HelpSmith Team’s Blog

The Conference for User Assistance
Memphis * March 11-14

The focus of the Conference for Software User Assistance is on developing the best possible user experience for all types of software applications through well-designed interfaces and helpful and accessible support information.
Featuring 35 of the top experts in the user assistance field.

All the details are available:
http://www.writersua.com/conference/index.html

We have released HelpSmith version 3.5.3 that includes some improvements and minor bug fixes:

• Support for the new video format MP4 added;
• Fixed an issue with using Asian languages (Chinese, Korean,  Japanese) in the Table of Contents of an HTML Help system (CHM);
• Other minor improvements and bug fixes.

You can download the latest HelpSmith version using this link.

We have released HelpSmith version 3.5, which is available in the download area of our website. This update mainly includes improvements and fixes of some issues reported by our users. Also, we’ve changed the registration system, which means that registered HelpSmith users will need a new license key to upgrade to the latest version. Of course, the users who have a license for HelpSmith 3.x will get new license details for free according to our upgrade policy.

I have a license(s) for HelpSmith 3.x, how do I get my new license details?

If you have a license(s) for HelpSmith 3.x, simply create a support ticket and provide us your current license information such as Order Ref. Id, Registration Email, or simply send us your current license key. So we will be able to find your existing license(s) information in our customer database and will provide you a new license key.

Important: Please note that for security reasons, we can send your new license details only to the email address you used when registering. Thus, please make sure you have access to the original email address and use it when creating a ticket. This will significantly speed up the upgrading process.

Upgrading from previous HelpSmith versions (2.x and below)

If you have a license(s) for previous releases of HelpSmith (versions 2.x, 1.x), you can upgrade to the latest version with a significant discount. For more details, please visit the Upgrade page.

Latest version updates of HelpSmith, which introduced new features and fixes to some minor issues, have actually made the product one of the most quality help authoring tools available on the market today. And this is confirmed mainly by the feedback we get from HelpSmith users everyday. We are nevertheless working hard on making the product even better and also on providing quality technical support answering any questions from existing HelpSmith customers and from users who are in the process of evaluating the trial version of the product.

HelpSmith Updates

As many of you could notice, we often release new updates of the product. Such minor versions usually include small feature updates or fixes of the issues found by the users. Thus, we’ve recently fixed an unexpected problem with using transparent images, and a problem that happened if you accidentally copy/paste a multi-line text into the title field in topic properties. Also, we’ve added a new option for hyperlinks, which is useful on Web Help systems in some cases: now you can open external hyperlinks not only in the topic’s frame or in a new tab or browser window, but also on the topmost frame (that is the new page will fill the entire Web Help system’s window). There are also other improvements that have been made thanks to the feedback from our customers.

Technical Support

Providing quality support services is an important part of our work on a help authoring tool. A while back, we successfully integrated an on-line Help center with our website, which eliminates the problem of undelivered emails and also gives us the possibilities to work with user requests much more efficiently. At the same time, we are still available by email. So if you have questions regarding HelpSmith, please do not hesitate to contact us.

HelpSmith and Windows 7

In addition, we are proud that HelpSmith has successfully passed Microsoft-designed tests for the “Compatible with Windows 7″ logo a while before. This proves that the product is actually designed for and works perfectly on the latest Windows version. Again, we would like to thank all of you for choosing HelpSmith as your help authoring tool and for your feedback that makes it possible for us to provide a great help authoring product used by lots of technical writers and software developers around the world!

We are pleased to announce the release of HelpSmith 3.4. The new version introduces the ability to insert custom HTML code into individual help topics and into topic templates. You can use this feature to insert video from YouTube, add Google Analytics tracking code to your Web Help system, and for many other similar purposes.

Now HelpSmith can automatically convert filenames used in WebHelp into lower case to prevent potential access issues on UNIX-based systems (that have a case-sensitive file system). Also, it can generate SEO friendly URLs, which are based on the topic textual Ids.

In addition, the new version allows you to compile help projects from the command line. This is useful when you want to automate the compilation of your help project, for example, along with creation of your software product builds.

What’s New in HelpSmith 3.4:

• The ability to insert custom HTML code into help topics and topic templates.
• Compilation from the command line is now supported.
• New Web Help option: automatic conversion of file names into lower case (useful on UNIX based systems).
• New Web Help option: SEO friendly URLs (automatically replaces all “_” characters in topic Ids with hyphen characters “-”).
• The ability to reassign Context Ids for all of for a selected range of topics (menu command: Tools|Context Tool).
• Fixed an issue with copying and pasting content containing PNG images.

Links
You can download the latest HelpSmith version using this link.

We are pleased to announce the release of HelpSmith 3.3. The new version includes improved Unicode support, the possibility to use video clips in Flash and other formats, better security and compatibility of Web Help with recent versions of the Google Chrome browser, as well as some other new features and improvements.

Below is the full list of changes made in HelpSmith 3.3:

New Features and Improvements:

• Improved Unicode support: all text controls now allow you to type text in multiple languages simultaneously.
• Added the possibility to use video clips: Flash (SWF), QuickTime, and other formats are supported.
• Web Help running from the local machine is now compatible with recent versions of Google Chrome.
• Improved the Search feature in Web Help: the found keywords are now highlighted in topic text.
• Two options added: “Force UTF-8 for URls” and “Force UTF-8 for mailto links”.
• Better security of Web Help.
• The names of user variables are now Unicode.

