WebWorks ePublisher Reviews & Product Details

WebWorks has two basic parts, express which enables fast conversion of FrameMaker or Word into an online help with various possible outputs, including HTML5 and Eclipse. The second part WebWorks Designer enbles you tpo customize the look and feel of the output to match the product look and feel. After creating the design and saving it as stationary it is almost a one-click operation to create the online help. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Older versions of WebWorks were easier to program to provide the desired look andf feel. The current version has a lot more automation but for someone who wants to program it to the exact look and feel of the product for which online help is being created has a harder job. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

One of the most interesting feature is the simplicity to setup a project and executing a build. I use this a lot to create partial content of my online help to verify the final rendering. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Defining the stylesheet of the project is a bit cumbersome, and can only be done by a specific Designer role. This makes the adjustments works time heavy and necessits a lot of interactions with different types of user + webworks designer support team. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

The tool is very flexible and if you know XML and XSL you can tailor it to a fine degree. Once setup the conversion of a FM files, including multiple FM books is at the touch of a button. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

We needed a KB for our documentation and not online help. Webworks was not designed to create a KB. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

I enjoy the experience for the end user, it can be extremely personalized and tailored to specific needs. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Dislike some of the correspondence features, PDF and other document uploads seem to be complicated for users. Reviewing submissions as an administrator can also be complicated, they often appear grouped together with no ability to sort through for type or time stamp. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

* Wide variety of customizable output formats including CHM, JavaHelp, old-school framed HTML help, modern responsive web help, Oracle help, pure XML, etc.

* Enables tech writing teams to take (often quite old) FrameMaker content and generate modern-looking online documentation without having to learn DITA.

* Scriptable, integrates easily into automated build environments. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

ePublisher's strength is also its weakness. Its extensive output formats can be tricky to customize beyond the basic look and feel provided out of the box. Any customization you need that is not built in can be done, but you need to edit XSLT code to do it, which is beyond most users. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.