Macromedia RoboHelp X5 (Angekündigt)

[Madokan]

Hi Folks,

RoboHelp geht in die fünfte Runde. Es lohnt sich mal zu schauen:

Pressetext:

MACROMEDIA ANNOUNCES ROBOHELP X5


New version delivers XML support and content management features that enable
companies to cut costs and increase productivity


January 20, 2004 — Macromedia, Inc. (Nasdaq: MACR) today announced the
immediate availability of Macromedia RoboHelp X5, the latest version of the
industry standard help authoring tool used by developers and technical
writers to create professional help systems and documentation for desktop
and web-based applications. Macromedia acquired eHelp, the makers of
RoboHelp, in December 2003. With RoboHelp X5, users can leverage powerful
new features including support for XML, PDF import/export, content
management, distributed workforces, team authoring capabilities, as well as
the newly released JavaHelp 2.0 from Sun Microsystems, Inc.

RoboHelp X5 also includes FlashHelp, a bandwidth-efficient and
firewall-friendly help format based on Macromedia Flash that is consistent
across popular browsers and platforms. With more companies delivering rich
Internet applications using Flash, the ability to include integrated help
within these improved user experiences will further their adoption. For more
information or to purchase RoboHelp X5, visit
www.macromedia.com/go/robohelp .

"Macromedia is very excited to add RoboHelp to our product portfolio and we
plan to continue the tradition of excellence that has made RoboHelp a market
leader," said Rob Burgess, chairman and CEO, Macromedia. "This product is
the best in its class for help authoring, and we look forward to enabling
developers to seamlessly integrate Flash-based help and tutorials into the
digital experiences they create."

"RoboHelp X5 was created with the developer and technical writer's 'wish
list' in mind," said Anthony Olivier, Senior Vice President and General
Manager, Macromedia. "We've added XML support as well as content management
and team authoring capabilities to take advantage of industry trends like
telecommuting, remote office support, and occasionally connected computing.
As the newest member of the Macromedia family, we remain committed to
pioneering innovative technologies that advance the help authoring
industry."

As the industry standard in help authoring, RoboHelp provides the foundation
to millions of online help and user assistance systems currently in use
around the world. RoboHelp allows developers and technical writers to easily
create professional help systems and documentation for desktop and web-based
applications, including .NET and rich Internet applications (see attached
quote sheet).

"RoboHelp enables us to send users movies, web pages, and content showcases
all within online help," said Mark Bevins, software development manager,
Orion Studios. "Once content has been created, RoboHelp publishes and
updates online tables and indexes instantly. Orion Studios considers
RoboHelp a vital solution for help and customer support. RoboHelp X5 is
extremely intuitive and easy to use, proving once again that it is an
indispensable tool for your business or website."

Macromedia RoboHelp X5 includes many versatile new features including XML
support, content management, distributed workforce support, team authoring
capabilities, and PDF import and export. The XML support in RoboHelp X5
enables easier data interchange and opens new possibilities to repurpose
content from disparate sources. Users can import any valid XML content for
use in their help system, including DocBook XML or XHTML formats, and export
standardized projects or individual topics. The content management features
help users throughout the content lifecycle with features including version
rollback, time and date stamping, audit trails, labels and comments, file
comparison, and integration with leading version control software.

The product also empowers distributed workforces with the ability to
remotely check-in and check-out files, contribute information to help
projects, and synchronize changes to files when computers are back online.
Team authoring support in RoboHelp X5 makes it easier for teams to
contribute and collaborate on the same project, coordinate workflow, and
generate the final help system through features like check-in and check-out
capabilities, permissions, password security, and administrative tools.

Intelligent PDF import in RoboHelp X5 makes PDF content both editable and
exportable as native help content. The product also supports Sun's new
JavaHelp 2.0 format. For more information on the new features in RoboHelp
X5, visit www.macromedia.com/go/rhnew .

PRICING AND AVAILABILITY
RoboHelp X5, priced at $999, is available for immediate purchase today from
the Macromedia Online Store at [url]www.macromedia.com/store[url]. Upgrades from
RoboHelp 2002, RoboHelp X3 or RoboHelp X4 are priced at $499. Upgrades from
RoboHelp versions 4 through 9 are priced at $699.

ABOUT MACROMEDIA
Experience matters. Macromedia is motivated by the belief that great
experiences build great businesses. Our software empowers millions of
business users, developers, and designers to create and deliver effective,
compelling, and memorable experiences - on the Internet, on fixed media, on
wireless, and on digital devices.

DEVELOPERS PRAISE POWERFUL NEW FEATURES IN ROBOHELP X5


American Healthtech
"I've used RoboHelp since the old WinHelp days, and I've always been pleased
with the product's attention to customer requests and continual development
to give help authors more choices. The interface is sensible and intuitive,
and has changed little over the years because it works. I could not be
happier with RoboHelp X5 and I look forward to additional development and
consistency in the future."
- Jeff Kersh, technical writer, American Healthtech

Employment Law Advisory Network
"RoboHelp is the main software I use to develop my employment law software.
My publications are electronic tutorials and reference guides on employment
law. My primary output is the WinHelp 2000 format that only RoboHelp offers,
which produces the tri-pane look that most Windows users have come to expect
with HTML Help, but with a much more refined interface that always gets
great customer comments. The ability to use the same source files to quickly
generate WebHelp and FlashHelp versions of my electronic books is also
great. RoboHelp X5 makes the process of producing help files a breeze -
moving from content to finished help file is incredibly easy. I cannot
imagine doing my work without it."
- William T Simmons, president, Employment Law Advisory Network

Evergreen Online Learning, LLC
"We work in a multi-writer environment, so it's easy to 'step on one
another' if two writers are working on the same project. Technical writers
are always paranoid about losing work. Source Control in RoboHelp X5 ensures
you don't lose valuable content and allows us to work more smoothly and
efficiently. Source control is even helpful in a single-author situation
because you can do file comparisons to locate previous modifications and
versions."
- John Daigle, president, Evergreen Online Learning, LLC

Help Solutions, Ltd.
"A lot of companies find their own workarounds to allow groups of authors to
work on the same projects, but RoboHelp X5 addresses that issue and does
more. If you share your workload with other authors, you will find lots of
new features to help automate content management and true version control
workflows. Another very welcome release."
- Craig Clarke, director, Help Solutions, Ltd

Mitek Industries
"We use RoboHelp as our company's entire e-learning and training platform,
comprised of software demos, quick fixes, tips from the pros, self quizzes,
and an online help system. We have more than 80 RoboDemos, and we also use
Macromedia Flash, so the FlashHelp functionality in RoboHelp X5 definitely
appeals to us, as well as the streamlined way to created printed
documentation from the same information."
- Charles Palmgren, software technical writer, MiTek Industries

NEW Corporation
"Having evaluated 16 different help authoring tools five years ago, I
decided that RoboHelp offered the best and the most functionality, and I am
pleased to say that RoboHelp X5 is still the cream of the crop among help
authoring tools. No other tool provides the flexibility and the number of
possible output formats."
- Steve Shipe, instructional designer, NEW Corporation

Sygate Technologies, Inc.
"About a year ago, Sygate Technologies started using RoboHelp as the only
authoring tool. Although the transition to a single authoring tool took a
while, it is now much easier to maintain both our online and print
documentation. We are looking forward to implementing some of the new
features such as version control, conversion to print, and separate print
table of contents."
- Elke Vorheis, information developer, Sygate Technologies, Inc.

Liebe Grüsse
Matthias