Minor bug fixes:

• It is now possible to use national characters in the names of video files.
• The code page set for an individual topic was ignored and the similar project option was used instead.
• The Table of Contents did not display Unicode characters in case if the project used an ANSI code page.
• Fixed an issue with using transparent PNG images.
• Fixed minor issues with resizing some tables.
• Fixed an issue with using the Greek language in the Table of Contents of an HTML Help system.

Links
You can download the latest HelpSmith version using this link.

Recently we’ve released a minor HelpSmith update, version 3.2.1. This new version adds an option Insert Mark of the Web for Web Help systems. Some HelpSmith users complained that Internet Explorer displays a yellow Security Warning Bar when viewing a web help system that runs from the local machine, or from a remote computer in the corporate Local Area Network.

The problem occurred because Internet Explorer considers such a web help system to be located in a non-restrictive Internet Zone. According to the Microsoft’s documentation, it is recommended to insert a Mark of the Web to all web pages which will be viewed from a CD, local computer, and also for web pages that include frames, in order to map the web pages to a more restrictive Internet Zone.

The Insert Mark of the Web option in HelpSmith is turned on by default, so your users will not have to click on the warning bar in Internet Explorer every time they need to access the help system. You may leave the option checked when you upload a Web Help system to your web server: in this case the help system will always run in a restrictive Internet Zone; however, the Mark of the Web in its pages does not conflict with the official documentation either.

You can download the latest HelpSmith version by clicking this link.

We are pleased to announce the release of HelpSmith 3.2. This new version introduces new features, includes important improvements and minor bug fixes.

New Possibilities

• A completely new spell checking engine and dictionaries for different languages are now available.
• A new customizable Project Merge feature with support for different Merge Modes, making it possible to import help topics, topic templates, and other elements from other help projects. This new functionality is useful for collaborative working on a single help system, for translation purposes, and for creating libraries of help topics and topic templates.
• The Tools|Export Context Numbers feature now supports C# and VB.NET formats.

Improvements

• The File|Import feature now restores the original folder structure and filenames of the graphical files, which are used in the imported HTML files. Also, imported PNG files now do not lose the extension.
• A number of improvements made to the Ruler tool: better working with different measurements; now the Ruler allows you to change a specific indent without changing the indents and tab stop positions, which are not the same for all of the selected paragraphs; other minor improvements made.
• The Media Repository window now displays icons for different file types.
• In Windows 7, the HelpSmith’s Task-Bar Button now displays the progress during the compilation of a help project.
• The Find window is now available at the Keyword Properties dialog-box similarly to the Browse for Topic(Template) dialog-box.
• The Find and Replace dialog-box now remembers search entries in case of an unsuccessful search.
• The Hyperlink, Contents Item, and Help Window dialog-boxes now save previously used URL addresses.
• The Contents Item Properties dialog-box now allows you to set an item icon as the default choice for a new contents item addition.

Bug Fixes

• Fixed problems with printing help topics from the HTML Help Viewer and from a browser program (for a Web Help system).
• Fixed a number of issues related to Bulleted and Numbered lists: incorrect behavior of the counter for multi-level lists; the tool-bar buttons Numbering and Bullets now use settings from the last selected item on the appropriate Tab at the Bullets and Numbering dialog-box, which makes it possible to configure the buttons; a new user interface for the Customize Level dialog-box, which also fixes an issue with setting a correct alignment mode due to using absolute positions; other minor fixes made.
• The buttons Decrease Indent/Increase Indent did not change the Level attribute of the selected paragraphs and did not move the tab stop which is used for the alignment of a Bulleted or Numbered list.
• The Paragraph Properties dialog-box now does not have an issue with setting the Indentation as Hanging. Now it uses absolute positions and allows you to select the Indentation mode similarly to Microsoft Word.
• Fixed a minor issue related to Tab Stops behavior in the HelpSmith’s word processor.

Links
You can download the latest HelpSmith version using this link.

We are pleased to announce the release of HelpSmith 3.1. This update includes improvements and minor bug fixes. You can find the full list of changes below.

Improvements

- Improved the HTML export engine used for the HTML Help and Web Help output formats.
- Added new pre-built topic templates to the New Template dialog-box.
- The built-in word processor now tries to recognize the correct text style or uses the Normal style when typing text after a non-text object.
- Implemented the “Add to Dictionary” command for the word processor’s right-click popup menu.
- The dialog-box for editing table borders now allows you to select all of the borders simultaneously.

Bug Fixes

- The Save button of the Print Preview window did not work in case when the default filename, generated by the Project’s or Topic’s title, contained unallowed characters.
- Some parameters of the selected table cells could not be modified simultaneously.
- The Properties command of the word processor’s right-click popup menu did not allow editing properties of a table.
- The Spell Checker’s option “Ignore Words in Uppercase” did not work for text with the “All Caps” attribute.
- Fixed a minor bug with graphical file filters in the Open File dialog-box.
- Other minor improvements and bug fixes.

Links

You can download the latest HelpSmith version using this link.

Tab Hockamier has written a review of HelpSmith on his blog “Coding Tools, Reviews, and Solutions”.

“Providing Help for desktop applications has been the bane of my development existence for years. I have tried building the html help files in web editors and then hooking the content in the Microsoft Html Help Workshop: what fun…”

Read More…