Posts Tagged HelpXplain
HelpXplain Maintenance Update: Build 1854
Posted by Alexander Halser in Software Updates on October 17, 2024
We have updated HelpXplain to version 1.8.4 build 1854. This update does not introduce any new functionality, but fixes a problem with text objects sometimes being cut off at the bottom. If you face this problem with existing Xplain files, please re-apply the font size for the text objects affected by this problem.
Furthermore, this update handles two occasional error messages better. One error has been fixed, the second is being properly reported.
All updates are available from our download page.
SnipSVG and HelpXplain Maintenance Update
Posted by Alexander Halser in HelpXplain, Software Updates on August 16, 2024
We are glad to announce the immediate availability of SnipSVG 1.4 and an updated version of HelpXplain 1.8.4.
SnipSVG 1.4
- Paste from clipboard: additional support for SVG data implemented. SnipSVG understands the ‘image/svg+xml’ format as well as plain text. If clipboard contains regular text starting with “<svg”, SnipSVG attempts to insert the SVG data as image.
- Insert SVG icon: problem with initial size calculation fixed (width and height always preferred the viewbox attribute)
- Favorites button: this button is now always enabled. When empty, it shows an info text with a link to the corresponding help topic.
- F1 help: more detailed context-sensitive help when pressing F1
- Formatting text: when applying a text format to a partially selected text, the caret sometimes vanished.
HelpXplain 1.8.4
- Creating screencasts: the layout and options dialog for screencasts includes a new option: Enlarge cursor icon. The cursor symbol of screencasts recorded on displays with high resolution (Windows scaling > 100%) had a different size than in screencasts recorded at scaling 100%.
- Paste text from clipboard: if the text on the clipboard contained HTML tags (brackets), the special characters were not escaped.
- Formatting text: if the text contained literal HTML code (e.g. “<b>Text</b>”), the content was taken as raw code, resulting in the removel of the brackets.
- Insert SVG icon: problem with initial size calculation fixed (width and height always preferred the viewbox attribute)
All updates are available from our download page.
SnipSVG and HelpXplain Updated
Posted by Alexander Halser in HelpXplain, Software Updates, Utilities on May 14, 2024
We are glad to announce the immediate availability of SnipSVG 1.3 and an updated version of HelpXplain.
SnipSVG got new object alignment functions (similar to HelpXplain, which already had them for quite a while) and both apps implement improved clipboard handling: when copying images to the clipboard, some programs (Microsoft Outlook, for instance) do not place the actual image on the clipboard, but a HTML fragment with an embedded picture. Both, SnipSVG and HelpXplain can now read and paste this format.
In SnipSVG, we have implemented a list of default sizes for social media postings. This app is ideal to create this kind of images, but you had to know the typical sizes by heart. The new helper function sets the picture frame to a dedicated size, so that your social media postings look perfect.
As a result of a dedicated picture frame size, we realized that it would be a good idea to implement object alignment functions. Normally, you move objects around and resize them as you like, then simply auto-size the picture frame. For a dedicated frame size, however, it is helpful to have the reverse option and move/resize objects to the picture frame. The six new arrangement options are implemented in the Edit > Arrange menu.
SnipSVG 1.3
- Can paste images from clipboard in HTML format
- Share to clipboard as PNG: if the picture had a transparent background, the PNG image on the clipboard was misinterpreted by some programs (resulting in a black background, not transparent)
- Share to HTML/RTF: when sharing an image with numbering tags, the numbering table used wrong symbols for tags > 10.
- Default sizes for social media postings implemented next to the picture width/height settings.
- Object alignment functions added in Edit > Arrange.
HelpXplain 1.8.3
- Can paste images from clipboard in HTML format
- (Object alignment functions were already implemented in earlier versions)
All updates are available from our download page.
SnipSVG 1.1 Update
Posted by Alexander Halser in Software Updates on March 13, 2024
We are glad to announce the first update of SnipSVG, our new free screen capture and image editing tool for Windows and macOS!
SnipSVG uses SVG vector images as its primary format. SVG images can be used directly in HTML and many other applications. They give you the same sharp quality at all zoom settings, and unlike JPG or PNG images you can always edit all the elements of the image separately.
SnipSVG for Windows and macOS
Changes in Version 1.1
- Windows version, minimize to tray: the option to save all tabs has been changed to “close all tabs”
- Load from SVG: bug fixes when reading numbering tags and text objects from SVG
- Share with numbering tags: numbering tags with labels use the label text for the description table
- Share as RTF with numbering tags: numbering table descriptions are black text (they had picked up the color of the numbering tag before)
- Paste from HelpXplain: paste of entire slides disabled, all pasted objects become unlocked and visible.
- Paste file link to an SVG file from clipboard created an error
- Toolbar Select button now not just ends insert mode, but clears selection as well
Download
Please download SnipSVG from the SnipSVG homepage.
Maintenance Updates: HelpXplain and Help+Manual
Posted by Alexander Halser in Help+Manual, HelpXplain, Software Updates on March 11, 2024
We are glad to announce the release of HelpXplain 1.8.2 and Help+Manual 9.4.2. If your maintenance plan includes the release date (March 11, 2024), this is a free update. The quickest way to find out, is to start HelpXplain/Help+Manual and click Help > Check for Update.
Help+Manual 9.4.2
- Picture Toggles: right-click context menu offers a “Picture >” entry with the commands Edit with external editor, Show in Explorer and Reload.
- HTML Export: role and scope attributes for table headers added. Single-cell tables such as toggle tables include the attribute role=”cell”. Table headers <th> tags include the attribute scope=”col” or scope=”colgroup” for multiple columns.
- HTML Export: compilation of .SNIPX prefers the local xplainCmd.exe over any installed version of HelpXplain.
- Screen Capture: SNIPX added as native save format for screenshots.
- Windows 10/11 long path names (> 260 characters) enabled in manifest file. Updated Webhelp export and updated HM2Go to support long path names.
HelpXplain 1.8.2
- Image Crop Tool: new rounded corners button implemented
- Powerpoint Import: German umlauts and some special characters were not converted correctly
Download
All updates are available from our download page. Download and install the update over your existing version.
Get a Picture of SnipSVG!
Posted by Alexander Halser in Documentation Authoring, Help+Manual, Utilities on February 21, 2024
We are glad to announce the official release of SnipSVG, our new free screen capture and image editing tool for Windows and macOS!
SnipSVG uses SVG vector images as its primary format. SVG images can be used directly in HTML and many other applications. They give you the same sharp quality at all zoom settings, and unlike JPG or PNG images you can always edit all the elements of the image separately.
SnipSVG for Windows and macOS
More about SnipSVG
https://www.helpandmanual.com/snipsvg/
SnipSVG at a glance
- Use on Mac and Windows. Copy between the two when running Windows in a virtual machine.
- Unique screenshot capabilities on the Windows version. Make additive screenshots with diverse components in a single operation.
- Works hand-in-hand with Help+Manual (see below).
- Scores of shapes, arrows and highlighters. Apply shapes to images and rounded corners to screenshots.
- Number the steps in your images with auto-incrementing numbering tags.
- Single-click styling for elements with multiple themes and variants.
- Hide sensitive information in your screenshots with pixelate and blur.
- Effects for selected areas include magnifying glass, skew, sharpen, plus drawing and paint effects.
- Share your pictures with other applications fast as files and by copying, also between Mac and Windows.
Using SnipSVG with Help+Manual
SnipSVG is already tightly integrated into Help+Manual and is designed as a replacement for the old image editor Impict. H+M version 9.4.1 understands the native .SNIPX file format, so you can use this image format in topics as you can use Impict’s .IPP file format. Older versions of Help+Manual can still use SVG and PNG images created by SnipSVG. By the way, SnipSVG is able to open .IPP images and convert them into its new vector format.
