Certificate of Merit Winner
March, 2001
26th Annual Competition for
Technical Publications,
Arts and Online Communications
Puget Sound Chapter of the
Society for Technical Communications
What is RealDownload?
RealDownload is download manager that allows the user complete control over the download experience. You can download almost any file type, and launch it directly from RealDownload. There is no need to “dig” to find where you downloaded a file.
Other RealDownload features include:
- Drop-connection compensator
- Download scheduler
- Download history list for easy re-downloads
- Pause/Resume
- Plus, an internet optimizer, and more…
Were you the sole author?
Yes. This was the first WinHelp system that I created from the ground up.
What were some of the challenges you faced?
One of RealDownload’s features is the scheduler. This feature allows users to download at off-peak hours, such as nighttime. However, each Internet Service Provider (ISP) sets up the default Internet connection slightly differently. Near release, it was discovered that these differences would block the scheduling feature for 80% of our customers. Consequently, I had to come up with a solution, and fast, that would help users with this feature, and also avoid calls to our technical support.
After much thought, I reorganized the help, and created a diagnostics wizard which asks the user questions to determine what type of connection he is using. This can be very tricky. First of all, a user may not know his connection type. Secondly, he could be using multiple connection types. For example, a laptop user could have a LAN connection at the office, but when using the internal modem, he might use EarthLink primarily, but AOL occasionally. Furthermore, the physical connection to the Internet might not be plugged in, or the wire could be crimped or old. All of these variables would effect how the user sets up a scheduled download.
Each question was binary, “Yes” or “No,” and determined where the user would go in the Help. In this way, a user would step through the process to set up the first scheduled download.
We were very happy to receive few technical support calls. When they did come in, tech support used my Help to step callers through the process.
What is the significance of your award?
I chose to enter my help in this competition because I wanted to represent RealNetworks in the regional technical writing community. Since this was my first WinHelp that I had made “from scratch,” I really did not expect to win. Much to my surprise, I did win at the level of Merit. Merit is level three, which is the lowest level. However, the majority of entries did not win any awards. Furthermore, the Help for Microsoft Works also won at the level of Merit. My Help was designed to be downloaded, and so it was only 89K. The Help for Microsoft Works was much larger, however, as it was meant to be installed from a CD. Much like David and Goliath, it was good to be the small guy! To have won an award at the same level as the Help for Microsoft Works was a great achievement, and a wonderful way to start at RealNetworks. It felt good to achieve a goal, and to bring recognition to my employer.
How do I launch the WinHelp?
See the RealDownload WinHelp PDF.