Guide builder for documentation management in computer applications

DETAILED DESCRIPTION The advantages of the four inventive features can be summarized as follows: 1.
Environmental If-Statements The present invention customizes technical documentation based on features selected by the user or features pre-selected for respective system formats in a reconfigurable computer-related system.
According to the method of the invention, an efficient computer-implemented application is provided that removes all irrelevant information typically contained in any end-user document.
By allowing the end-user to specify the appearance of the current local environment, the invention removes all unnecessary and potentially confusing instructions from the end-user documentation.
The user then ends up with documentation that is more concise, efficient and customized to current needs of the user in the local environment.
The method of the invention also gives the system administrator control over information that end-users receive.
Further, the invention increases user productivity by matching documentation to specific learning preferences.
The invention advantageously provides user-specific documentation that is available in a timely manner and substantially reduces cost.
The invention removes the need to purchase and retain multiple hard-copy documents required to support future users of the applications because it provides documentation customized for each user whenever the need arises.
2.
Automated Translations The automated translation feature in the present invention allows the creation of foreign language documentation on-demand.
This feature permits a person who may not speak or understand the target language to create documentation in that language.
The automated translation feature in the invention can be used by any software application that requires documentation in a variety of languages.
This feature can be advantageously adapted to provide international products, support, or information documentation in various computer-implemented systems.
Further, this feature can be used in conjunction with the environmental if-statement feature to provide customized translation documentation for users in different operating environments