Recently in Technical Documentation Category

Adobe Systems Incorporated (Nasdaq:ADBE) announced the Adobe Technical Communication Suite 2 software, an upgrade of its solution for authoring, reviewing, managing, and publishing rich technical information and training content across multiple channels. Using the suite, technical communicators can create documentation, training materials and Web-enabled user assistance containing both traditional text and 3D designs along with rich media, including Adobe Flash Player compatible video, AVI, MP3 and SWF file support. The enhanced suite includes Adobe FrameMaker 9, the latest version of Adobe's technical authoring and DITA publishing solution, Adobe RoboHelp 8, a major upgrade to Adobe's help system and knowledge base authoring tool, Adobe Captivate 4, an upgrade to Adobe's eLearning authoring tool, and Photoshop CS4, a new addition to the suite. The suite also includes Adobe Acrobat 9 Pro Extended and Adobe Presenter 7. Adobe Technical Communication Suite 2 is a complete solution that offers improved productivity along with support for standards-based authoring including support for Darwin Information Typing Architecture (DITA), an XML-based standard for authoring, producing and delivering technical information. It enables the creation of rich content and publishing through multiple channels, including XML/HTML, print, PDF, WSF, WebHelp, Adobe FlashHelp, Microsoft HTML Help, OracleHelp, JavaHelp and Adobe AIR. FrameMaker 9 offers a new user interface. It supports hierarchical books and DITA 1.1, and makes it easier to author topic-based content. In addition, FrameMaker 9 provides a capability to aggregate unstructured, structured and DITA content in a seamless workflow. Using a PDF based review workflow, authors can import and incorporate feedback. Adobe RoboHelp 8 allows technical communicators to author XHTML-compliant professional help content. The software also supports Lists and Tables, a new CSS editor, Pages and Templates, and a new search functionality. The Adobe Technical Communication Suite 2 is immediately available in North America. Estimated street price for the suite is US$1899. FrameMaker 9, RoboHelp 8 and Captivate 4 are available as standalone products as well. Estimated street price for FrameMaker 9 and RoboHelp 8 is US$999 for each, US$799 for Captivate 4. http://www.adobe.com

JustSystems announced XMetaL Author Enterprise for Documentum Webtop now supports Documentum ECM 6.5 and Windows Vista, and has new usability features and quality enhancements. XMetaL Author Enterprise for Documentum Webtop is designed for full-time content creators who require a desktop authoring application supported by the Documentum content repository features including seamless search, link management and navigation capabilities. The latest enhancements include: Documentum ECM 6.5 support - Now supports Documentum ECM 6.5 SP1 and continues to support Documentum ECM 6 SP1; Windows Vista compatibility - Now compatible with Windows Vista in addition to continued compatibility with Windows XP.; New operations - From the docbase tree-view in XMetaL Author Enterprise for Documentum Webtop, users can now create new folders or documents-from-a-template, or initiate import operations by simply right-clicking on the item in the docbase tree-view; Quality enhancements - Now offers improved DITA authoring, with quality enhancements to file check-in operations, reusable component creation, and DITA operations. The latest version of XMetaL Author Enterprise for Documentum Webtop is available today. http://www.justsystems.com

Elmo Solutions specialists in extraction and processing of CAD and engineering metadata, announced the official launch of Agni Enterprise Search Portal 2009 for Microsoft SharePoint. This Knowledge Management solution for Microsoft SharePoint is an enterprise search solution designed to meet the distinct needs of CAD and Engineering users and senior managers. It is designed to enhance efficiency and productivity by reducing the time spent by knowledge workers looking for CAD and imaging documents through accurate search results. It currently offers support for a wide range of document formats, including: AutoCAD (including vertical "flavors" of AutoCAD), Dassault Systemes SolidWorks, Autodesk Inventor, JPEG, TIFF, GIF, PNG, and WMF. The solution is available as a free, fully functional, 30-day trial license for download directly from the Elmo Website at http://www.elmosolutions.com

