Help & Manual Basic - Summary

by EC Software - Product Type: Application

Summary

Help & Manual Basic by EC Software

URLs: help-manual-standard, help manual standard, helpmanualstandard, ec-software, ec software, ecsoftware

Create advanced multi format help and documentation. Help & Manual is an advanced multi format help authoring tool that provides all the formatting and editing features of a modern word processor. You can output your projects to all standard Windows help formats (HTML Help, Winhelp and MS Help 2.0 / Visual Studio Help), browser-based Help, PDF and Word RTF. All output formats supported by Help & Manual are generated from the same project, you only have to edit your help and documentation once. Help & Manual Professional (XML Edition) Edition includes advanced features like Unicode Support or export/import help projects in XML format. Help & Manual is fully compatible with Windows 7. New Help & Manual Premium Pack available. Help & Manual Premium Pack contains 14 professionally-designed "skins" with which you can transform the appearance of your HTML-based output with a single click.

Help & Manual Overview

Help & Manual is a stand-alone help authoring tool (HAT) that simplifies the production of Windows help files, printed manuals and documentation in general. Help & Manual also generates Browser-based Help, PDF and Word RTF and supports XML Export/Import (visit the 'evals and downloads' section for more information). The Browser-based Help output for web use includes a full menu structure that emulates the appearance and functionality of HTML Help and includes full-text search with highlighting for found words. EC Software successfully tested the browser-based help output with:

MS Internet Explorer (IE)

Opera (Windows)

Netscape (Windows)

Firefox (Windows)

Mozilla (Linux)

Konqueror (Linux)

Safari (Mac)

PDF output and printed manuals are fully customizable with the bundled Print Manual Designer program: You can include a table of contents and a keyword index, automatic page referrers for links and cross-references, customized page layouts, headers, footers, page numbering, covers, introductions and more.

Help & Manual lets you create documentation in up to 106 languages. It is one of the few help authoring tools that fully support Unicode and can handle languages like Japanese, Chinese, Korean and many others. Help & Manual imports regular HTML and text files, compiled HTML Help, Word files (RTF format), Winhelp source files and even decompiles HLP files. Help & Manual Professional exports and imports help projects in XML format. To help new users migrate existing help projects, Help & Manual includes a dedicated import tool for RoboHelp X5 projects.

Help & Manual can convert and import the following formats, preserving virtually all of the original structure and formatting:

RoboHelp X5 for HTML projects

HTML and plain text files

Compiled HTML Help .CHM files

Compiled Winhelp .HLP files and Winhelp project source files

MS Word RTF files

You can also copy and paste text with complex formatting, graphics and tables to and from Microsoft Word, also with virtually all formatting intact.

Help & Manual Premium Pack

The new Help & Manual Premium Pack contains 14 professionally-designed "skins" with which you can transform the appearance of your HTML-based output with a single click. You just select one of the skins in the Publish dialog and click OK to publish, that's all there is to it. The templates in the skins are merged with your project to give you tabbed navigation, non-scrolling headers and a stylish design.

Configuration without code editing

You don't need to edit any confusing HTML code to configure your skins. All the text displayed in the skins, your support email address, the text in the email feedback form and so on are stored in simple text variables. You can set up everything just by editing the variable definitions.

Full documentation and all source materials included

If you want you can also create your own skins on the basis of the Premium Pack skins. All the source graphics, Photoshop files and other components are included.

Help & Manual Premium Pack Features

Fourteen skins: 7 with horizontal tabs, 7 with vertical tabs, all components royalty-free

Work in both Webhelp and HTML Help, compatible with Internet Explorer and all other current browsers, including the new Google Chrome browser.

Tabbed navigation in Webhelp

Matched color schemes throughout in all the skins

Non-scrolling headers in the navigation and topic panes

All texts displayed fully configurable with variables - you only need to edit the variable definitions, not the HTML code

Mail feedback button with automatic reference to project, topic, topic ID and topic location, texts escaped to work in all mail clients

Print button for easy topic printing, also in browsers that don't print frame well

Breadcrumb trail navigation box with Home button in the topic header

Easily-configurable 3-frame layout option

Topic URL display at the bottom of each topic as an easy reference for support staff

Non-scrolling "Letter links" in the Index pane, automatic message displayed if there are no entries for the clicked letter

Full source code included.

