Prepress
MadCap Software Unveils Roadmap for First Complete Native XML Family of Documentation and Content Authoring Products
Monday 17. March 2008 - MadCap Brings Together Authoring, Collaboration, Analysis, Translation and Multimedia Software into a State-of-the-Art Workflow Solution
MadCap Software, the leader in multi-channel content authoring and a showcase company for Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Visual Studio 2005 and Microsoft XPS, today unveiled its roadmap for the first complete, native XML software family designed to solve all of a company’s documentation and authoring demands. The MadCap family will include five new products: MadCap Blaze, MadCap Press, MadCap Team Server, MadCap X-Edit, and MadCap X-Edit Express, as well as enhanced versions of MadCap Analyzer, MadCap Flare, MadCap Lingo and MadCap Mimic. The tightly integrated MadCap family will provide companies with an end-to-end solution for developing and delivering content in print, online and on the Web — and in their language of choice.
The entire MadCap product family is based on a common native XML architecture to provide a complete workflow solution, from authoring and multimedia creation; to collaboration, reporting and analysis; to translation and localization. Unlike traditional documentation and authoring tool sets, which have been built on different proprietary platforms, MadCap’s products are highly integrated to create a seamless experience for documentation professionals, translators, and other content authors.
For example, let’s say a human resources manager uses X-Edit to write up the details of a new health savings account plan. Those details could be published by marketing in a newsletter created with MadCap Press, added to the company print manual by a professional author using Blaze, and then later published on the intranet or company website with MadCap Flare — all within a single workflow. Simulations via MadCap Mimic could show Web users how to access the benefit, and Echo could provide a link to a podcast of a question-and-answer session about using the health savings account. At the same time, MadCap Capture could provide screenshot examples for readers of the print manual. All the data could be stored in the content database of MadCap Team Server, so all content providers and authors could easily reuse and share information rather than recreating it. Variables in X-Edit, Mimic, Capture, Press, Flare and Blaze could automate the process of customizing plan details by region — whether by state, province, or country. Where needed, MadCap Lingo could readily provide translation and leverage any prior translation work, without requiring any file transfers, preserving both the content and formatting.
“So much company information is shared across a range of media — the Web, newsletters, manuals, brochures, online Help, tutorials, and podcasts to name just a few. Yet too often, the complexity of using disparate tools based on proprietary technology makes repurposing content difficult, expensive, and time-consuming,” said Anthony Olivier, MadCap CEO. “With our expanded MadCap software family, for the first time, businesses will have a highly integrated set of products, with all the reusability of XML, for easily and effectively delivering and managing corporate knowledge across all the channels required to reach employees, customers, partners, and others.”
MadCap Product Family
The MadCap family features twelve integrated products for content development and delivery, collaboration, and localization. The solutions are based on the same common native XML architecture with Unicode support that drives MadCap’s flagship product, Flare, the industry’s first native XML multi-channel, single-source content authoring solution. In less than two years since its first release, Flare is already in use by 25 percent of technical documentation professionals, according to the Writer’s UA 2007 annual survey of tools. All products also utilize MadCap’s patent-pending XML user interface, which enables users to take advantage of the power, flexibility and integration of XML — without ever writing a line of code.
Authoring
— MadCap Blaze — the new, next-generation authoring solution for
creating long, complex print documents provides advanced authoring
capabilities; output to multiple sources, including Adobe FrameMaker
and PDF, Microsoft XPS and Word; and integration with MadCap Lingo,
Flare, Capture, Analyzer, and X-Edit.
— MadCap Flare 4.0 — the latest version of Flare for single-source print
and online publishing offers “master project linking” of common
elements across multiple projects; direct output to PDF and XPS; and
enhanced print publishing with the incorporation of Blaze
functionality.
— MadCap X-Edit — the new robust document environment makes it easy for
“occasional contributors” to create short documents, as well as edit
and send documents to Flare or Blaze users for inclusion in projects.
It also supports native PDF and XPS; and integration with MadCap Lingo,
Flare, and Blaze.
— MadCap X-Edit Express — the new light version of X-Edit is a free
solution for sharing, reviewing, and annotating Flare and Blaze
projects.
— MadCap Press — the new XML-based page design and layout solution
enables the design of traditional “glossy” media, including newsletters
and magazines, using multiple article flows and graphics. It also uses
variables and conditional text to customize content for different
audiences; and supports PDF and XPS output.
Collaboration, Reporting, and Analysis
— MadCap Team Server — the new product automates and manages content
across the enterprise. It features integrated source control and a
content management database for leveraging content development efforts.
It also enables authors to automatically schedule, build, and publish
Flare or Blaze projects, as well as share and manage all localized
content across the enterprise, facilitated and enhanced by direct
integration with MadCap Lingo.
— MadCap Analyzer 1.5 — the first software to proactively suggest
document development improvements is being enhanced with several new
reports and suggestions on how to improve products, including “index
suggestions.” It also offers easier installation via SQL Compact. It is
integrated with Flare and Blaze.
— MadCap Feedback Server — the current version is the first server-based
feedback system that provides Web 2.0-enabled collaboration among team
members and the readers of their documentation, including blog-style
comments and ratings. It is also available as a hosted service, the
MadCap Feedback Service. It is integrated with Flare and Blaze.
Multimedia
— MadCap Mimic 2.0 — the enhanced version of MadCap’s software for
developing intelligent software simulation movies and demos provides
additional output support for Microsoft Silverlight and XPS, as well as
Adobe AIR and PDF.
— MadCap Capture 2.0 — the current version of MadCap’s software for
screen capture and graphics editing.
— MadCap Echo — the current version of MadCap’s Web 2.0 audio function
software.
Translation and Localization
— MadCap Lingo 1.5 — the newest version of MadCap’s XML-based, fully
integrated translation memory system and authoring tool eliminates the
need for file transfers in order to complete translation. Version 1.5
extends integration beyond Flare and Blaze to also include Mimic and X-
Edit. It also offers enhanced support for the Translation Memory
eXchange (TMX) format and third-party translation memory integration.
Availability
The beta version of Blaze is now available as a free 30-day trial release, which can be downloaded