How to Compare Multiple Outputs of RoboHelp and FrameMaker

robohelp

I’ve made a test to compare Multiple Outputs of RoboHelp and FrameMaker.

I generated different output versions of the same simple file both by using Adobe FrameMaker and then Adobe RoboHelp.

Since these two great products are sold as part of Adobe’s Technical Communication Suite, I wanted to see what would one lose without RoboHelp and by using only FrameMaker as a publishing platform.

My Conclusion

For traditional publishing needs, you could probably do without RoboHelp 11 and rely solely on FrameMaker 12.
I have published the results of the FrameMaker 12 test in two article: Article 1 and Article 2.

Here I will present the results of RoboHelp11 publishing.

I have imported the same FM file into RoboHelp 11 and then tried to generate as many output versions as I could from the wealth of options offered by RH:

RoboHelp 11 Single Source Layouts
The original FM file looked great after I imported it into RoboHelp just fine:

(Click to enlarge the images)
RH11-FM12_Comparison_1

I first to batch-generate every RH output available by selecting all of them in the Batch Generator screen and then clicking the Generate button:

RH11-FM12_Comparison_2_Batch_Generate

RH failed to generate anything. (Later, I discovered RH was giving one “Macros are disabled” error message after another. After enabling macros in MS Word, I could at least generate “Printed Documentation”.)
So I had to try publishing one format at a time.

Here are the results:

MS HTML Output

RH11-FM12_Comparison_3_Output_RH_MS_HTML
Verdict: Excellent!

Web Help

RH11-FM12_Comparison_4_Output_RH_Web_Help
Verdict: Excellent!

Printed Documentation (PDF)

RH11-FM12_Comparison_5_Output_PRINTED DOCUMENTATION
Verdict: Excellent!

Responsive HTML Output 1 – For Desktop

RH11-FM12_Comparison_6_Output_RESPONSIVE_1
Verdict: Excellent!

Responsive HTML Output 2 – For iPad

RH11-FM12_Comparison_7_Output_RESPONSIVE_2
Verdict: Excellent!

Responsive HTML Output 3 – For Android and iPhone

RH11-FM12_Comparison_8_Output_RESPONSIVE_3
Verdict: Excellent!

eBook

RH11-FM12_Comparison_9_Output_EBOOK
Verdict: Excellent!

Flash and Flash PRO Help

RH11-FM12_Comparison_10_Output_FLASH_HELP
Verdict: Excellent!

XML Output

RH11-FM12_Comparison_12_Output_XML_OUTPUT
Verdict: Excellent!

Multi Screen Output

RH11-FM12_Comparison_13_Output_MULTISCREEN
Verdict: It’s not bad but needs a little editing of the style sheet.

Overall Comparison

FrameMaker 12 RoboHelp 11 Verdict
Printed Doc / PDF Yes Yes Both excellent
Responsive HTML 5 Yes Yes Both excellent
Multiscreen HTML 5 No Yes Needs cleanup
Web Help Yes Yes Both excellent
Web Help Pro No Yes Excellent
MS HTML Yes Yes Both excellent
eBook No Yes Excellent
ePub Yes No ?
Kindle Yes No ?
Adobe Air No Yes ?
Flash Help No No Yes Excellent
Flash Help Pro No Yes Excellent
XML Output Yes Yes Excellent

Last Thoughts

For my purposes, I think FrameMaker 12 alone would be just fine. Generating my help file straight from FM, without the intermediary step of importing the files into RoboHelp, should be cleaner and quicker. Yes, RH does provide some options that FM does not. But some of them, like Flash help, are increasingly deprecated as HTML 5 takes over as the dominant web markup regime. If you, for example, need to generate Adobe Air help, then you’d better keep your RoboHelp nearby. But for most traditional publishing projects I think FrameMaker will hold its own against RH.

Load Test?

I have tested FM’s HTML engine with a 5-chapter book file. It did just fine. But I have not yet tested what would happen if I have let’s say 100 or 500 files in the book project. That will be the subject of another blog post in the future.