RH 8 and RoboHelp Server 8

Hello Everyone,
I need some guidance on how to publish WebHelp Pro to RoboHelp Server 8. We received an error message: "Warning: Failed to Publish to "RoboHelp Server". reason: Cannot connect to server: XXXXXX".
We're able to access the RoboHelp Server Web Administrator so we're not sure what we need to do correctly to publish our WebHelp Pro to RoboHelp Server 8. Any help is greatly appreciated. Thank you!

I notice that you do not appear to have any area specified in the New Destination dialog. If you click the Refresh button to the right of the Help Area dropdown and then select the area you wish to publish to. Let us know how you get on.
The RoboColum(n)
@robocolumn
Colum McAndrew

Similar Messages

RoboHelp 6, XAML and RoboHelp Server 6

Has anybody used RoboHelp 6 or RoboHelp 6 Server to generate
.NET3 compatible XAML Help Files? Also, If I want to try a demo
copy, do I install RoboHelp 6, and then RoboHelp 6 Server? or does
RoboHelp6 Server have everything RoboHelp 6 has? Thanks!

Hi all
Hopefully Colum won't mind a teensy addition here. RoboHelp 6
all by its itty bitty self is quite capable of producing WebHelp
output that can also exist on a server. The key difference here is
the reporting ability and the ability to automatically index
content such as Word and PDF files.
Often folks misunderstand this. They desire to create output
that is placed on a server (like WebHelp or FlashHelp) and that's
as far as they want or need. But they end up purchasing RoboHelp
Server and it's wasted money. So unless you specifically desire the
features RoboHelp Server offers, you don't need it.
Cheers... Rick

Differences between Robohelp and Robohelp Server

I am in the process of evaluatinf Robohelp. I have found out
there are 2 versions: Robohelp and Rohohelp Server. can someone
list the differences in these products or direct me to a
link/document where I can find this information?
Thanks in Advance
Rodman Veney

Hi, Rodman
You may find this article in the Adobe Developer Center
helpful as well. It refers to RoboHelp Server 6, but virtually all
information remains relevant for v7. As Rick says, "Pro" is simply
the same as WebHelp or FlashHelp, but the content is published to
the RoboHelp Server so that you can get the benefit of user
feedback reports and the other features described here:
http://www.adobe.com/devnet/robohelp/articles/rhserver.html
Thanx
John

Comments and Moderators settings in RoboHelp Server is for AIR files? Or can it used for Pro outputs as well?

Please explain how comments are enabled for Pro outputs in RH server. Is it only for AIR file, but i understand AIR output is not supported. Then how Moderators setting work for PRo outputs?

Hi, PraTha
If I can amplify what Peter has mentioned above. Actually it is just a wordy way of saying what Peter posted in one sentence! Hopefully it will help a bit.
The relationship of AIR output and how it relates to Rh Server is admittedly confusing. In fact both are mutually exclusive.
The AIR Help output does indeed support commenting as well as the moderation of those comments by designated people.
However RoboHelp Server *does not* support commenting at this time. This feature has been requested and perhaps we will see it in a future release.
Unlike a help system delivered by HTTP from a web server (like RoboHelp Server's WebHelp Pro), the AIR Help output (.air file) is an application which is installed on the end-user's local computer. For security reasons this works well for distributing and updating a help system. Optionally, it also supports commenting but because the comments must be "stored" somewhere outside the local computer, there are serveral options. One is to store them on an internal server (such as a network drive behind a firewall).
So where might RoboHelp Server come into the picture at all? Here's the answer. Some organizations deploy both output flavors (AIR and RoboHelp Server) for different systems and different audiences. IF the RoboHelp authors *coincidentally* happen to have RoboHelp Server in their organization, then this server can be used to authenticate (usernames/passwords) for the moderation and storage of comments that AIR Help requires.
The bottom line is that presently RoboHelp Server does not support commenting for its own output, though it can as a convenient "host" for the comments and moderation of a separate AIR Help system.
John Daigle
Adobe Certified RoboHelp and Captivate Instructor
Evergreen, Colorado
www.showmethedemo.com

