Dr.Explain can easily create help files and product documentation from a live software application or web site. Create help documentation for Windows software, Java and Web applications much faster than ever. The Dr.Explain captures application windows, automatically recognizes controls, and creates annotated screenshots with numbered callouts and tags.

Dr.Explain uses single source editing and content management system to manage text content, technical illustrations, and annotated screenshots. Flexibly setup help page layout and topic structure. Embed keyword indexes and full text search without server side scripting. Create context sensitive help files.

Help files, online manuals and printable documentation can all be produced from one source. Dr.Explain allows you to create many different help formats. Create online help manuals with search functionality and indexes. CHM help files which are ideal for inclusion with your software installation. You can also create RTF and PDF formats of your documentation.

Dr.Explain is a professional level help authoring tool with many features making it an ideal choice for any software vendor, from micro ISV and freelancers to big software development companies and studios.

Features

Generating help files in many formats from a single source

• Creating portable CHM help files
• Creating on-line manuals in HTML format
• Creating printable manuals in RTF
• Creating printable manuals in PDF

Automatic documenting software user interface

• Application windows capturing and automatic annotation
• Web pages capturing and automatic annotation
• Shockwave Flash (SWF) applications capturing and automatic annotation
• Menu with submenus automatic capturing and annotation
• Numbered callouts for significant controls
• Screenshot editing and formatting
• Text labels placement
• Visual effects and styles
• Pop up tooltips for screenshot areas
• Import from external files
• Multilingual program interface

Content editing

• Support of links, images, tables, lists, fonts
• Text macro variables
• Spell checker with national dictionaries
• Multibyte languages (Asian, Arabic) support through Unicode
• RTL mode support

Help topic structure management

• Subtopic indexes, Keyword index and HTML search
• Topic completeness statuses
• Topic locking/unlocking

Plugging help files into software applications

• Context Help ID support
• Automatic Help ID assigning and importing
• Help ID map files generation for various programming languages
• Opening help files by topic file name or by Help ID

Customizing help pages look and style for plugging manual into website

• HTML templates
• Color themes
• Custom CSS
• Help file navigation links
• Active JavaScript tree-like menu for on-line manuals
• Print versions of pages
• Google sitemap generator

Advanced tools

• Validation tool
• Compacting tool
• Command line mode