What is RealPlayer?
RealPlayer is the flagship product for RealNetworks. With RealPlayer, a user can watch or listen to streaming digital media, such as CNN or NPR. A user can also record or play digital music, or burn music onto a CD. The Microsoft equivalent is Windows Media Player. For more information on the player, go to: http://www.real.com/.
What is the HowTo Guide?
The HowTo Guide is a pop-up “getting started” manual for RealPlayer users. It is not meant to supplant the standard help, but it does offer quick tips on the basics for RealPlayer. It is not a WinHelp file, but rather a “CHuM” file, which is a compressed HTML Help system.
The version that you can download here is the Beta version, to which I was the greatest contributor.
Were you the sole author?
No. I worked in conjunction with my manager, Harold Gross, who is also a technical writer. He created the layout and design, and I created the content, with his suggestions and edits.
There were also two other technical writers on our project. However, we had different writing responsibilities. Harold and I were the only authors of the HowTo Help.
After a company-wide layoff, Harold took over the project and followed it through to release. He remains a good friend.
What were some of the challenges you faced?
There were two main challenges.
First, this was the first Help project that was entirely HTML based. We used a combination of RoboHTML, Allaire Homesite, and HTML Help Workshop. I had to ramp up quickly on a whole new way of creating help, as well as brush up on my HTML, and learn about cascading style sheets. Second, working on a team allowed allowed us to share the burden of the project, but it also forced us to pool together ideas and often come to compromises. Collaboration always involves good discussions, lots of listening, and a good deal of empathy, all of which is good for professional and personal growth.
It was as a new experience not being the only tech writer for a project, but the rewards more than made up for the adjustment. I enjoy working in a group, and alone.
How do I launch the HowTo Guide?
| Click the icon to download a self-extracting EXE. If prompted, click Run, or Open this file from it’s current location. Alternately, you could save it to the desktop for easy access later.A directory will be created on your computer at c:\HowToGuide, and the Help will launch automatically. I created the EXE using WinRAR. |  Launch Help |