All Photoshop files and other graphics files included for users who want to make their own versions and modifications

Main features

WYSIWYG design interface: Help & Manual has integrated WYSIWYG editors for topics, table of contents and keyword index

Unicode support (Professional Version Only):Full Unicode support, meaning you can create help files in up to 106 languages, including Asian languages

XML and Localization support (Professional Version Only): (Coming soon!) Help & Manual 4 Professional has dedicated support for localization. XML export and re-import supports in-house translation as well as external translation tools such as Trados. See 'XML roadmap' in the 'Evals and Download' Section for details on the XML roundtrip function

RoboHelp® Import: Help & Manual can directly import RoboHelp® X5 project files

Template Support: Use and modify HTML templates for topics pages, layout templates for PDF and print, skins for e-books and browser-based help

Single source: Help & Manual creates all output formats (see below) from one single source without post-processing

Conditional Output: Include/exclude conditions are supported for chapter, topic and text level. You can customize the export with an unlimited number of user defined builds

Text Variables:In addition to include/exclude options on text level, use predefined text variables or create your own

Dynamic cascading styles:Use text and paragraph styles to format the content. All styles support different media types for design, online help and printed outputs

Integrated hotspot editor:Help & Manual has a built-in hotspot editor for graphics with dedicated support for topic links, external links, file links and macros

Comments and bookmarks: Add design time comments anywhere in topics and bookmark topics for later review. Topics also support a topic status, to highlight, filter or sort topics

Modular help: Split your help project into modules for multi-user access. Modules can be merged at runtime or during compilation

Accessibility: Section 508 compatibility. Please, see visit the 'evals and downloads' section for the 'Help & Manual section 508 - Voluntary Product Accessibility Template'

OutPut Formats

HTML Help 1.x(CHM): Compiled HTML Help (.chm)

Winhelp(HLP): Compiled Standard Winhelp (.hlp)

Microsoft Help 2.0(HXS)(Professional Version Only): Visual Studio help (.hxs)

Adobe PDF: Built-in PDF engine with visual layout designer

Browser-based help: Platform independent and cross-browser web-based help, with table of contents, keyword index and context sensitive help support

Full-text search for browser-based help is included in the Professional Version only

Word manuals: Microsoft Word export in RTF format

e-Books: e-books in Windows 32 bit executable format with customizable skins

Printed manuals: Print manuals with customizable layout, including booklets, draft prints and duplex printing

Tools included

Screen capture: The built-in screen capture tool creates stunning screenshots at a mouse click

Image editor: Use the integrated image editor to resize and enhance screenshots, add annotations, callouts and text

Project report: Extensive reports document the status of your help project

Context sensitive help tool: Support for context sensitive help is fully integrated. Help & Manual additionally can export and import help context number maps

Syntax highlighter: Quickly format source code examples for Visual Basic, C++, Pascal or SQL statements

What’s new in Help and Manual V6?

Updated User Interface

The user interface has been slightly redesigned. Most notably, the File menu is back. The so-called Backstage view as seen in Microsoft Office 2010 has been implemented, which replaces several dialogs. And the additional screen real estate has been used to improve import, publishing and configuration dialogs. Big dropdown menus make it easier to visually select a skin for publishing. Help+Manual 6 is a lot more "visual" throughout.

All new Webhelp 2.0

Help+Manual now creates HTML5 strict and while older templates and skins are still supported, the new standard is integrated Webhelp. The layout has become even more flexible and customizable. It is now really easy to integrate documentation into your website. The new Webhelp output fully supports jQuery and uses animations for non-static content such as table of contents, toggle text, etc. Toggle images and videos can optionally play in lightboxes. Sub-headings in topics are now exported as <h1> to <h6> headings, which increases the relevance of headings for search engines. Additionally, Help+Manual 6 creates an optional sitemap for your Webhelp output.

New publishing formats and publishing tasks

Help+Manual not only imports VisualStudio source code, it can publish the VisualStudio 2010 help format as well. Help+Manual lets you create batch jobs that combine several different outputs and/or different output formats. The publishing batch jobs are saved with the project. An additional function saves the publishing task to a command file for automated batch compilation.

