Tome.host is a SaaS ("software as a service") designed to simplify the process of creating and maintaining technical manuals, user guides and other structured documentation.
Unlike traditional content management systems, data is structured in sections, which can be nested to any number of levels, rather than pages.
tome.host draws its basic concept from source-control - a system familiar to computer programmers which allows teams of programmers to work simultaneously on large development projects without overwriting each others work.
There are two areas of content - 'draft', which is the working content that authors make changes to, and 'published', which is the live version that the public actually sees.
The process of publishing essentially copies any changes made to the draft version over to the live public version.
At present, tome.host is free. In future, we will add additional features which will be available under paid plans too.
@4. Multiple users and permissions
To create or contribute content to a tome, you must have a user account. You can sign up from tome.host for an account. Alternatively, if someone invites you to contribute to a tome, you will be sent a link that will allow you to create an account and join a tome.
A tome is defined in the dictionary as "a book, especially a large, heavy, scholarly one."
We use the term "tome" to refer to a named container of content, consisting of nested headings, and the various text, image and other content under them.
Typically you would create a tome for a particular product or service, to hold instructions or other technical information.
To create a tome, go to the "My Tomes" page and click the "New Tome" button.
Tome names must be between 4 and 100 characters long, and may contain only upper or lowercase letters, numbers, or dashes.
The name you choose will form the address for the tome, for example a tome named "userguide", has the address:
http://userguide.tome.host
(the limitation on the characters that tome names can contain is because the tome name is used as the subdomain of the tome address)
Because the tome name is used in URLs, you should ensure that it is something that is broadly descriptive or relevant to the content.
You can change a tome name later, as long as the new name you want is not already taken. However, it is strongly advised not to do this once a tome is established, as existing links in search engines, forums and so on to your tome will no longer work. It makes sense to think carefully about your tome name and get it right first time.
Some DocBook XML files exported from third-party applications may not be recreated in their entirety within tome.host, depending on what features and types of sections they contain.
You can import a DocBook XML document to create a new tome. Because tome.host can also export a tome as DocBook XML, you can use this to clone a tome and create a new tome based on the original. To start the process, click the 'import' button at the top of the 'My Tomes' page, name your new tome, and browse to select the file.
Ensure your page has the following code pasted near the bottom, before the closing 'body' tag.
Copy this code and place it where you want the help icon to appear in your page.
Your help link will appear as the icon below. Click it to verify how the help content will look.
Place a QR code on your product or machinery to let a user easily retrieve the user guide documentation for it.
Right-click and 'copy'