Key Information

Active support for VCS is only available in the Professional and Server versions of Help & Manual and is only possible with projects saved in uncompressed XML. Single-file HMXZ projects are binary and cannot be linked to VCS repositories.

There are two main advantages to using a version control system: Automatic incremental backups with rollback capability and superior support for multi-user access to your project from diverse and remote locations.

The benefits of incremental backups should be obvious: They make it possible to return to an earlier version of your documentation at any time, so you never need to worry about deleting or rewriting something that you may need again later. And since the backups are automatic you can focus on your work and not worry about making backups.

VCS is not required for multi-user editing!

Multi-user editing is one of the main reasons people use version control systems but this is not an issue in Help & Manual because it also supports this directly without VCS support.

The way multi-user editing works also does not change significantly when your project is linked to a VCS. The only real difference is that access to the project is handled by the VCS rather than by Help & Manual itself.

Remote access

Remote access (for example via a VPN connection) is faster and more robust and reliable when you are working on a project linked to a VCS. This is because you are working on a linked local copy rather than accessing the entire project stored on the server. Only changes made need to be transferred across the remote link. The changes made by other users are  transferred to your local copy when you open the project, and your changes are transferred to the VCS database when you save and exit.

Help & Manual supports Microsoft Visual SourceSafe with Microsoft's SCCAPI (Source Code Control Application Programming Interface) versions 1.1, 1.2 and 1.3. Other VSS-compatible version control systems should also work if they implement the Microsoft SCCAPI in exactly the same way as Microsoft in Visual SourceSafe, including full support for the programming interface.

The VCS controls in Help & Manual Professional will only be displayed if you have active support for Visual SourceSafe or a fully-compatible VCS installed on the same computer on which you are running Help & Manual. This means that your VCS database must already be configured and registered on your computer before you start Help & Manual. Please see your VCS documentation or contact your system administrator for help if necessary.

VCS options in the File menu:

VCS options in the Ribbon Project tab:

VCS options in the context menu: