Tweak and fine-tune the search process

The only thing worse than no results is too many results that overwhelm a user. We've all experienced going to Google and getting 60,000 hits! A best practice is to force the engine to limit the number of search results (15 by default). This is set from the Configuration Manager Project dialog box or from the author's client application using the Web Administration tools (See Figure 6).

Figure 6. Limit the number of search results so that users are not overwhelmed. Adjust the maximum number returned from the Web Administration dialog (Settings Icon) conveniently accessed by the author from the RoboHelp 6 client application. To see this, first make sure WebHelp Pro or FlashHelp Pro is set as your Primary Layout. Then click the RoboHelp Server tab located to the left of the WYSIWYG editor tab.

Manage non-HTML documents: One popular feature for intranets is RoboHelp Server 6's ability to search the text of MS Office docs and Acrobat PDFs. They can be scanned (indexed) two ways.

1. Hyperlink technique: Create a hyperlink in the help topic that links directly to the document. This document is added to the "Baggage" section of your project and published directly to the server, just like the rest of your help topics.
2. Global folder technique: Place documents in a special folder on the RoboHelp server. Here, they can be scanned on a scheduled basis. On the server machine, the default path for these documents is C:\Program Files\Adobe\RoboHelp Server 6.0\Servers\1\Documents. The benefit of this approach is that the author does not have to explicitly link to the documents from the authoring tool. They automatically come up in the results.

You should avoid using both techniques for the same-named document. Both of documents would come up in the search results, even though they might not be the identical version.

Tip #1 - Naming Conventions: Develop a naming convention for help topic titles. For example, instead of "Overview," assign a more specific title such as Human Resources Overview or Marketing Overview. This will prevent the user from confronting two or more Overview topics in the search results and not knowing which one is most relevant.

Tip #2 - Don't forget the Index! A neatly crafted Table of Contents and the best search engine is still no match for a well-done Index of keywords. Finding information should not be limited to the search facility. Unfortunately, many authors use the TOC and the Search as a crutch and do not pay proper attention to the Index. As the author, you are the champion for your user and know the corporate culture. Perhaps someone in purchasing calls something a "felt marker" but the folks on the shop floor call it a "sharpie". So, if you have a topic that describes felt markers, create a keyword called "sharpie" in the Index Designer. Then associate the keyword with the topic(s) that contain the information. Another common example: If a topic describes how to "exit," an application you could create an Index Keyword for "close" or "shutdown" that takes them to the topic that describes the procedure. Better yet, you can insert a Bookmark at the precise location in the topic that has the information. Then, from the topics list pane, drag and drop the bookmark into the Index Keyword top pane. Now, when the user clicks the Index Keyword, they will promptly go to the proper location, even in a very long topic!

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