Do I need Robohelp Server or Source Control? and RH installation

So, I'm still comparing authoring products and trying to filter down requirements.
I've been reading more about RH and have come across RH Server and source Control and wondering exactly if they are needed.
I'm the single author in the company, most likely publishing web help, or html help outputs for use online via our web application.
Is there any need to implement Server or source control, as far as I can see Server gives me reporting abilities and statistic reports, neither of which I really need. Is there anything else about RH Server that would be beneficial?
Also, source control, this is more needed when there are multiple writers accessing the same content at the same time so that problems dont crop up? Correct?
Also, how difficult, or time consuming is the installation process of RH on a single machine. Is it a simple program installation, or will I need to install server-side databases or anything else that could require the IT team to get involved?
Thanks for your help.
Nick

Hi Nick.
You have got it pretty much spot on. RoboHelp Server is mainly only required if you want the additional reporting functionality. There are some other minor differences between RoboHelp and RoboHelp Server but that is the main one. RoboSource Control is a application to get source files safe and backed up and is designed for a multi-author environment. It adds a layer of complexity for a single author environment although you can still use it if you wish. Personally I'd just ensure you have your source on a local drive (a key requirement of RoboHelp) and backup to a network drive.
The installation of RoboHelp is painless. It is just like any other application with a wizard to guide you. It has various options that you can choose, one of which is whether to install the RoboSourceControl client.
Click here for further reading on the difference between RoboHelp Server and RoboSourceControl.
Read the RoboColum(n).

Upgrading from RoboEngine 3.1 to RoboHelp Server 9

Old-time user, new ID. My company recently upgraded from RoboHelp 4 to RoboHelp 9. (Yes, we're slow about some things.) I was recently asked to upgrade our WebHelp Pro output, which had been posted to an old RoboEngine 3.1 server. Of course, the new RoboHelp 9 output does not play well with RE 3.1, and I got a "RoboHelp Engine server is not available" message when I attempted to upgrade the output. After doing a little research, I discovered that this lack of backward compatibility began with RoboHelp 7.
Fortunately, I made backups of my old WebHelp Pro output, and our users can still access the Help files. But I've been tasked with researching the upgrade path from our old version to the new one. So here's what I'd like to know:
Is buying RoboHelp Server 9 sufficient?
Is the process of publishing the Help files to the server reasonably similar?
The server that hosts RE 3.1 is a Windows 2000 machine. Will I be able to run RH Server 9 on it?
Will I need to provide new URLs for the Help links inside our Internet-based software after the upgrade, or will the old links, which use the format http://machine.org/roboapi.asp?project=ProjectName, still work?
Thanks in advance for your help. Nice to see that Rick, Colum, and Peter are still firing the big guns around here. I feel strangely reassured, as if everything will work out just fine
Chet

Welcome back Chet. I nearly typed the obligatory "Welcome to the RH forums" greeting when I saw your single post but that doesn't seem right here
The issue here is that the underlying RoboHelp and RoboHelp Server code was completely rewritten in Java. Personally I'm surprised you managed to get RH9 output running on RE 3.1 at all. It just goes to show what a error tolerant application it is.
You'd be far better off upgrading both the client and the server applications. I think you'll be surprised at just how easy RHServer is to install and use these days. No more fiddling with permissions. As for publishing, you still have a WebHelp Pro SSL in RH9. It does have some additional options and the UI of the RH Server application will have changed also. There is a lot of new functionality. You may find that the URL for the help is different though. There is an excellent guide that is worth reading called the RoboHelp Server Reviewers Guide. You can find it here and it will answer a lot of your questions.
One thing you may want to consider is migrating the data from RE3.1 to RHServer 9. The new app has a migration tool that can migrate from an earlier release. However I am not sure if it could cope with data from RE3.1. You could try, and it is doesn't get the data into the new database with SQL.
Colum