nSight Inc., a technical and educational content development and publishing services firm, today announced that it is offering a complimentary review of technical documentation to demonstrate the advantages of using a structured writing approach to producing product information. nSight made the announcement at the Gilbane Boston 2008 conference, where they are exhibiting in Booth PP. Structured writing is an effective and efficient method for developing structured, reusable, consistent, and coherent technical documentation. To introduce clients to this approach, nSight is offering to rework a sample of their own product information - a few pages from a user manual or installation guide, for example. One of nSight's senior technical writers will edit the text using structured writing principles, and then present a side-by-side comparison in a half-hour phone consultation. The documentation review and consultation are offered free of charge and with no obligation. http://www.nsightworks.com

MadCap Software announced the launch of its MadCap Search Optimizer and free MadCap Toolbar. The Search Optimizer extends MadCap's WebHelp search to browser-based Help systems. Now authors that continue to build their Web or intranet documentation using Adobe RoboHelp, ComponentOne Doc-to-Help, WebWorks Publisher and Author-It can still provide their users with their WebHelp search. The MadCap Search Optimizer automatically creates a WebHelp search database, which is then downloaded and accessed by users via the free MadCap Toolbar. This enables the return of search results almost instantaneously. With the MadCap Toolbar, users can also conduct wildcard searches in which only part of the search term is known. Other advanced search features include the ability for users of browser-based Help systems to receive search results based on relevance instead of simply by alphabet, expand or collapse the WebHelp table of contents and all dynamic Help effects, and freely remove search highlighting. Both the MadCap Search Optimizer and MadCap Toolbar are immediately available for download. The MadCap Toolbar, which runs on Internet Explorer 6.0 or higher, is free for all users. The MadCap Search Optimizer is available for $449. Flare users do not require the Search Optimizer, since all of the search and toolbar functionality is available when using Flare and the MadCap Toolbar together. http://www.madcapsoftware.com/

Inmedius announced its support for S1000D Issue 4.0 authoring and management functionality. The company expects to deliver new functionality and support in its Inmedius S1000D Publishing Suite by the end of this year. The Inmedius S1000D Publishing Suite is a fully integrated, seven module solution set, supporting the entire S1000D documentation lifecycle. The software addresses every facet of an S1000D project to capture, create, manage and deploy technical information. A new Inmedius Webinar entitled, S1000D Issue 4.0: What It Means to You, provides an overview of what's new and different in the Specification, along with how the S1000D Publishing Suite addresses the creation and management of technical data in the new format. Inmedius' ASD S1000D Issue 4.0 Pocket Guide was published last week. The 58-page Pocket Guide provides a reference to S1000D. http://www.inmedius.com

MadCap Software announced its roadmap for supporting the Darwin Information Typing Architecture (DITA) standard. With MadCap, authors will have a complete authoring and publishing suite of tools for creating, managing, translating and publishing DITA content. The products will use MadCap's XML editor, which provides an graphical user interface for creating featured documentation that hides the XML being generated below. In the first phase of its DITA initiative, MadCap Software will add DITA support to four products: MadCap Flare, MadCap Blaze, MadCap Analyzer for reporting, MadCap Lingo. With MadCap Flare and Blaze, authors will be able to import DITA projects and topics as raw XML content, and using the XML editor, change the style sheets to get the desired look and structure. Authors will then have the option to publish the output as DITA content; print formats, such as Microsoft Word, DOCX and XPS or Adobe FrameMaker, PDF and AIR; and a range of HTML and XHTML online formats MadCap Analyzer will work directly with DITA topics and projects to allow authors to analyze and report on the content. Similarly, MadCap Lingo will import data directly from DITA topics and projects, so that it can be translated. The translated material can be published as DITA content or exported to a Flare or Blaze project. In the second phase, MadCap will enable authors to natively create and edit DITA topics in Flare and Blaze, as well as MadCap X-Edit, MadCap's software family for creating short documents, contributing content to other documents, and reviewing content. Like Flare and Blaze, X-Edit will also support the ability to import and publish DITA information. In the third phase, MadCap will add DITA support to its forthcoming MadCap Team Server. This will make it possible to manage and share DITA content across teams and projects, as well as schedule DITA publishing. http://www.madcapsoftware.com