Improved editor, new spell checker and a long list of new features

Help+Manual 6 has tabbed editing, so you can open multiple topics at once and easily switch between them. Help+Manual remembers which topics were open and re-opens them the next time you open the project. Images, toggle images and videos allow text flow around them (this works in PDF as well).

New File Menu replaces the Application Button (Backstage View)

Publishing Tasks for automation

Floating images, toggles and videos with lightbox option for Webhelp/HTML Help and improved spacing options (see picture below)

Automatically return to last topic and open last topics in tabs

When switching between editor and XML source tab, the cursor position is retained

Fully-configurable line spacing, new paragraph spacing buttons

Generate and insert QR codes

Baggage files can be edited directly in Help+Manual

New spell checker with support for Open Office dictionaries, including dictionaries for automatic hyphenation

Light box mode for image toggles and movies

Icons for toggle texts have a 3rd state: hide or replace the icon in PDF, RTF, eBooks and printed manuals

Improvements formatting for tables: individual cell borders, new functiosn to split and sort tables

Popup Formatter for selected text: hovering the mouse over selected text displays the Popup Formatter, with which you can apply formatting and styles quickly

Style Preview in topic editor: styles are temporily applied for preview, while you select them

Improved List handling

All paragraph styles have an additional "Next" style that is automatically applied to the following paragraph

A triple-click in the editor selects the entire paragraph

The Insert Snippet dialog was equipped with a visual preview of the snippet content

Inline snippets: snippets can optionally place inside text

Hyperlinks can automatically pick up the title of the link target

PDF improvements (gutter between columns, variables in all PDF bookmarks)

Publishing: you can publish selected TOC items and apply build options

Repositories for snippets and styles

A repository is a special uncompressed Help+Manual project that you use to share styles and snippets between multiple projects. They are quite specialized and you should really only use them if you have multiple projects that must all have exactly the same styles. This is an excellent way to ensure that your styles are standardized for everyone when you are working on a project in a team.

Publisher directly to the Apple iPad

Help+Manual can publish directly to the Apple iPad. This is not a quirky "webhelp mobile" for smartphones, it's a genuine standards-compliant e-book for offline reading on your iPad.

Create advanced multi format help and documentation.

Pricing: Help & Manual V6.0.2 build 2352 Basic 1 User License, Help & Manual V6.0.2 build 2352 Basic 1 User Licence, per User from 2 to 4 Users, Help & Manual V6.0.2 build 2352 Basic 1 User Licence, per User from 5 to 9 Users, Help & Manual V6.0.2 build 2352 Basic 1 User License, per User from 10 Users, Help & Manual V6.0.2 build 2352 Basic - Upgrade from Help & Manual Basic Version 3, 4 or 5 1 User Licence, Help & Manual V6.0.2 build 2352 Basic - Upgrade from Help & Manual Basic Version 3, 4 or 5 1 User Licence, per User from 2 to 4 Users, Help & Manual V6.0.2 build 2352 Basic - Upgrade from Help & Manual Basic Version 3, 4 or 5 1 User Licence, per User from 5 to 9 Users, Help & Manual V6.0.2 build 2352 Basic - Upgrade from Help & Manual Basic Version 3, 4 or 5 1 User Licence, per User from 10 Users

Evals & Downloads: Read the Help & Manual XML Reference, Read the Help & Manual help file, Read the Premium Pack help File, View the Help and Manual Edition Feature Matrix, Read the Help & Manual section 508 - Voluntary Product Accessibility Template, Read the Help and Manual End User License Agreement, Download the Help & Manual V6.0.2 build 2352 evaluation on to your computer - Expires after 30 Days

Operating System for Deployment: Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP, Windows Server 2003, Windows ME, Windows 2000, Windows 98, Windows NT 4.0

Architecture of Product: 32Bit

Product Type: Application

Keywords: help and manual standard, help and manual standard edition

ec software, ecsoftware, ec-software.com, ecsoftware.com

Help Authoring ForeFront Documentation documenting document author

Part numbers: PC-516388-417147 516388-417147 PC-516388-417150 516388-417150 PC-516388-417153 516388-417153 PC-516388-417156 516388-417156 PC-516388-417159 516388-417159 PC-516388-417162 516388-417162 PC-516388-417165 516388-417165 PC-516388-417168 516388-417168

Mfr. Part No: HM6S HM6S U