RoboHelp Server 6

Hi,
Can everyone tell me what is the difference between RoboHelp
Pro X5 and RoboHelp Server 6 ? Is RoboHelp Server 6 just a new
version? Does RoboHelp Server 6 include RoboHelp 6 functionalities
plus Server aspects?
Thanks in advance for your Help,
Br,
Bernie

If I could chime in here and add to what Craig and Colum
said. I am writing an article for the Adobe Developer Network
describing RoboHelp Server 6 and assorted changes. There are many
improvements which I will outline. There is also a major change for
those who are upgrading from the old RoboEngine to the new that
they should be aware of.
The RoboHelp Server 6 installation is much easier because
"permission scripts" have been created for the web adminstrator.
Also an author no longer has to pester the web administrator to
make certain configuration changes. The author can make
administrative changes from within RoboHelp 6 client app or a web
browser interface, which is really cool.
Also, it no longer costs extra to substitute the more robust
SQL Server or Oracle as the Database instead of a less capable
Access database. In other words the ODBC Data Connector comes built
in instead of an add on.
Another item that formerly cost extra but is now included for
free is an API for .NET users who want to tie in their .NET web
applications to the WebHelp Pro system as a web service.
The user can also search the text contents of any Acrobat PDF
or MS Office document (Word, Excel, etc.) and those documents will
actually come up in the results along with the html topics.
NOTE: There is a major change however and something upgraders
need to plan for. "Natural language" based search capabilities have
been replaced by keyword based search. Because of Google, Yahoo,
etc., over the last few years, keyword search has become more
popular and customers are more comfortable typing a few keywords
rather than typing a complete question.
This means users should no longer type in a natural language
phrase, but more traditional keywords to get a better search result
similar to other popular search engines. The results will depend on
the match between the keywords entered and the published content.
RoboHelp Server is a great way for authors to answer the
age-old question, "Am I being helpful" because of the feedback
reports. It is an innovative feature and I'm not aware of anything
quite like it in any other tool.
Thanx,
john
John Daigle
Adobe Certified RoboHelp Instructor

How to Generate website Analytics from RoboHelp Server

We publish procedures and processes onto an IIS web server. We have Robohelp Server 9 on a separate machine (Windows 2008 R2) and would like to run "analytics" on one of the websites presented on the IIS web server. How do we setup Robohelp server to generate these analytics on a specific website?

You can't. The output and RoboHelp Server must be on the same machine and published using RoboHelp.

Cannot publish to Robohelp Server 8

Hello All,
Well let me start by stating that I am a systems administrator but I have had no experience setting up Apache, Tomcat or Robohelp Server.
This bomb has been dropped in my lap cause I am typically the goto guy. The company has an intranet site with a help section that was created and currently resides on a windows 2000 server with RSC 2.3, and RoboEngine 4.1. I have been tasked with setting up new server which will be windows 2003 server 32 bit OS.
Ok. I have followed all the Robohelp Server 8 getting started instructions (page5-6) on how to setup Apache Web Server with the Tomcat servlet for Robohelp server 8. I feel darn near 100% that I have gotten all of that correct. In other words everything tests correctly. I.e., going to http://localhost shows me the proper index.htm. I can access the tomcat manager using default UN and PW.
So I installed Robohelp Server 8 on the F:\Adobe RoboHelp Server 8\robo\server partition. I did create more than one context but am just trying to publish to the default robohelp. I create 3 areas. I do see the context's listed in Tomcat Manager and they all show as started.
I have created a simple project with one help file in Robohelp HTML software. I can generate it and it looks fine. I then configure the the WebHelp Pro Single Source Layout to publish to Robohelp Test Server, server *****WUIT002 (my test server), robohelp adds /robohelp/server automatically. I use admin, admin as username and PW. I attempt to select an area but get the error 'Unable to get area list from server'. Ok. that is not a good sign. But I save and attempt to publish anywho...to no avail(of course). I receive the message "Warning: Failed to publish to "Robohelp Test Server". reason: Unable to connect to the RoboHelp server on *****wuit002. If RoboHelp Server is not being used, generate WebHelp instead. More information on RoboHelp Server is available in the help file.."
I have looked at permissions to the partition and Robohelp server directory. I have basically completely opened them up just to see if that was the issue and I am still having a problem. Help Please. There is so little info out there regarding this product.