MadCap Software announced the launch of MadCap Capture 3.0. Capture is MadCap's screen capture and graphics editing software, which is designed specifically to address the needs of documentation professionals. With version 3.0, Capture adds several enhancements to provide image integration, quality, and control, including: Image text single-sourcing - Capture 3.0 expands on the integration with MadCap Flare, MadCap's authoring software, which enables single-sourcing of content across the two applications. Now authors can enter a text description (screen tip or alternative text) for an image in a centralized location, so every time the image appears in a Flare project, the text automatically appears with it; System clipboard integration - Authors can now automatically save and insert screen captures into any application with direct system clipboard integration. Optimized size configuration for print and online publishing - Capture 3.0 allows authors to establish separate height and width settings for print and online publishing; Delayed capture - Capture 3.0 provides a time delay feature that lets you automatically capture an image after a certain number of seconds. This makes it possible to take screenshots showing elements such as drop-down menus and tool tips; Image blurring and magnification - In addition to being able to blur images around shapes, authors can now blur the area within shapes; Enhanced XPS support - Capture 3.0 provides the ability to save and load images in Microsoft XPS, providing a crisp image that does not become pixilated when someone zooms in. http://www.madcapsoftware.com/

Inmedius, Inc. announced the release of S1000Dtransition V3.0 to publish structured S1000D Data Modules (DM) to common types of output and print. The latest release includes complete support of ASD S1000D Issue 3.0 schemas, and has been updated concurrently with Inmedius S1000Dmanager and S1000DauthorPro for compatibility. Transition, Manager and AuthorPro are three of seven modules in the Inmedius S1000D Publishing Suite, a fully integrated solution set, supporting the entire S1000D documentation lifecycle. In addition to S1000D Issue 3.0 schema support, other new features allow Transition to expand its international reach with variant support for the German DASA 1.7x DTDs and a DEF (AUST) 5629B design file. Transition v3.0 also supports filtering and processing logic for Container DMs, along with configuration support for List of Effective Pages (LOEP), List of Tables ( LOT ) & List of Figures (LOF) in LooseLeaf Publishing. Transition publishes structured S1000D content into common types of print output. Publication managers consolidate the work of producing information, rather than parallel efforts to produce both S1000D information and other printed manual formats. The software includes LooseLeaf Publishing capabilities, including: Effectivity Processing, Change Page Management, and Dual Column Language and Multi-Volume Publishing. With Transition, users can format print output to produce S1000D and other commercial or military specification-based documentation. http://www.inmediusS1000D.com/transition

XyEnterprise announced the release of ContentaView 3.6, an update to their software solution suite for the intelligent delivery of interactive, textual and multimedia content via CD-ROM or the Web. This new version now features a web-based update server, providing a universal means for updating all digital publications with a simple internet connection. The update server in ContentaView 3.6 makes it easier to push content updates from the server to the desktop and ensures that users are working with the correct version of their publication. It also allows for unattended updates to be performed at pre-determined intervals. Because these new features in ContentaView 3.6 are web-based, they do not require any additional hardware or software. Also included in ContentaView 3.6 is a tracking mechanism that compiles an audit trail of every user who connects to the server and every update that is downloaded. This tracking mechanism provides up-to-date information about all end users along with the publications, versions, and historical information in each client record. Additional capabilities of ContentaView 3.6 include a new generic export tool that allows a user to export the XML into any desired file format, such as RTF, Excel, Word, CSV and plain text, to update files and accommodating users not familiar with XML. The new release of ContentaView features an improved search capability that permits end-users to search for full text or categorical content using phrase searching, search stemming, search excerpts or saved searches. Support for the S1000D process data module in ContentaView 3.6 means users can perform dynamic troubleshooting using the product's built-in logic engine and can create their own data set based on a sample data set, provided by XyEnterprise, which shows the major components of the process data module in action. http://www.xyenterprise.com