For detailed information about SnipSVG and Help+Manual, please refer to this documentation page. Here is a quick getting-started guide:
- Download and install SnipSVG for Windows
- Get the latest update to Help+Manual 9.4.1
- If you are using HelpXplain on the same computer, please update to HelpXplain version 1.8.1 (HelpXplain is not required, but if installed, please update to 1.8.1)
- Open Help+Manual and click “Program Options“, choose SnipSVG as the default image editor:
- Now you are ready to go:
Download
Please download SnipSVG from the SnipSVG homepage.
Maintenance Updates in February
Posted by Alexander Halser in Help+Manual, HelpXplain, Software Updates on February 2, 2024
We are glad to announce the immediate availability of Help+Manual 9.4.1, an updated Translation Assistant and a small update to HelpXplain 1.8.1.
New features and changes in…
Help+Manual 9.4.1
- Confluence import has been updated. The Confluence import now recognizes more macros and skips older versions of the same page.
- Topic Editor: support for horizontal scrolling implemented: works with 4-directional mouse and with SHIFT + mouse wheel and support for trackpad gestures (in particular left/right swipe) implemented
- Paste function: understands the SnipSVG share format
- Help context numbers: if a topic contains multiple help context numbers, they are now sorted automatically when the topic is saved. The background for this sort is not just convenience, but we want them to appear sorted in the XML project file as well. When a version control system compares XML source lines, it is very likely to sort them alphabetically. The sorted XML structure should prevent a VCS from mixing up two sources.
- Insert Link dialog: checkbox added to replace the link caption with the variable <%TARGETTITLE%>
- HTML Export: right-aligned and centered images with a fixed size and without a caption and with hotspots were exported without alignment.
- HTML Export: if a PDF snippet was enclosed by <IF> tags, one page of the PDF was missing in the output (this affected the HTML output only, PDF export did properly include all selected pages).
- EPUB export: if an IPP image was used for the EPUB cover picture and the IPP contained a callout object, the IPP image could not be converted.
- General: improved support for the SNIPX image format, which belongs to SnipSVG. When creating HTML (Webhelp/eWriter/Ziphelp), it exports SNIPX images as SVG.
Help+Manual Translation Assistant 9.4.1
- Topic Editor: support for horizontal scrolling implemented: works with 4-directional mouse and with SHIFT + mouse wheel and support for trackpad gestures (in particular left/right swipe) implemented.
- Insert Link dialog: checkbox added to replace the link caption with the variable <%TARGETTITLE%>
- Support for the SNIPX image format implemented
HelpXplain 1.8.1
- Improved mouse wheel and trackpad support: mouse scroll works with 4-directional mouse and with SHIFT + mouse wheel. Trackpad gestures for left/right and up/down swipe as well as pinch-to-zoom implemented.
- New SVG library implemented: if you add SVG images to slides in HelpXplain, the design-time display offers better support for gradients and shadows.
- Object shadows: small modifications to match SVG shadows more closely with design time.
- Copy & Paste operations: updated for compatibility with SnipSVG. You can copy & paste individual objects between SnipSVG and HelpXplain.
All updates are available from our download page.
HelpXplain 1.8.0 Maintenance Update
Posted by Alexander Halser in HelpXplain on November 23, 2023
We are glad to announce the release of HelpXplain 1.8.0. If your maintenance plan for HelpXplain includes the release date (Nov 23, 2023), this is a free update. The quickest way to find out, is to start HelpXplain and click Help > Check for Update.
Favorites Tool and Format Painter
We have implemented a favorites tool, where you can store objects that you want to re-insert regularly. This is a very comfortable function to store customized objects and have them ready for insertion whenever you need them. Favorites are stored in a hidden Xplain file, which you can open and edit to modify your favorites list.
The second really convenient new function is a Format Painter. It works in the very same way as it does in Help+Manual, or in MS Office.
Minor Changes and bug fixes in v1.8
- New additional numbering steps – with text label attached
- Canvas background: a transparent background option has been added. This option is less important for animated presentations. But if you use HelpXplain to annotate screenshots, it creates transparent PNG files.
