Just when you thought Help & Manual couldn't get any better, we have a surprise for you that will change the way you think about writing and managing technical documentation: Help & Manual Version 5 is an even bigger leap forward than the transition to Version 4 was. It is not just an improvement on the current version, it is going to redefine single-source authoring.
Want a sneak preview? Help & Manual 4.5 Professional includes a sneak preview to version 5!
Save the upgrade price, purchase the premium pack now: Help & Manual 4.5 + a free upgrade to version 5
Revolutionary new user interface Built around the revolutionary new Microsoft Office ribbon interface, Help & Manual 5 is even more intuitive and will give your productivity a significant boost. The new interface features beautiful large icons, dropdown galleries for quick access and clear command buttons that are not hidden somewhere in a menu where you can't find them.
The ribbon is context-sensitive, so the commands that are relevant to what you are currently doing - for example working in the Editor or the new Project Explorer - are displayed automatically. Very frequently used commands can be added to the new Quick Access Bar above the ribbon and users who still prefer a more compact style of working can minimize the ribbon if they want.
Pure XML
The source format of Help & Manual 5 is XML. Your projects are saved directly as XML files, either directly in a folder with subfolders, or in a single compressed file that contains the subfolders, or directly in a database. No matter how you choose to store it, the XML format is consistent throughout the entire workflow.
WYSIWYG XML editing Help & Manual 5 is a true WYSIWYG XML editor that doesn't require any knowledge of XML or XML coding skills. You work as you would in a familiar word processor like Word, but you also have full access to the XML source if necessary.
Concurrent multi-user authoring Multiple users can work on the same help project at the same time. No database or server software is required, everything is built in.
In addition to this, Help & Manual 5 can also edit multiple projects simultaneously. Projects are inserted in the new Project Explorer and can be expanded to a full tree or collapsed down to a single line for easy management. You can also split off branches of a project into a separate Project Explorer window so that you can work on them more easily.
Improved handling of really large help projects We've added huge improvements regarding the handling of really large help projects with several thousands of topic pages. Improvements affect dynamic loading of help projects, find & replace, customizable topic status and reuse of styles and HTML skins.
Templates and Skins
Help & Manual 5 makes it even easier to customize your output: In addition to fully customizable HTML and PDF templates, version 5 also supports "skins" - professionally-designed layouts that you can apply to your entire project with a click of the mouse.
Snippets and external sources We are taking term single-sourcing into a higher dimension: Help & Manual 5 can use data from multiple sources. Help projects can now include topics and chapters from other help projects directly and you can edit them in the same way as local topics. Snippets can be retrieved from a central snippets repository and are updated automatically when the repository source changes.
Flexibility to the max
Help & Manual 5 continues to be the help authoring tool with the most flexible output options on the market. Create compiled HTML Help (.chm files), WebHelp (regular HTML), Visual Studio Help (.hxs files), PDF manuals, eBooks with an integrated reader and Word manuals - even the WinHelp format is still supported. All formats can be generated from the same project at any time, it's just a question of choosing a different output format.
Easier localization of help projects With XML as the source format you can now use computer aided translation tools directly on the help project sources without any conversion or export/import cycle. If you want you can also edit your H&M topics and projects directly with XML editors.
Workflow integration for 3rd party tools
Pure XML as the primary save format opens the door to direct integration of 3rd party tools in your Help & Manual workflow. In other words, you can integrate the output of other tools (e.g. source code documentation tools) with Help & Manual and review and edit and polish your pre-generated documentation with your favorite help authoring tool.
Save the upgrade price, purchase the premium pack now: Help & Manual 4.5 + a free upgrade to version 5
