Documentation that the Doctor ordered, by Peggy Spencer

Peggy Spencer explains how athenahealth uses MadCap Software to meet online help demands for its cloud-based physician services.

The passion quotient, by Sarah O'Keefe

I am fascinated by the fact that Flare scores so highly, especially compared to other authoring tools (in descending order):

What’s Become of Adobe FrameMaker?, by Val Swisher

Val Swisher, CEO and Founder of Content Rules, Inc., looks into why she has seen a precipitous drop in FrameMaker-based projects over the past few years, and the possible demise of the product.

Help goes mobile at CCC, by Riyaz Adamjee

Riyaz Adamjee describes how CCC is strengthening support via a holistic, and now mobile, approach to technical communications

White Paper Preview: Maximizing Productivity by Using Conditions in MadCap Flare Projects, by Robin Kanowitz

This document describes some of the considerations encountered when applying conditions to topics and their content in MadCap Flare projects. Pragmatic examples are used throughout. The planning criteria and decisions required to correctly apply conditions are emphasized, with the ultimate aim of maximizing content usage and productivity.

Integrating Native Mobile Apps and "Help" with MadCap Flare, by Neil Perlin

In this whitepaper, Neil Perlin discusses the specifics of integrating native apps to "help" using the app creation tool, MobiFlex, and MadCap Flare, with a focus on the WebHelp Mobile output created in Flare V6 or V7.

A 'Flare' for translation, by Scott Bass

Originally published in the spring edition of Communicator magazine, Scott Bass explains how technical communicators can best exert their power over the challenging task of translation using MadCap Flare and MadCap Lingo.

Streamlining Your Workflow with Flare 7, by Eddie VanArsdall

Originally published in the spring edition of Communicator magazine, Eddie VanArsdall discusses the new features and enhancements in Flare 7, including the full support for information development teams and their workflows.

What's New in Flare 7 – QR Codes, by Neil Perlin

In his 2nd blog post, Neil Perlin takes a look at the new QR Code feature in Flare 7.

Flare V7: an impressive iteration, by Paul Pehrson

Paul Pehrson takes a comprehensive look at many of the new features in Flare 7, including SharePoint integration, native Subversion support, the Alias Editor redesign and more.

What's New in Flare 7, by Neil Perlin

In his first post of a series, Neil Perlin of Hyper/Word Services discusses what's new in Flare 7, including the many new features in the Table Style Editor.

Flare v7 Alias Editor Improvements, By Laura Johnson

In her second blog post, Laura Johnson writes about the new usability improvements of the Alias Editor for context-sensitive help in Flare 7.

Flare v7 is Here – Cue Angels and Choir!, By Laura Johnson

Laura Johnson, Certified Flare Instructor, writes about tight integration with Subversion, table enhancements and the increased support for Section 508 compliance in Flare 7.

Tech Review: MadCap Lingo 4.0. Jumping the Gap Between Authoring and Translation, By Scott Bass

Scott Bass, President of Advanced Language Translation, Inc., reviews the latest release of MadCap Lingo in the latest issue of Client Side News. Read More

Single Source Publishing with Flare — By Petra Thiemann

Petra Thiemann, a Senior Technical Editor at cognitas GmbH, has more than 20 years of experience as an editor and user assistance professional in the software industry. Petra discusses single source publishing with MadCap Flare and covers a range of topics, including the importance of developing a single source publishing concept.

Speaking the Lingo - By Jost Zetzsche

Jost Zetzsche, consultant and translator, is an English-to-German translator specializing in translation technology. Jost takes a look at MadCap Lingo Version 4.0 and provides his thoughts and feedback on the latest release from MadCap Software.

Using Flare with a Mac – It Can Be Done

Laura Johnson explains how she uses her MadCap products on a Mac.

Going Mobile with MadCap: FLARE 6 — A Review by Ed Marshall

Ed Marshall reviews the latest release of MadCap Flare, covering many of the new features including WebHelp Mobile output, file tagging, usability & workflow enhancements, and much more. View the interactive magazine article at Intercom.

Migrating to MadCap Flare

Adrian Morse describes how his company left the familiar waters of Adobe products for the open seas of Flare.

On the Roadshow: Topic-based Authoring

Topic-based authoring, even if it’s not DITA or DocBook style, is the key to successful content reuse. Topic-based authoring, combined with significant upfront planning, allows single-source publishing. In a successfully established documentation system, the user will not edit the deliverables directly, but will instead only edit the inputs to obtain the desired deliverables.

Review of MadCap Flare V6

I’ve been using Flare V6 for a couple of months now, and this review is to give you an end user’s review of the features and enhancements Flare V6 has to offer. You may be asking yourself if it’s worth it to upgrade your existing Flare installation to the latest version. Let me give you seven reasons to upgrade, if your budget allows.

Running Flare on Mac OS X

I was able to install Flare, adjust my environment settings, and I was ready to go.

