Posted by Alexander Halser on August 21, 2022
We are glad to announce a maintenance update for Help+Manual 8.5. If you are using version 8 already and your maintenance plan includes updates until August 21, 2022, just download the setup and run it to update your current installation.
Help+Manual v8.5 includes the new eWriter Viewer 3.0 (32 bit) to create stand-alone EXE e-books and the configuration page for eWriter export has new export options: a product logo (shown on MacOS and Windows) and menu options for MacOS.
Please note that some export options for the eWriter format are depricated with the updated viewer and have been moved to the new command line options.
Please note: the new compound .snagX format is available with Snagit 2022 only. This file format is different to the old .snag file format.
Help+Manual 8.5 is available from our download page:
Posted by tim green on August 5, 2022
This posting is only for users hosting WebHelp in Germany with Google Web Fonts activated in their Premium Pack V3 or V4 skins. Due to a recent GPDR ruling by a Munich court, users in Germany can “abmahn” and possibly charge website operators for using Google Web Fonts because they send the user’s IP address to Google. If you are hosting anywhere else this posting is not relevant for you and you can stop reading here. Because of this, the rest of the post is in German.
Nach einem Urteil vom Landgericht München, verstoßen dynamische Google Web Fonts gegen das DSGVO, weil das System die IP-Adresse des Benutzers an Google übermittelt. Das öffnet Tür und Tor für Abmahnungen und Zahlungsforderungen durch Rechtsanwälte und Privatpersonen. Um mögliche Probleme zu vermeiden, müssen Sie so schnell wie möglich dynamische Google Web Fonts in Ihrem V3- oder V4-Skin von Premium Pack 3 oder 4 ausschalten, die WebHelp neu exportieren und neu hochladen.
Posted by Alexander Halser on July 26, 2022
We are happy to announce the immediate release of eWriter Viewer V3 for MacOS.
With this update, eWriter viewer version 3 is complete. The viewer is now available for end-users for Windows (Windows XP until Windows 11) and for MacOS 11 (universal binary for Intel/ARM).
Download:
https://www.helpandmanual.com/ewriter/index.html
eWriter Viewer on MacOS screenshot
If you use the ewriter format as application online help for your own software, the redistributable eViewer executables have been updated as well.
The developer package includes executables for Win32/Win64/MacOS for redistribution, a tester application for Windows and MacOS and the complete documentation. Please download the eWriter developer package from the link below.
Download:
https://www.helpandmanual.com/download/eviewer-v3-developer-redist.zip
eViewer Tester screenshot
Posted by Alexander Halser on July 14, 2022
We are happy to announce the immediate release of eWriter Viewer Version 3. This is an update to the Windows version, a MacOS version is coming soon.
The updated viewer has a slightly redesigned and even more reduced user interface – it integrates the toolbar into the title bar. The UI supports Windows light mode, dark mode, high-contrast modes and, of course, high-dpi monitors.
Multiple languages: the UI languages English, German, French, Italian, Russian and Spanish are built-in. When you redistribute the viewer for application online help, you can supply a custom language file to match the language of your application. Further customization of the UI is still possible in Help+Manual.
Beneath the surface, pretty much everything is new.
There is a new application design: while the old version created one instance per .ewriter file, version 3.0 creates just one single instance but opens a separate window for each file displayed. This is a huge improvement, because when using the viewer to display application online help, you can close all help files that your application might have opened with one single call – a “/close” parameter.
The viewer also comes with a new command line interface. The old command line interface that you you might be using now is still supported – no changes required. The new command line interface offers additional features and is identical to the MacOS version – we’ll get to that later.
Download the updated Windows eViewer directly from the eWriter website:
https://www.helpandmanual.com/ewriter/
We have been working on a MacOS version of the eWriter Viewer and it is getting close to release state. (Please contact support, if you are interested in testing the MacOS beta.)
Please watch this news feed for updates. The timetable for eWriter Viewer is approximately:
Posted by Alexander Halser on May 28, 2022
We are glad to announce a maintenance update for Help+Manual 8.4. If you are using version 8 already and your maintenance plan includes updates until May 28, 2022, just download the setup and run it to update your current installation.
Help+Manual 8.4.4 is available from our download page:
Posted by tim green on May 28, 2022
Help+Manual is so powerful and multi-faceted that there’s always something new to discover. Even though I write the documentation, I still continue to find things that our developers have added that I didn’t yet know about. This morning I was looking in the program directory and I noticed a file called ScreenCapture.exe. What? I started it, and lo and behold it opened a completely stand-alone screen capture utility:
A quick call with the developers revealed that this behavior is intentional. Yes, you can use Help+Manual’s ScreenCapture.exe as a standalone tool for creating screenshots. It stores the images it creates in the Windows Clipboard, from where you can then insert them in any other application with CTRL+V or the right-click Paste command.
Tip: The same tool is also available in the HelpXplain program directory.
This standalone capture utility has now been updated with the version 8.4.4 release of Help+Manual. It can do everything that Help+Manual’s integrated screen capture can do, with the exception of creating HelpXplain-style screencasts:
When you complete the capture in stand-alone mode you will be asked whether you want to copy the captured image to the Windows Clipboard or save it to a file.
Multi-part captures need a transparent background in the areas between the captured screen elements. When these captures are saved to the Windows Clipboard, they are stored in two versions: A 32-bit PNG image with transparency, and a regular bitmap without transparency, which is necessary for programs unable to handle transparent PNGs. Which version is inserted from the Clipboard is automatic and depends on the program in which you are inserting the image.
If you want to use it, just create a shortcut to ScreenCapture.exe and you’re ready to go.
Posted by Alexander Halser on March 23, 2022
These days we’re really having fun at the office. For a programmer, it is utterly satisfying to watch your own software performing automated tasks that normally take hours or even days to complete. And that defintely applies to our new Help+Manual Translation Assistant .
HMTA integrates the revolutionary DeepL AI-based machine translation system, with bulk translation and support for 24 languages. It can translate your entire project in just a couple of minutes, and the results are so good that they require minimum editing. This alone can save over 90% of your translation costs and time. It is, quite literally, nothing short of revolutionary.
If you translate documentation with Help+Manual, this new tool will definitely stir your interest and we want you to join the beta test (more on that after the break).
Posted by Alexander Halser on February 7, 2022
We are glad to announce the release of HelpXplain 1.6. If your maintenance plan for HelpXplain includes the release date (Feb 7, 2022), this is a free update. The quickest way to find out, is to start HelpXplain and click Help > Check for Update.
This maintenance update fixes a couple of small bugs.
Please download the update and install it over your existing version.
Posted by Alexander Halser on February 4, 2022
We are glad to announce a maintenance update for Help+Manual 8.4. If you are using version 8 already and your maintenance plan includes updates until February 4, 2022, just download the setup and run it to update your current installation.
Help+Manual 8.4.3 is available from our download page:
Posted by tim green on February 1, 2022
We are happy to announce the release of Premium Pack 4.4.0 with three new features and a wide range of other improvements and fixes. Sandcastle Tidy puts your Microsoft Sandcastle documentation import fully under the control of the project stylesheet. Caret browsing support for tabbed navigation in the TOC and header has been added to the V3 and V4 skins. The Update Skin Config tool for transferring your settings from old to new skins has been significantly improved, now showing you only the settings in your old skin that are different from those in the new skin.
You can download and install the updated version with the download link and personal installation password you received when you purchased. If you no longer have these details please contact support@ec-software.com and we will help you out. See the Premium Pack product page for more details on Premium Pack 4 and visit our online store to purchase if you do not yet have it.