[Gulzor]

I don't know much about DocBook but you might want to look at it.

[RedSon]

I don't know much about DocBook but you might want to look at it.

You could always use OpenOffice or Word to build documentation.

[matthardwick]

You could always use OpenOffice or Word to build documentation.

I kind of wanted it to be online.

[JosAH]

I kind of wanted it to be online.

Why not set up a wiki?

kind regards,

Jos

[gits]

so the requirement is a 'flat'-file as an online-doc? this would be just one html-file with inline anchors to jump from one part to another within that file ... and i think for such a purpose the earlier recommendation of openOffice/word or similar tool would be appropriate since those tools are able to save a document as a html-page ... or i just don't get the requirement correct.

btw: why should it be a flat-file? that limits a lot ...

kind regards

[pbmods]

I gotta say; Jos's wiki idea is starting to grow on me.

Probably means it's time to shower....

[gits]

:) yea, we use a wiki too ... its nice for such purposes ... but its just not a flat-file so the OP should explain why this is the requirement and whether it could be broken or not?

kin regards

[matthardwick]

btw: why should it be a flat-file? that limits a lot ...

Because we don't have MySQL available to us.

I have kind of settle for just loads of HTML pages now instead.

[RedSon]

Because we don't have MySQL available to us.

I have kind of settle for just loads of HTML pages now instead.

There are several wikis that use text files or other html files for their storage. You don't need to have a database. Wikipedia has a good article comparing the different wikis.