This post was submitted by Dana Worley, Microsoft Help MVP and Software Product Manager/Manager, Software Support Group at Campbell Scientific, Inc.. She gives details, practical instructions, and tips that any Help author can use to automate and schedule Doc-to-Help builds through the command line. Below, please find Dana’s introduction and download the linked PDF to read her full article.

Update: This post was written prior to the release of Doc-To-Help 2011. Doc-To-Help 2011 includes a Build Scheduler you can use to schedule and monitor automatic builds of Targets. One-Time, Daily, and Weekly builds can be scheduled.  To access the Build Scheduler in Doc-To-Help 2011,  click the File tab and choose Tools > Build Scheduler.  Also see the blog post New Build Scheduler in Doc-To-Help 2011.

As my eyes glazed over watching Doc-To-Help crank through the seven help files that I regularly build in both CHM and HLP format, I knew there had to be a better way to produce my help files. I began searching the Doc-To-Help on-line documentation and found a page on using C1D2HBATCH to automate builds. As I read the information I realized that unless you were around in the days of DOS when tasks were routinely accomplished with batch files, a help author might struggle implementing a solution using C1D2HBATCH. The purpose of this article is to provide additional information on using this handy utility.

Automating Doc-To-Help Project Builds (PDF)