NetSuite recently dropped a new help center that has gone without significant accolades. But will this new center replace the current help documentation we are all familiar with?
Help!
The help center is vital for using NetSuite effectively. It provides important information about every aspect of NetSuite. And for developers, the SuiteScript documentation is absolutely essential for what we do.
The help center has not been improved for quite some time and may be due for a visual overhaul. There are also some bugs with the current help center. For example, the language is typically set to “Deutsch,” even though the text is clearly in English! Also, from time to time, searching doesn’t return any expected results.
One of the most beneficial aspects of the current help documentation is that one can click “Help” from anywhere in NetSuite. NetSuite will then open the corresponding information about that page.
Comparing the Old with the New
The new help center appears to carry the same content as the previous. It also includes other help documentation from Oracle, the parent company of NetSuite. It would make sense that Oracle would want a single source of truth for all their software help documentation.
A significant downside to the current NetSuite help center is that articles cannot be easily shared. Pasting a direct link in one of our blogs, for example, will show our account identifier in the URL. This can be evaded by using “system” in the URL instead (e.g., https://system.netsuite.com/app/help/helpcenter.nl?topic=CARD_-29). Nevertheless, this will still require a user to log in to their NetSuite account. Not only is this an additional step, but not everyone might have immediate access to a NetSuite account.
The new help documentation makes the NetSuite documentation accessible to everyone. This may be a welcome improvement for those trying to learn NetSuite before actually having access to an account, for instance.
Addition or Replacement?
Will the new help center replace the current one? That’s a difficult question to answer without any clear indication from Oracle. We have differing opinions about this within our own development team. It may be that Oracle decides to fully replace the existing help center and create deep linking within NetSuite to the new center. On the other hand, they could also keep the two distinct. NetSuite is likely sourcing both help centers from a single database, so maintaining two centers might not prove significantly difficult. Either way, we’re excited for this improvement!
Conclusion
The new help center is certainly a welcome addition to NetSuite. There is a part of me that would be thrilled if this replaced the existing NetSuite help center. What are your thoughts? Will NetSuite replace the help center with the new redesign? Let us know your opinion on this.
I Agree, I have traveled down that help rabbit hole more times than I care to admit. Layout, definitely needs to be reworked. It would be super helpful if you could set up your homepage preferences on HELP Preferences. A list allowing you to tick off all of the modules your account has. Help for modules not applicable to your company would automatically hide . That would leave only the information need for appropriate module. Even better…. a step farther….allowing your company settings add another filter of sorts for displayed information.
Seems so easy in my mind 😁