ANNOUNCING HELP & MANUAL 4!

[Tim Green]

The wait is over! Help & Manual 4 has been announced!

EC Software today announced the release of Help & Manual 4, the most major and radical update in the history of the program. Here are the links for all the information you'll be looking for:

Official announcement page:
http://www.helpandmanual.com/hm4/
Feature comparison chart:
http://www.helpandmanual.com/hm4/index2.html
FAQ:
http://www.helpandmanual.com/hm4/index4.html
Online version of the H&M4 help:
http://www.helpandmanual.com/hm4/help/index.html

How good is it?

Better than any of us could have dreamed. I've been using H&M4 since January to write the help for the new version and I'm blown away by it. People, this program rocks! This is not hype, this simply a fact: Help & Manual 4 is the best help authoring tool on the planet. Nothing else comes even close. Nothing else is even in the same ball park. Believe me, you can't begin to imagine how difficult it has been for me to keep quiet about it all these months.

What's new?

The new version includes everything that users have asked for and much, much more besides. The editor is completely new and now supports complex tables with nesting, real dynamic styles with style families and inheritance and Unicode for full international support -- you can now develop help for double-byte languages like Chinese and Thai. RoboHelp® X5 users can import their projects directly to H&M4. And all this just scratches the surface of the program's capabilities. The new version is instantly familiar and intuitive for H&M3 users but just about every single feature has been radically overhauled and improved, and it is literally packed with amazing new goodies.

Upgrading?

Upgrading is going to be painless, with excellent deals from EC Software for current users and users who buy H&M3 between now and the official release at the end of August. See the FAQ for details.

Where can I find out more?

For full details of what's new check out the What's New? section in the online version of the help here:

http://www.helpandmanual.com/hm4/help/hm_new.htm

By the way: This is also an example of the completely new Browser-based Help output, which is simply stellar and includes full-text search.

[Ilkka Viinikanoja]

Wow, this was GREAT NEWS indeed! Unicode support, localization support, and support for complex tables (or a usable support for any kinds of tables) are crucial features we've been missing for quite a time now. I can barely wait for the final version

[scribbs]

Wahoo! Improved Browser-based Help output with full-text search!

[mehrenst]

So, the key question is, "As an owner of H&M 3.6 should I wait for the Upgrade Price (to be defined), or should I just jump in now and buy a new copy (not another license) of 3.6?"

'Tis a puzzlement.

[Tim Green]

So, the key question is, "As an owner of H&M 3.6 should I wait for the Upgrade Price (to be defined), or should I just jump in now and buy a new copy (not another license) of 3.6?"

You definitely don't need to buy a new copy! That would be the same price as buying the Standard version of H&M4 directly as a new customer, and the upgrade price will definitely be cheaper than that, no matter how long ago you got H&M3 -- that's the whole point of offering an upgrade price.

According to the current information on the EC website the upgrade will probably be around 50% of the direct price.

[grobbins]

Guten tach Mr. Green,
Though I'm new to this product and forum, thank you, in advance, for all the detailed and timely responses I see you've consistently provided. My only question (at the moment) is this: I can't seem to find any clear indication as to whether v4 includes more than the 4 user-definable builds (referring to the 3+demo).
Thank you,
Garth

[viery]

Wow! UNICODE support! The feature I expect so long time.

[Martin Wynne]

My only question (at the moment) is this: I can't seem to find any clear indication
as to whether v4 includes more than the 4 user-definable builds (referring to the
3+demo).

Hi Garth,

The full HM4 Help is already available online. Acording to this page:

http://www.helpandmanual.com/hm4/help/h ... builds.htm

it will be possible to have an unlimited number of user-defined builds.

Martin.

[Softland]

Hello,
It seems that H&M 4 will have translation support which is very good news. In the help file they state:

"This function is planned but it is not included in the first release of the program. When it is implemented Help & Manual will generate an XML file that can be distributed to translators who can then produce versions of the help in different languages without access to the Help & Manual program. The translated version can then be re-imported into the project without losing any of the original layout, formatting and settings."

I have 2 questions about this:
-they say that this function in planned but not included in the first release; any idea how much time would pass until the version with translation support ? (more than 3 months, 6 months?)
-it seems that the translators don't need to have H&M in order to translate the help file; does this mean H&M will have an additional tool that can be distributed as free and that allows the translation of the XML or only with support from other specialized translation programs (like Trados etc.)?

Their discount is enticing but I need to have more than an idea of how the translation support will be.

Thank you.

[Alexander Halser]

does this mean H&M will have an additional tool that can be distributed as free

No. We provide the XML export only and a function to re-import the translated XML files. We optimize the XML export for translation tools like Trados. A second way to translation is an (internal) synchronization tool that updates secondary language files (translated H&M projects). This requires the translator to have Help & Manual.

[Morten Lyng]

Downloaded the beta - looks really nice - good job

I found a minor issue with the browser output search script (I think )

Where can I submit beta-version suspected bugs?

[Tim Green]

I found a minor issue with the browser output search script (I think ) Where can I submit beta-version suspected bugs?

Thanks for asking! Since this isn't a public beta (registered users only) we'd prefer not to start discussions on this on the forum. Please mail any issues you find to support AT ec-software.com with a CC to me at webmaster AT it-authoring.com.

[Softland]

does this mean H&M will have an additional tool that can be distributed as free

No. We provide the XML export only and a function to re-import the translated XML files. We optimize the XML export for translation tools like Trados. A second way to translation is an (internal) synchronization tool that updates secondary language files (translated H&M projects). This requires the translator to have Help & Manual.

Thank you Alexander for your answer. I've seen that currently the beta version is available to registered users only, any plan to make the beta public?

[Tim Green]

Hi,

I've seen that currently the beta version is available to registered users only, any plan to make the beta public?

EC Software has a standard policy of not doing public betas so the answer to that one is definitely no. However, once the program goes on sale there will be the normal free download with a free trial period as with all other products.

[David50]

Is there a beta version of H&M 4 available for registered users?
If so how can I get a copy?

Thanks
Dave Smith