It seems that anymore I have no clue what is going to happen when I launch the Help of a program. Which makes it all that much more confusing when having to decide how to create a help file for my application.
For example, it might open my web browser to local instance of an html file. It might point to a web-hosted help website. It could load up the Windows Help and Support center. It may load a chm file. It could load up a custom help form with menus, etc.
What is the "correct" way to implement a help?
I like the idea of chm file, but it makes it hard for me to push any updates to users without them updating the application. Same can be said for a local html based help file.
I also like the idea of doing a web hosted help file because I can update it as needed with new information, but what does that mean for users who don't have an active internet connection? For example (in my case, my software will be used equally in a car-mounted laptop with no internet connection and on a desktop computer with an internet connection)
I'm curious to know what is commonly done when creating a help file, and what authoring tools are used, if any.
A solution I have used for the mobile applications, is to have a local html help file which the application renders for help content in a web view. We then had a background mechanism to check against a service for help updates and download the updated HTML and other static content as appropriate. This way you always have a local HTML file which doesn't require a connection, and renders quickly (since there is no download required for viewing).