Adding Flare to Your Translation Tool

I will say that Madcap is one of the only software companies that actually makes the effort to reach out to the translation and localization industry and listen to our experiences about dealing with multilingual authoring and publishing of Help systems and other document formats, and then proceeds to incorporate what they learn into the product.

Scriptorium Publishing now offers support for DITA publishing through MadCap Flare

Scriptorium Publishing has joined the Certified Flare Instructor program from MadCap Software. MadCap recently release Flare version 5, which includes support for the Darwin Information Typing Architecture (DITA). Scriptorium Publishing advises customers on how to optimize publishing workflows.

MadCap Fires Up DITA with Flare 5.0 and Blaze 2.0

For MadCap, it looks like the Darwin Information Typing Architecture (DITA) initiative is still a go.

Pre-Release Review of Flare V5

...I've been beta testing Flare 5 for a couple of months now, and there are some great new features in Flare 5 that you are going to love.

Three out of Four User Education Team Members Choose Flare

I've got some bad news if you're a die-hard RoboHelper...

MadCap Blaze: should Adobe worry?

Geoff Hart reviews this tool for publishing long documents from a topic-based perspective.

Translating with the New Madcap Lingo V2

Madcap Lingo is Madcap's offering in the XML-based translation authoring solution space. As a translation memory system, Madcap Lingo helps translators speed up and simplify the translation process of Madcap Flare/Blaze projects into another language.

MadCap Flare 4.2: A Welcome Update

...I'll focus on some major improvements in Flare 4.2 that make this upgrade a "must."

Develop Help Content Like a Professional

MadCap Flare 4.1 is a professional development environment for creating documentation for a wide range of formats based on a single-source (XML). As a programming writer, I was struck by how Flare offers so many must-have features of Visual Studio to technical writers.

A shout out to MadCap Support

"Several times every week, I will be working on documentation, and Ill use a feature in Flare (for example, conditional snippets), and I stop and literally say, 'Wow. I love Flare.'"

Review of MadCap Blaze

If youre familiar with FrameMaker, and you install the trial version of Blaze, youll quickly see that the program was designed from the ground up as a FrameMaker replacement, with long, complex documents (such as books and manuals) in mind.

What We Learn from Help Authoring Tool Surveys

"Recently the Hat Matrix Blog (aka, the Mad Hatter) published the results of a tools survey that included 590 participants. The respondents were asked what authoring tools they used on a regular basis. They answered as follows:"

CODA 2go wins 1st award!

CODA 2go Online Help has won its first award - best instructional documentation in this year's UK Technical Communication Awards, organised by the Institute of Scientific and Technical Communicators (ISTC). CODA 2go Online Help is context-sensitive and integrates seamlessly with the Salesforce.com Help. It was written using Madcap Flare.

Day 1 with Flare 4

I installed Flare 4 today and started playing around. Things that I liked right away...

Flare 4 Giveway Enter to Win a Free Copy by Commenting on This Post

Now, even if you dont win the free copy of Flare 4, I do recommend acquiring a copy anyway. I've been beta testing it and think its a significant improvement from the previous version. For more details, read Paul Pehrsons excellent review of whats new in Flare 4. I currently use Flare 2.5, and it passed all my time-saving tests with flying colors. Flare 4 sounds even better! I just downloaded my first copy of Flare, and Im so impressed with the improvement over my previous HAT. After reading Paul Pehrsons review, Im looking forward to Flare 4.0.

MadCap Flare 4 Preview (aka Ten Things to Love about Flare 4)

Version 4 is a great improvement to the Flare product. There are a ton of new features that will help you become more productive and make your workflow better and faster. Ive only covered ten of my favorite features in Flare 4, but there are tons of others.

Realizing Seamless Translation

Our feature story this month is an exciting case describing how GPRO Technologies has utilized the MadCap Software suite to seamlessly integrate their print and online content creating a consistent experience and reducing project time by up to six-fold.

TechCom Manager: The Newsletter for Documentation Managers
Feature Article: Topic-Based Writing to the Rescue: Project Considerations for Managers

The purpose of this case study is neither to simply rehash the project nor to provide a pressure-cooker story that others can use as a comparative benchmark. This article looks at the decision points within the project and provides an analysis from a real-life, practical approach that other technical communication managers can use when called upon to engage in a rescue project of their own.

Translation Made Easier

In principle, Lingo is suitable for any Blaze/Flare users who wish to reduce translation costs, avoid redundant contents and ensure consistent text quality.

RoboHelp Vs Flare

I figured that Flare and RoboHelp would basically be the same now that RoboHelp has added snippets and variables. Well, amazingly enough (or not), I was not impressed with RoboHelp at all. Even though Flare is a bit more expensive once you purchase the Madpak and Acrobat, I gave these reason to the client for choosing Flare instead of RoboHelp...

MadCap Support Site: Winner in The Association of Support Professionals (ASP) eleventh annual "Ten Best Web Support Sites" Competition.

