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Online help is topic-oriented, procedural or reference information delivered throughcomputer software. It is a form ofuser assistance. The purpose of most online help is to assist in using asoftware application,web application oroperating system. However, it can also present information on a broad range of subjects. Online help linked to the application's state (what the user is doing) is calledContext-sensitive help.
Online help has largely replaced live customer support. Before its availability, support could only be given through printeddocumentation,postal mail,telephone, or in person
Online help is created usinghelp authoring tools orcomponent content management systems. It is delivered in a wide variety of formats, someproprietary and someopen-standard, including:
Online help is also provided vialive chat systems, one step removed fromtelephone calls. This allows the support person to conduct several support sessions simultaneously, thus reducing costs. The transcript is immediately available and can be sent to the customer after the session ends.
Microsoft develops the platforms for delivering help systems in theMicrosoft Windows operating system.
| Platform name | Description | Public?[clarification needed] |
|---|---|---|
| Microsoft QuickHelp | Ralph Walden joinedMicrosoft in 1987 and wrote an online help system forMS-DOS andOS/2 called QuickHelp. Ralph was also primarily responsible for it. | |
help command | ||
| Microsoft WinHelp (.hlp) | Based on theRich Text Format, this was the industry standard forWindows 3.1 andWindows 95/NT. The popular Windows Help program (WinHlp32.exe) was included with allWindows operating systems fromWindows 3.0 until theWindows XP operating system. However, the help engine is not included withWindows Vista and is only available as a download.[1] | Yes |
| HTML Help (.chm) | Also known asMicrosoft Compiled HTML Help (the name of itsfile format), it based onHTML and other data such as images andJavaScript. HTML Help 1.0 was released in 1997. In 2006, it was available from Microsoft as HTML Help 1.4. | Yes |
| Help and Support Center | A deprecated online help system inWindows Me andWindows XP. | |
| Microsoft Help 2 (.hxs) | In 2001, Microsoft announced plans for a wide release of HTML Help 2.0, which came to be calledMicrosoft Help 2. This platform was developed by Microsoft and shipped in 2002 as the help format forVisual Studio .NET,MSDN Library andTechNet products, but Microsoft announced it had cancelled plans to make the format publicly available. Microsoft Help 2 was also used as the help format inOffice 2007. | |
| AP Help 1.0 (.h1s) | Assistance Platform Help is based onMicrosoft Assistance Markup Language. It is the format developed for and shipped withWindows Vista. It will not be made publicly available as an authoring platform for other software vendors, but will be used by Microsoft,OEMs, and certain corporate users. Version 2.0 of the Assistance Platform Help engine is currently on hold. | |
| No |
| Platform name | Description |
|---|---|
| HelpConsole (local HTML files or web-based) | IIS based system, with a standard navigation tree and content area, viewable with aweb browser, supportsJS,Flash (now deprecated),HTML5, Embedded presentations etc., Since it isweb-based, it works onWindows,Linux, and virtually all otherOperating Systems. |
| AmigaGuide (.guide) | The official hypertext document file format designed for theAmiga. |
| Apple Help (.HELP) | Apple Computer's proprietary help platform for theMac OS 8.5+ operating system. |
| WebHelp | Across-platform, uncompiled Help system that can run on mostbrowsers and on most platforms, including Windows,UNIX, Linux, SunSolaris, andMacintosh. |
| SunJavaHelp (.js) | Aplatform-independent help system written inJava programming language bySun Microsystems. It runs on almost any platform and browser that supports theJava Runtime Environment (JRE). |
| Oracle Help | Two formats developed by theOracle Corporation: Oracle Help for Java (OHJ) and Oracle Help for Web (OHW).[2] |
| Help library (.HLB) | The official help file format designed forVMS. |
| DotNetHelp | A new Windows help format, as an alternative to the .chm format, that also supports.NET applications. |
| Texinfo (also known as the "info") | The official documentation system for theGNU project. |
| Unix man pages | The standard method used to document (among others)Unix programs andshell commands,System andLibrary calls,Special files andFile formats . |
| Information Presentation Facility (IPF) | The help system used byIBM'sOS/2 system,eComStation andArcaOS.[3] It is the official documentation system for thefpGUI Toolkit project. |
| Norton Guides |
