Good Morning,
Does anyone have experience with a tool that integrates creating documentation (User Manuals/online help files for .NET applications) and e-learning content?

Our Training & Documentation department (2 people - 1 Tech Writer & 1 Trainer) has been asked to research if there is such a tool that integrates:
1. The ability to create online help in a .NET application.
2. Create online tutorials
3. Has version control/source file capabilities where an edit is made in the source file and it cascades throughout all content

Currently - all documentation/training materials are created in Microsoft Word and converted to PDF files. We use SharePoint to maintain. We have only conducted instructor-led classroom training to date.

Any feedback is appreciated.
Thank you,
JP2

I am cringing because what you're describing (unless I'm completely mis-reading this) seems to imply that user manuals and online help should have any direct correlation to learning activities. (supporting, yes - direct, no)

I can't even imagine how one could automatically generate a good online learning experience from even the most amazingly written user manual.

JP2,

You're looking for some sort of content management system to reuse content.

There are many CM systems, some very expensive, enterprise scale. Here's a small one that started out as a help authoring tool:

Author-It

I agree with FF. Just because you can reuse content doesn't mean you should.

Putting the typical help file or documentation online is not the same as creating good e-learning.

Hi - Thank you both for your responses. Our executive management team is looking for a 'silver bullet' that can be used to accommodate the needs of our application support team, technical writers, and user training staff. I am really trying to collect data to support the fact that there is not one "tool" or "system" that can create online help files, user manuals, and training materials. The needs of the application support team and TW/UT teams are similar in some respects, but not the same.

I agree with both of you.
Thanks so much!!

Another approach to content management is to use a wiki to store one version of each procedure, and allow only approved users to edit it. You might be able to design the wiki so it doubles as a knowledge base for the support team. The content in the wiki could serve as the definitive, up-to-date material on which you base everything else.

One free, open-source wiki used by corporations is TWiki. I've found it to be powerful and very flexible.