This prestigious award showcases excellence in online service and support. The 10 award winners were selected by a panel of judges with expertise in Web support design and implementation, using a scoring system based on 25 separate performance criteria. Read More

MadCap Software Expands Reach Into Adobe's Realm

But that doesn't tell half the story of MadCap, an upstart software development company competing with the Goliath that is Adobe. MadCap has achieved acclaim from the March 2006 launch of its flagship content authoring product, MadCap Flare…

Madcap Blaze's Topic Review Feature: A First-of-a Kind Feature with an Interesting Workflow

Blaze is a new Framemaker alternative that Madcap Software has just released into beta. With Blaze, you can create printed documentation and publish it to Word, Framemaker, PDF, XPS, and an XHTML book (but not webhelp).

All About Madcap Flare: Podcast Interview with Paul Pehrson, MVP in Madcap Software Forums

Madcap Flare is one of the most powerful online help authoring tools on the market today. In this podcast, Paul Pehrson, MVP in the Madcap Software forums, talks about Madcap Flare in depth.

Avoid Getting Lost in Translation

Where did my table of contents go? What happened to my glossary? These questions, and many others about document structure and formatting, still arise all too often as these components get lost in translation.

Flare is a tool that I won't easily grow out of. And their expansion into other areas — screen capture, audio, translation, screen demo, and more — makes their product suite compelling.

So for the past week, I've been exploring MadCap Flare Version 3.1 with a lot more depth than I explored the trial version of the 2.0 release last year. I'm thoroughly impressed with Flare. It provides a robust, functional online help tool that simply works. When I say robust, I mean it. The granularity of the style editor is powerful — allowing you to create stylesheets for both online and print formats.

XPS Technology Showcase

MadCap Blaze is the ideal solution for easily producing very long documents for print—such as books, manuals, and illustrated guides—using cutting-edge, future-proof solutions. Blaze lets users work in a much easier interface, enjoy more flexibility, and leverage the latest breakthroughs in information technology compared to other authoring and publishing solutions.

Localizing Online Help

Successful companies know that the effort of translating content from one language to another does not lie solely on the localization teams. The right selection of authoring tools, as well as the content development methodology, plays a crucial role in global technical publication.

Review of MadCap Flare

So, where does this leave us? It's pretty clear that MadCap Software is now one of the dominant players, if not the dominant player, in the help authoring field. Starting from scratch, they've created a suite of products that covers most documentation tasks. Their products are standards-based, compatible with the latest version of Windows, and are tightly integrated. Even if you don't need any of the other tools, Flare certainly merits your attention if online help is your primary deliverable. It's got RoboHelp beat hands down in almost every area.

Six Reasons to Love Flare

…I absolutely love Flare. I think it is a fantastic product. Truth be told, I've only used two HATs, Flare, and RoboHelp X3, so my experience is understandably limited. However, I'm so pleased with Flare, in general, that I'm not even interested in considering other tools…

RoboHelp 6 Finally Arrives, And Its Craptastic

…Seriously? No GUI changes? No support for dual monitors? No effort to bring it into the Adobe family using dockable tool palettes? Weve decided to stay in 1995? Okay, these are just first impressions. Calm down, monkey boy. Im sure they at least they got rid of the proprietary Kadov tags, right? Create a new topic, add some fancy stuff view source code, and…
Read More

Updated February 6, 2007

• RH doesn’t work in Vista. There’s a complex work-around, but it’s major surgery, and if you dare hack it to make it work, naturally, it won’t be supported.
• RoboServer systems will also not run on Vista with IIS 7, and there are scary reports of them breaking with IE 7.0.
• There’s no support for Microsoft Office 2007...

21st century replacement for RoboHelp

Just like Flare is a 21st century replacement for the behemoth RoboHelp, (you have made the switch, havent you?), Blaze is intended to replace FrameMaker. FrameMaker users who have been patient and loyal for the past decade are finally about to have another choice...

RoboHelp "Sunset" , MadCap Announcement

"A powerful tremor rocked the Help Authoring community yesterday at the Software User Assistance Conference when rumors of the death of RoboHelp suddenly gained more traction. Chuck Martin, a writer friend, was there and captured the events on his conference blog:"

The Future of RoboHelp?

"During the opening segment of the WritersUA Conference for Software User Assistance, I made a prediction regarding the future of RoboHelp. The gist of that has been reported in a number of venues to varying degrees of accuracy. To set the record straight, here is a detailed presentation of my information and conclusions about the current and future status of RoboHelp."

Interview with Mike Hamilton, VP Product Development, MadCap Software

"MadCap Software is a new startup which is tackling the changing online help industry by developing XML-based help software that helps writers create XML-based help content. I spoke to Mike Hamilton, the company's VP of Product Development about the company and how its software fits into the help authoring market."

MadCap Flare Announcement

MadCap Software, Inc., today announced MadCap Flare, a new XML-based authoring tool that empowers technical writers, Help authors, and other documentation professionals to compose content in XML format without requiring any knowledge of the XML language or XML programming. MadCap Flare features a unique visual editor that allows users to compose content similar to how they would in Microsoft® Word™. The software maintains the content in pure XML format, allowing users to easily reuse and repurpose the content to virtually any format, standard, device, or operating system.