Today, I tell you why you need a help authoring tool and for what tasks you can use it.
HAT stands for a help authoring tool. It’s a software program used by technical writers to create online help topics, documentation, FAQs, and the like.
A help authoring tool is a unique solution that you can use for different purposes.
Technical Writing
Generally, a help authoring tool is used for technical writing because it provides a great variety of features (the following points are based on my experience of using ClickHelp. Some tools may not have the following options):
- You can easily work with your team on the same user guide at the same time. You don’t need to send a document via email, wait for a review, search for the latest version — everyone has access to the document.
- A HAT reduces time and efforts on producing documentation. The editor is the same as MS Word editor, so your knowledge is enough. There is no need to learn new skills.
- Brand your documentation according to your business colors and needs.
- You can easily publish your documentation, no need to create a website.
- Analyze the effectiveness of your documentation using Google Analytics and internal statistics.
Business Writing
Business writing is a form of writing used in organizations to communicate with internal and external audiences. Examples of business writing include business letters, bids, emails, reports, etc.
A help authoring tool can be useful for business writing as well. If you have internal or/and external reports you just need to choose the necessary visibility options for your docs.
Moreover, in ClickHelp you can store and publish different types of documents, there is no need to switch between different software tools, you and your team can work altogether in one portal.
Intranet
A help authoring tool can be used as Intranet. In this case, a HAT will be the hub of your organization where you share procedures important files, specifications, organize company events and functions, and your team will work together in one tool. Nothing will be missed.
As HATs allow you to invite people, you can set up visibility levels of your documents, so everyone will work on necessary projects and will not be distracted from work by a clutter of documents.
For example, in Confluence, you can create a space for each team or department within your organization. Each team’s space is then a place for them to create and share pages, blog posts, meeting notes, files, and much more — and becomes the place to go for team members to get the information they need.
So, if you’re searching for a tool for writing content and collaboration, have a look at help authoring tools. As we can see, they are a unique solution and can be used for different tasks and collaboration.
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