Hello John,
Thank you for your help. Hopefully you can shed some insight into this for me.
Here is the log directory zipped up.
Date: Fri, 4 Sep 2009 22:28:49 -0600
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: Cannot publish to Robohelp Server 8
Oh, one more thing, uvwaves. Regarding your note about, " I attempt to select an area but get the error 'Unable to get area list from server'."
I realize this is disconcerting, but usually not a problem and may be ignore (as you did.) If left blank, the "general" area is assigned by default.
However, the other error, "Warning: Failed to publish to "Robohelp Test Server" is quite another matter and hopefully the logs will help me.
Thanks
john
John Daigle
Adobe Certified RoboHelp and Captivate Instructor
http://www.showmethedemo.com/
>

RoboHelp Server 6 and MySQL

Is it possible to use an ODBC compliant database with
RoboHelp Server 6, such as MySQL? This will impact our decision to
upgrade or move to a new solution.
Thanks,
Sean

Hello Brian,
Adobe RoboHelp Server 6 should connect to ODBC sources just
fine. The minimum system requirements include Oracle 9i, Oracle
10g, or SQL Server 9.0. These minimum system requirements simply
mean that we have tested and fully support integrating Adobe
RoboHelp Server 6 in these environments.
In theory, all ODBC sources should respond the same way to
ODBC requests, so any ODBC compliant datasource should (again, in
theory) work. Adobe Technical Support will not be able to support
environments outside of the minimum system requirements.
If you would like to see MySQL added to the minimum system
requirements in the future, please submit a feature request via
this web page:
http://www.adobe.com/cfusion/mmform/index.cfm?name=wishform.
Thank you,
Bobby Walker
Adobe Technical Support

RoboHelp Server and RoboEngine

Hi,
Has anyone used RoboHelp Server or RoboEngine to collect user
data from an OLH system? Are they the same tool?
thanks

Hi writer501
RoboEngine is what RoboHelp Server used to be known as. So
yes, they are both the same tool.
Cheers... Rick

Can I use RoboSource without buying RoboHelp Server?

I work for a University that has just purchased a new
database system (Advance for the Web) from SunGard Higher Ed. The
system came with on-line documentation written in RoboHelp that we
can edit to suit the needs of our institution. We could have edited
the individual HTML topics (about 1,300 of them total) without
RoboHelp, but instead we opted to purchase RoboHelp 7 in order to
have the entire pre-existing help project. I am the sole editor of
this project.
I would like to be able to use the RoboSource application in
order to track changes that I make to the pre-existing help topics,
but when I tried to add version control to my project, it prompted
me to create a connection to a database. Our database lives on a
remote server that is password protected. I tried to make the
connection, but I received the following error message: "No
connection could be made because the target machine actively
refused it." The RoboSource on-line documentation describes how to
create a database, but I don't need a new database because ours
already exists... I just can't connect to it via the RoboSource
application. That's my first problem.
The second problem: Even if there is a way to circumvent the
"remote server database issue" and create a "Help" database on my
local machine, I can't figure out how I would DO that. The
RoboSource on-line documentation says the following: "Unlike in
previous versions, creating a database for RoboSource Control 3.1
is not done within the RoboSource Control Explorer, but within a
stand-alone application - the RoboSource Server Configuration
Utility.” Does this mean that I need the RoboHelp Server, or
is there a RoboSource Server, too? Do I HAVE to have one (or both)
of these products in order to use version control?
Please help me. I'm not a technical person, but the people
who I work with who ARE technical people don't understand what I
need to do, either.

