In The Press
MadCap Flare 4.0 Adds Enhanced Print Publishing Capabilities, New Inter-Project File Sharing, and Integration with MadCap X-Edit Collaboration Tools
MadCap Flare 4.0 Adds Enhanced Print Publishing Capabilities, New Inter-Project File Sharing, and Integration with MadCap X-Edit Collaboration Tools
La Jolla, CA, USA – September 8, 2008 — MadCap Software, the leader in multi-channel content authoring and a showcase company for Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) Visual Studio 2005 and Microsoft XPS, today announced the launch of MadCap Flare 4.0. The latest Flare version adds dozens of new, one-of-a-kind features for single-source, multi-channel publishing.
Headlining the new features in Flare 4.0 are the extensive print functionality of MadCap Blaze, which debuts today; the ability to single-source files across multiple projects; and tight integration with the new MadCap X-Edit tool—enabling very streamlined document review and contribution workflow. Together, these features transform Flare from a leading-edge online authoring solution to the first application that provides comprehensive, best-in-class functionality for publishing both print and online content.
MadCap Flare 4.0 is the newest version of the industry’s only native-XML content authoring software for single-source publishing. Flare also addresses the needs of global enterprises with full Unicode support for authoring content in any left-to-right language, including French, German, Italian, Spanish, Swedish, Chinese, Japanese and more. Because all MadCap products are built on the same XML-based architecture, Flare can be used both independently and as part of a complete, seamlessly integrated documentation workflow—from authoring to collaboration, analysis, translation and publishing.
Enhanced Print Publishing Features
Flare 4.0 brings a multitude of new features for publishing print-based content that make the publication process easier, smarter, and more powerful. One of the most significant is a new dual-mode editor for print and Web content, which lets authors quickly switch gears from an online to a print-based display. Flare 4.0 also provides the ability to publish print content directly to resolution-independent, device-independent formats (e.g., PDF, XPS), without the use of intermediary applications, such as Microsoft Word and Adobe® FrameMaker®.
“In the wake of broad high-speed Internet access and a 24x7 global economy, a significant percentage of content traditionally associated with print publishing has moved to the Web. However, enterprises relied on separate tools for print and online publishing to get robust functionality for each of these channels, adding unnecessary complexity to creating and updating content. Flare 4.0 solves that dilemma because it is specifically designed to produce both online and print-based output equally well,” said Bjorn Backlund, MadCap cofounder and CTO. “With Flare 4.0, people have a single application for creating content once and then publishing it in as many channels and formats as needed—backed by best-in-class functionality to create the ultimate customer experience whether in print or online.”
In addition to the dual-mode editor and direct print features, Flare 4.0 delivers robust, highly configurable auto-numbering for volumes, sections, paragraphs, and pages. It also supports the ability to create a mini table of contents (TOC) for single chapters or sections, as well as generate headings in the output based on the TOC structure. Other print-oriented enhancements include support for page layouts, context-sensitive cross-references, footnotes, heading variables, hyphenation control, short-line elimination, widow and orphan control, and the ability to zoom or scale pages.
Global Project Linking
Flare 4.0 adds project-level features to manage content within and across projects, bringing unprecedented power to single-sourcing. At the highest level, the new Global Project Linking allows authors to reuse files and elements across multiple projects. As a result, large teams working on different projects can simply link to a repository of shared files—such as product and company logos, product descriptions, product images, master page layouts, and style sheets—to add them to their Flare projects, ensuring consistency and eliminating redundant efforts.
MadCap X-Edit Integration
Flare 4.0 also simplifies collaboration through integration with the new MadCap X-Edit set of tools. With X-Edit Contribute, subject-matter experts can open contribution templates created for them by the Flare author and use them to create content with the correct styles and project formatting options—all through an easy interface that offers Microsoft Word-like simplicity. Employees who only need to review content can use the free X-Edit Review to make edits or annotations. Using X-Edit Contribute and X-Edit Review frees authors from having to manually enter content from coworkers or import and reformat Word text, speeding content creation and facilitating consistency.
“Web communications are transforming more subject experts into content contributors,” said Mike Hamilton, MadCap vice president of product management. “Flare 4.0 together with X-Edit Contribute and X-Edit Review are greatly lowering the barriers to tapping these rich resources of insight and knowledge. For the knowledge worker, adding copy or comments is as simple as working with a wiki or Word document, while Flare and the X-Edit tools automatically maintain the format defined by the documentation team. It’s the best of both worlds.”
Customers Praise Flare
“We are excited about the new updates to Flare 4.0, in particular the new MadCap X-Edit collaboration tools,” said Debbie Richards, president of Creative Interactive Ideas. “X-Edit allows us to work in a seamless collaborative environment with our clients for the creation, review and update process. We can create the initial Flare content and then hand it over to our subject-matter experts to update and maintain. They don’t need to know Flare; they work in an environment that they are used to.” Ms. Richards added, “When we delivered our initial Flare projects, our clients loved the results. With the enhanced feature set, we can go back and offer the additional updates that will take their projects to the next level—and allow them to be self-sustaining in the future.”
“With each release, MadCap adds new features that really have a positive effect on the bottom line. Recently, Flare became the tool that allowed my team to successfully complete a project in record time,” said Rahel Anne Bailie, president of Intentional Design. “Many of my clients need to publish content to multiple channels, so I am excited that Flare 4.0 adds the ability to publish directly to PDF, XPS and a number of new Web-based formats. I do an analysis each time I choose a tool for a project; more and more often, I’m choosing Flare.”
Availability and Pricing
MadCap Flare is available today and is priced at $899 per license. Customers also can upgrade from their current version of Flare or from a competing product for $499 per license. Flare is also available as part of the MadPak, the industry’s first true single-source suite for multi-channel publishing. Other solutions in the MadPak, which sells for $1,299 per license, include MadCap Analyzer, MadCap Capture for screen capture and graphics editing, MadCap Mimic for creating software simulation movies, and MadCap Echo for Web 2.0 audio functions. MadCap Flare and the MadPak are backed by a range of service and support options, delivered by MadCap’s US-based team of documentation experts. Fees for support start at $449 per year.
About MadCap Software
MadCap Software is a trusted resource for thousands of companies around the globe for single-source, multi-channel authoring and publishing solutions designed to streamline the process of developing and delivering training content, learning and development programs, technical documentation, online Help, knowledge bases, and more. From authoring, publishing and translation, to cloud-based content management system, to contribution and review in the cloud, you can streamline content delivery and manage the entire content development lifecycle with MadCap Software. MadCap Software’s services include product training, consulting services, translation and localization, and an advanced developer certification program. Headquartered in San Diego, California, with offices in Austin, TX, MadCap Software is home to some of the most experienced software architects and product experts in the content development industry.
