RoboHelp’s integration with RoboSource Control 3

RoboHelp 7 integrates tightly with RoboSource Control 3. Whenever you attempt an action within RoboHelp (such as editing a topic or adding a keyword) that requires one or more project files to change, RoboHelp checks the appropriate file(s) out of the server-based database for you automatically. If one or more of those files is already checked out by another author and the Version Control System doesn’t permit the files to be checked out simultaneously by more than one user, RoboHelp blocks the action that you are attempting.

It is technically possible to allow multiple checkouts, thus enabling more than one author to work on the same file simultaneously. However, it will then be necessary to merge the changes made, which can be a complex operation. For that reason, I only recommend multiple checkouts for advanced users of RoboSource Control 3. For more information on multiple checkouts, see the online help for RoboSource Control 3.

When you install RoboSource Control 3 Client (or any other SCC-compliant version control client), the following Version Control toolbar is automatically added to RoboHelp 7:

Figure 1. The Version Control toolbar

Through the Version Control toolbar, you can use many version control operations (such as checking out or checking in files) from within RoboHelp’s user interface.

Why use RoboSource Control 3?

The most common and important reason for using RoboSource Control 3 is to support team-based authoring where multiple authors need to be able to work on the same RoboHelp 7 project simultaneously.  Without RoboSource Control 3, there is a risk of authors opening the same files simultaneously and overwriting each others’ changes when they save the files.  As described in the previous section, RoboSource Control 3 prevents mistaken overwriting by using a check out and check in system.

That is why RoboSource Control provides a much better solution than placing the project files on a shared drive and allowing all members of the team to access the same set of files.

There are other reasons why you might choose to use RoboSource Control 3, even if you are the only person working on a RoboHelp 7 project. These reasons include:

• Defense against data loss: RoboSource Control 3 enables you to open and work on your RoboHelp 7 projects on your local hard drive while maintaining complete copies of the projects on a separate server. This gives you the advantage of working locally (best for speed) with the added security of an up-to-date back-up copy in a separate location.
• Version control: In addition to storing the most up-to-date version of each of the RoboHelp 7 project files, RoboSource Control 3 also preserves a copy of all previous versions of each file. This means that you have access to a complete audit trail of the project’s history and can retrieve a file from any given date and time.

Differences between RoboSource Control 3 and previous versions

The previous version of RoboSource Control 3 was RoboSource Control 2.3, which shipped with RoboHelp X5.  RoboSource Control 3 Server differs from version 2.3 in the following ways:

• RoboSource Control 3 Server is based on Microsoft SQL Server, a very robust and powerful database engine, whereas version 2.3 was based on Microsoft Access. This means that projects under version control with RoboSource Control 3 are more scalable and stable, giving you a more reliable way to support team authoring for very large RoboHelp projects.
• RoboSource Control 3 Client has a completely revised user interface for exploring databases and managing users and access rights. It provides a richer and more extensive range of features and functions, including the ability to view a list of previous versions of multiple files simultaneously within a single history window. You can now also "tag" a specific date and time in the database, which enables you clearly to see which version of each of the project files was current at that particular moment.

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