@ Gravenstein
Thanks for your response.
>>...We are using three clients and one server. We have
installed the server component together with the client component
on a local PC. That's why I don't know whether the server component
needs a licence key or not. But it should not have to.
I haven't described it correct. We are using 3 clients to
work with. One of these clients has also the server installed. So
the database is not on a server machine but on a local PC. Now we
want to get the database away from the local PC to a server
machine. That's why I wonder if the installation of RSC Server on a
server asks for a licence key?!?
>>...This server doesn't need the robohelp environment
to edit topics, it only needs the server component. This should be
possible to install without asking for a licence key.
>> That is correct. At least that's the way it works
with RH6.
What do you mean with "that's the way it works with RH6"? How
about RH7? Does it work similar? I hope so, because we want to
upgrade and to move the database from the local PC to our server
machine after the upgrade.
By the way, does it function to copy the old database from
the local (server) PC to the server machine and after changing the
clients settings to work with the new server they could use the old
database in the new folder of the server machine again? Or do we
have to write the projects from every client to the new server
machine manually to work with the version control after changing
the server? I'm asking this because I don't know what is stored in
the database. If the folder name of the database is stored in the
database, it doesn't work any longer if it is moved to another
folder!?

RoboHelp Server 8/Active Directory

Hi again,
After moving my install of RoboHelp Server from our Windows Server 2008 R2 server to an older Windows Server 2003 Web Edition box, I was able to get RoboHelp Server talking to SQL Server 2008 through ODBC. Now on to the next problem. I've been trying to configure LDAP authentication against Active Directory, which I can see from a post from NSC_Gillis last August, it looks like there's a problem here.
My setup now consists of:
RoboHelp Server 8 installed on Windows Server 2003 Web Edition with Tomcat 6.0.26 and JRE 1.6.20.
The relevant config section from my <context_name>_server.properties file:
#To use LDAP authentication , uncomment the following...
authtype = ldap
ldapURL = ldap://<subdomain>.<domain>.com:389
usersearchbase = DC=<subdomain>,DC=<domain>,DC=com
rolesearchbase = DC=<subdomain>,DC=<domain>,DC=com
useridkey = uid
rolename = cn
rolesearch = member
DefAdminUid = <UidOfAdmin>
DefAdminPwd =
This yields one of ththe following two results when attempting to subsequently log in to the Web Administrator interface:
Error in LDAP authentication.
javax.naming.AuthenticationException: [LDAP: error code 49 - 80090308: LdapErr: DSID-0C0903A9, comment: AcceptSecurityContext error, data 52e, v1db0
Error in LDAP authentication.
javax.naming.AuthenticationException: [LDAP: error code 49 - 80090308: LdapErr: DSID-0C0903AA, comment: AcceptSecurityContext error, data 325, v1772
Both of these errors indicate that when RoboHelp Server is attempting ldap_bind(), that it is doing so with bad credentials. When it comes to Active Directory, these credentials have to be in the form of a valid User Principal Name (UPN) and a password, which given the configuration data above, we're never able to provide one. And since I've been able to configure Tomcat itself to use a JNDI Realm for authentication successfully against the same said Active Directory, I have to assume RoboHelp Server is attempting to do an anonoymous ldap_bind() which just won't work with Active Directory.
If someone can provide some guidance at this point, I'd be grateful.
I admit, for a product that is released only for use on the Windows platform, to include LDAP functionality, but then break it so it won't work with Active Directory, or at least to provide little to no guidance/documentation on how to get it to work, seems patience testing at the least.
If we cannot get this resolved, we will be forced to review our future use of the RoboHelp/RoboHelp Server products as a whole.
Thanks,
Scott

Hi Scott,
RoboHelp Server doesn't do an anoymouse LDAP bind. It uses the ldap user id and password provided in the properties file. Please note that for RoboHelp Server configured with LDAP, "DefAdminUid" property in robohelp_server.properties should be set to a valid LDAP user principal and "DefAdminPwd" property should be set to LDAP password of that user principal.
Regards
Tulika.

How complicated is it to implement Robohelp Server for multiple authors?

I am presently the lone techical writer in my company and I use Robohelp HTML V8 to generate WebHelp for our software. The RH software has been upgraded from an original V5 Robohelp full license, to a V7 upgrade and then a V8 upgrade.
I am investigating the use of Robohelp Server to open the possibility of adding another author, and would like to know how complicated it is. Do we still need to buy two seat licenses for Robohelp V9 as well as Robohelp Server V9, or are they included with the Server license? Also, are there any concerns for upgrading V8 project to V9?
If this information is already covered somewhere in the forums, please feel free to point me in that direction. I have not been able to find it myself. Thanks in advance!

