MindManager for Software Development: Part 1 - Help Authoring
One thing that I have come to realize is that MindManager is great for all aspects of the software development process. Now that's easy for me to say, I get paid to evangelize MindManager. So, to that end, I would like to start a series of blog posts about MindManager for Software Development so that you can see for yourself why software development teams are finding that MindManager is adaptable to the many roles in the software development process.
Part 1 - Help Authoring
When we were writing the Map Editing with Microsoft Office Word 2007 add-in I wanted to include a help file to guide people through using it and understanding how it can be extended. Of all the help file formats my favorite has always been the Compiled Help File (CHM) file. It is fast, compressed, uses standard content (HTML), searchable, and indexable - all the things that you want in a help system. Better yet, Microsoft supplies a tool to make the files as a free download.
I had already created a map of the document and I wanted to see if I could repurpose that content into a CHM file. If I was able to to this for the Word 2007 solution, then I could make a generalized solution for anyone to use with their maps to create CHM files. The method that I employed was to write the process using JavaScript and execute it using the Windows Scripting Host, a script engine that is on all Windows systems.
If you want to try it on your maps, please download the free Mindjet Labs solution, HTML Help Builder. Once you install it (and the HTML Help Workshop) when you right-click on mmap file, you will see an option to Compile Help and that makes the help file in the same directory as the mmap file. You can also easily add it to a build script so that the help file is created every time the software is build (which is exactly what I did).
How it works:
If you want to follow along, download the solution and look at the BuildHelp.js file. Here is what the script does:
- Start MindManager and open the map.
- Save an image of the map and generate an HTML image map
- Transform the map XML using XSLT to create the HTML Help contents file.
- Transform the map XML using XSLT to create the HTML files for the help content.
- Transofrm the map XML using XSLT to create the HTML Help project file.
- Build the CHM file using the HTML Help Compiler (hhc.exe)
The end result is a single CHM file that has hierarchical navigation on the left side and HTML content of the map topics on the right. The first page of the help file even has a clickable image map of the main topics of the map.
Part 2 - Requirements Gathering
Educated as an architect, Michael has made his career in software development about combining technology in interesting ways.
After getting his Bachelor's of Architecture from the University of Arizona, Michael received a Master's of Architecture from UCLA specializing in Design Tool Development.
From there, he joined Tartus, Inc., a sofware consulting firm specializing in building architectural sofware. At Tartus, Michael rose to the role of lead software architect for BC Framer, a custom CAD solution for Boise Cascade Corporation. In this role he designed and lead development of the software through six successful release cycles.
At Mindjet, Michael started by managing the software development teams for the first tablet-pc enabled version of MindManager and MindManager X5.
From 2003 to 2007, Michael was in business development and marketing roles as a Business Solution Architect and as the Solution Platform Product Manager for MindManger. Michael designed and built the first enterprise integration for MindManager, the Accelerator for Salesforce.com which served as a reference implementation for future enterprise integrations. In this role, he created, directed, and maintained the Mindjet Labs and became the evangelist for the MindManager Solution Platform.
Now Michael is a Developer Evangelist for Microsoft Corporation.