- Object Shadows can now be centered as well
- Shadow direction is displayed independently from the object rotation (and keeps its position when rotating the object)
- Function “Fit Slide to Objects” improved: it’s more exact and uses a more detailed positioning analysis.
- Shape text editor: F2 starts edit and ESC cancels edit
- Command line compiler XplainCmd.exe can now export single-slide Xplains to SVG
- HelpXplain can open and edit .SnipX files (more on that later)
- Bug fix: a change of line caps was not restored by the undo function
- Bug fix: undo did not work after image modification with the Skew tool
- Bug fix for multiple instances of HelpXplain (64 bit only)
- Bug fix in script file: when slides were made invisible in HelpXplain, the slide index was mixed up in the output HTML file, causing slide animations not to run.
Download
All updates are available from our download page. Download and install the update over your existing version of HelpXplain.
HelpXplain 1.7.1 Maintenance Update
Posted by Alexander Halser in HelpXplain on October 21, 2023
We are glad to announce the release of HelpXplain 1.7.1. If your maintenance plan for HelpXplain includes the release date (October 21, 2023), this is a free update. The quickest way to find out, is to start HelpXplain and click Help > Check for Update.
HelpXplain 1.7.1
This is a small update with just a couple of new features:
- Support for Ziphelp in the Publish dialog
- Three new line types: bent curve, s-curve and zigzag
- When inserting an overview slide, the function optionally inserts links to all other slides
Download
All updates are available from our download page. Download and install the update over your existing version of HelpXplain.
HelpXplain 1.7 Released
Posted by Alexander Halser in HelpXplain on July 2, 2023
We are glad to announce the release of HelpXplain 1.7. If your maintenance plan for HelpXplain includes the release date (July 2, 2023), this is a free update. The quickest way to find out, is to start HelpXplain and click Help > Check for Update.
HelpXplain 1.7
We haven’t had many updates of HelpXplain in the last 2 years, it stood back behind Help+Manual and the Translation Assistant. That’s going to change, because we have several plans with HelpXplain.
For one thing, we are working on a new screenshot editor that’s going to replace Impict, which has been shipping with Help+Manual for many years. The new screenshot editor with seamless integration into Help+Manual will be based on the library of HelpXplain. The new save-as-SVG function (see below) is one leg of that journey.
Despite this is just a point update, there are several new features:
- HelpXplain is now 64 bit. The setup includes both the 32 and 64 bit versions with English and German user interface.
- The setup can install either for all users (requires admin rights) or just for the current user (without admin rights).
- You can choose the examples folder during the setup.
- Insert shape dialog: new basic shapes, new numbering tags with auto-numbering in several styles!
- Callout shapes support multiple pointers.
- You can export a single slide in SVG format (in addition to JPEG/PNG/etc.).
- When copying selected objects to the clipboard, the clipboard will also contain a transparent PNG image of the selected objects. This is a convenience function: if you use HelpXplain as an ad-hoc image editor, it makes copy and paste really simple.
- DeepL translation adds 5 new languages: Turkish, Ukrainian, Indonesian, Norwegian (Bokmål) and Korean.
- Several minor issues fixed (mostly drawing glitches on high-resolution monitors).
New Features in Detail
The really big news are new numbering tags with auto-numbering and callouts with support for multiple pointers. Internally, the numbering tags are treated like callouts and support multiple pointers as well:
New shapes in Version 1.7Another new feature is a little bit hidden, but nonetheless an important one. HelpXplain can export a single slide in SVG format, in addition to PNG/JPEG/etc. SVG is a scalable vector graphic that you can use on any web page, including documentation created with Help+Manual. HelpXplain embeds all data from the slide and creates a single SVG file with no external dependencies. The beauty of SVG is that it freely scales, which means that the content of the picture scales to whatever resolution is required.
How to save a slide as SVG
Zoom-in to an SVG image created with HelpXplain
Download
All updates are available from our download page. Download and install the update over your existing version of HelpXplain.