Hi Sheryl
Indeed what you likely want is some form of source control. And certainly, splitting the project up and making different folks "captain of their own ship", is one way to roll.
But it sounds like you may have either misunderstood or had the RoboSource control misconfigured. With any source control system, the way it usually works is by storing all the content on the server in the source control database. But for each client connecting to the database, you establish what is called a "Working Folder". And that is usually on each local PC. When you check files out, they are copied to the working folder. So you work locally, but the application handles copying them back and forth to and from the server as you work. That way, you shouldn't be seeing performance issues.
Cheers... Rick
Helpful and Handy Links
RoboHelp Wish Form/Bug Reporting Form
Begin learning RoboHelp HTML 7, 8 or 9 within the day!
Adobe Certified RoboHelp HTML Training
SorcerStone Blog
RoboHelp eBooks

Is RoboHelp Server the solution for us?

Hi all,
I'm trying to figure out whether RH Server is the solution for us. I've seen a few similar posts in the forums, but none that really answer my specific questions. I'm hoping for feedback from someone with experience in RH Server, who is perhaps in a similar situation to us.
We are a software development company, creating desktop software for PCs. We have three main applications, and approximately 20,000 users. I am the company's (only) Tech Writer.
Currently I provide documentation (user guides) to our clients in the form of the good ol' CHM file. I develop these in RH8. Each of our applications is bundled with an installed CHM file which users access by pressing F1. I'm sure you're all familiar with this process. Our users run our software on their own systems, completely independent of us - there's no connection to us whatsoever. However, they all have Internet access, as it's a requirement for them to be able to use certain functionality within our applications. Hold that thought.
I also write Knowledge Base Articles in MS Word, as PDFs, which users access via our web site. Internal to our organisation, I provide KBAs and other such material for our Technical Support staff. These aren't available/accessible to the public. I write these in Word because they need to be sent around to a team of reviewers from time-to-time, and whilstI'm the only person with RH installed, everyone has Word.
What I'm hoping to achieve with RH Server is this:
Do away with the old CHM files that our users have. They're just awful. I'm hoping that in future, when our users press F1 from within our applications, they will be taken to a corresponding page on a web site or AIR page similar to what the Adobe Help looks like when we access it from RoboHelp. Forgive my ignorance if I've used incorrect terminology. That way they'll always be reading the latest Help content, live, online, instead of what I wrote last time we sent a product update out. I imagine our programmers will have to edit the functionality behind the action of our users pressing F1 in our applications. Has anyone done this? Are there any issues we should be aware of? What happens if our users don't currently have Internet access, for example - is it possible to call a local version of the Help instead, if this is detected? Has anyone done this with a similar number of users to us? We could well have 100s of users trying to access the system simultaneously.
Gather feedback from users. From what I understand, we'll be able to use RH Server to see which Help topic/content is being viewed, and also receive feedback from users. Can anyone give me feedback on their experiences with this? Any tips/hints/issues I need to be aware of? Is it possible for us to determine which users accessed which content? Remember, the idea is that users should be able to access this content by pressing F1 - I don't want them to have to sign in every time they need to access our Help system - it should be seamless to them. So, I'm wondering how it would be possible to track user usage without making them sign in. This is important to us because some of our content is region-specific, and it would be handy to know if users from those regions are actually accessing the Help content that relates to them.
Host our internal documentation on the same server as our public documentation. Is it possible to host all of our internal, private documentation on the same RH Server, making it available to our Tech Support team (and other internal teams) only? I imagine we could do this by password-protecting it, but I want to ensure that the public don't even know it exists. ...and our Tech Support people would not be impressed with having to sign in every time they wanted to access their Knowledge Base. Any tips here regarding locking down / restricting access to content?
A quick note about collaboration:
Currently, although the Help menus are developed in RH, the KBAs and other PDF documents are written in MS Word. I send them around to a team of reviewers who add their comments/edits and send them back to me. From what I understand, this is something I can do with RH10 - export PDFs and send them around for review, combining the results later, at which time I give them a final review before publishing. Have I understood this correctly? Does RH Server play a part in this process? Can I use RH Server's feedback capabilities as a mechanism for my review team to make edits/comments? I guess I'm trying to get an understanding of how sophisticated the RH Server feedback system is. If I can use RH Server to have the team read/review documents, it'll save me having to manage a bunch of Word documents that I email them. It'll also minimise the chance that a redundant document gets distributed by mistake - something that can occur because people use their locally-saved documents I emailed them earlier, instead of the finals.
Thank you.

