Help & Manual 4.1 (XML Edition) released

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Alexander Halser
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Help & Manual 4.1 (XML Edition) released

Unread post by Alexander Halser »

We are glad to announce the availability of Help & Manual 4.1 (XML Edition).

Version 4.1 is the first major functional update of Help & Manual 4 since the release in early September 2005. Like all updates between full version numbers, it is free for everyone who already owns a copy of Help & Manual 4.
However, as already announced in the Product Roadmap some functions like the XML roundtrip and Project Synchronisation will only be available to users of the Professional version.

If you have the Standard version and need these features just visit the purchasing page to obtain an upgrade.

Download:
http://www.ec-software.com/download.htm

If you own Help & Manual 4, you can simply install this new build over the existing installation.

Image

New features in version 4.1:

XML Export / Import

This is probably the most eagerly-awaited function ever. You can now export your entire project to a special XML format that can be translated or edited in an external XML editor or XML-aware translation tool and then re-imported to Help & Manual with all formatting and project features intact.

Note that you can only import XML files created with Help & Manual. This is a closed, round-trip function and you currently cannot import any other XML formats like DITA or DocBook!

For more information see these topics:
http://www.helpandmanual.com/help/index ... ef_xml.htm
http://www.helpandmanual.com/help/index ... ditxml.htm
http://www.helpandmanual.com/help/index ... le_xml.htm

New XML Source Code editor

The Help & Manual editor pane now includes a third tab called XML Source. This is a full-featured XML editor with syntax highlighting that allows you to view and edit the current topic in XML format.

For more information see:
http://www.helpandmanual.com/help/index ... or_xml.htm


Project Synchronization tool

This new tool is designed for translation projects. It enables you to "synchronize" the updated version of a project in the original language with the old translated version in a different language. The tool then updates the structure of project with the new material so that a translator can produce a new version.

For more information see this section:
http://www.helpandmanual.com/help/index ... jsynch.htm


Miscellaneous changes

The user interface has been upgraded to a cool new style and now looks similar to Microsoft Office. An Office 2006 theme will follow soon.

The zoom factor for images is back! Due to popular demand, we have re-implemented the zoom factor in the Insert Picture dialog box. Resizing images with the mouse still works as well.

For a full list, please refer to the online help:
http://www.helpandmanual.com/help/index ... date41.htm
Alexander Halser
Senior Software Architect, EC Software GmbH
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