Java programming enables the same code to be used on a variety of operating systems such as Windows, Unix, Linux and Macintosh. JavaHelp is Sun Microsystem’s standard for providing user assistance and electronic documentation. JavaHelp integrates HTML, XML and Java technology to create electronic documentation that can be integrated with Java enterprise applications or provided standalone. However, JavaHelp can also be easily created with RoboHelp.

JavaHelp systems can be deployed on any platform that supports the Java Runtime Environment1. Using the JavaHelp format, you can provide the assistance and documentation your users need, in the Java programming language, for a true end-to-end Java enterprise solution.

The JavaHelp format can display a specific unit of information, called a topic, in direct response to a user’s request for help with a particular feature of an application. Although the JavaHelp format can be displayed in a number of different ways, the most common way is through a help viewer window. The viewer window typically consists of a toolbar, content pane, and navigation pane.

RoboHelp provides a robust online help authoring environment that enables the user to create help systems and documentation for desktop and web-based applications. A RoboHelp project may include one or more of the following components:

• Help topics
• Navigation Bar
• Table of Contents
• Index
• Glossary
• Context-sensitive Help

The most important aspect of RoboHelp is its ease of use regarding single-sourcing and output options.
RoboHelp offers several output options:

• FlashHelp
• WebHelp
• HTML Help
• WinHelp
• XML
• HTML
• Oracle Help
• JavaHelp
• Microsoft Word Documents
• Adobe Acrobat Documents

Creating an online help system for a Java application is nothing more than another output option for RoboHelp.