Hi, symmetricalMan
Let's see if I can tackle some of these "inline". There are a lot of moving parts to your system (you're a busy guy!)
I only have time for a few of these. Perhaps Colum McAndrew and others will chime it with their experiences.
>>they will be taken to a corresponding page on a web site or AIR page similar to what the Adobe Help looks like when we access it from RoboHelp.
It would be WebHelp Pro in the scenario you mention (not AIR Help).
By "taken to a corresponding page" you are referring to Context Sensitive Help which RoboHelp Server does support (including your F1 scenario).
>>What happens if our users don't currently have Internet access, for example - is it possible to call a local version of the Help instead, if this is detected?
Hmm. You could either package a plain WebHelp (not Pro) output and distribute for access on a share drive. The detection thing would be up to your developers. Come to think of it, AIR Help does have a potential alternative here which might be worth looking into. Obviously, there would be two systems to maintain. I'm not up to date on it, but you'll find info here in the online help: http://help.adobe.com/en_US/robohelp/robohtml/WS81F63111-6ACF-4a02-B2B2-461FEBFA8093.html
>>.we'll be able to use RH Server to see which Help topic/content is being viewed, and also receive feedback from users.
Actually, the "feedback" is anonymous (no names are collected.) You can however, create "Areas" and analyze the traffic on topics according to sub-sets of your users.
The feedback is not direct from the users. In other words, RoboHelp Server (at least for now) does not support Commenting (as AIR Help does). So Feedback Reports are derived from the end-users "surfing" your site and collecting their search terms verbatim to get an idea of what they are searching for in order to improve your content.
>>So, I'm wondering how it would be possible to track user usage without making them sign in.
RH Server Sites do not have to be "Protected" by authentication. It is your choice. You can have some sites (called Areas) that are authenticated and some sites that are not authenticated, all on the same RH Server. RoboHelp Server uses a database and can authenticate users (by setting up protected "Areas".) However, my networking knowledge is limited and you would have to ask someone else about "persistent logins" etc.
>>content is region-specific, and it would be handy to know if users from those regions are actually accessing the Help content that relates to them.
Yes, you can do this. This is where RoboHelp Server can be used to create "Areas" for different content to be delivered to different audiences.
>>Is it possible to host all of our internal, private documentation on the same RH Server,
Yes you can. However the Tech Support sign in scenario question would have to be answered by someone else. It's hard to know from where I sit.
>>RH10 - export PDFs and send them around for review, combining the results later, at which time I give them a final review before publishing
Yes, this workflow would seem to work for you. However, RoboHelp Server plays no role in this review one way or the other. There are many alternatives for sharing the PDF which is described in the documentation.
See #6 on this page:
http://help.adobe.com/en_US/robohelp/robohtml/WS1b49059a33f77726-2db1c75912bc47baaf8-7ffb. html
You should also download the Adobe RoboHelp Server Reviewer's Guide which also has videos embedded.
http://www.adobe.com/support/documentation/en/robohelp/9/AdobeRoboHelpServer9_ReviewersGui de.pdf
Hope this helps
John Daigle
Adobe Certified RoboHelp and Captivate Instructor
Evergreen, Colorado
www.showmethedemo.com
Twitter: @hypertexas

RH 8 and RoboHelp Server 8

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