In The Press
MadCap Mimic 3.0 and Capture 4.0 Feature MovieSync and Extended Single-sourcing for Simulation Movies and Graphics
Industry Firsts in MadCap Mimic and Capture Enhance Reuse and Extend Single-Source Delivery to Cut Production Time
La Jolla, CA, USA – February 25, 2009 – 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 that MadCap Mimic 3.0 and Capture 4.0 are now available. Mimic is MadCap’s native XML, state-of-the-art software simulation application. Capture is MadCap’s native XML, cutting-edge screen capture and graphics editing software, which is designed specifically for documentation professionals. The newest product versions introduce industry firsts with MovieSync for quickly transferring movie properties between different Mimic movie versions, as well as expanded single-sourcing via conditions, targets, and reusable movie frames and images. With these features, users can save tens of hours on a single project.
MadCap MovieSync, new to Mimic 3.0, is an industry-first function that allows users to take two different Mimic simulation movie versions, align the frames that are the same in each movie, and then automatically transfer the properties from the old version to the new one. These properties include objects (e.g., shapes, cursors, typing boxes), timing, sizes, and more. Because many simulation movie versions have a high number of identical frames, MovieSync removes much of the manual labor required to add objects, such as cursors and animated typing boxes, and ensures that their timing is correct. In doing so, MovieSync not only cuts time, but also ensures that the new movie looks and behaves the same way as the old one.
Mimic 3.0 and Capture 4.0 both streamline production with condition tags and targets—new functions for expanded single-sourcing that represent additional industry firsts in software for creating simulation movies and capturing and editing images.
Condition tags in Mimic 3.0 let users tag movies, movie frames, or objects within movie frames for use, depending on the conditions. For example, condition tags can allow variations based on required usage and/or audiences. As in Mimic 3.0, condition tags in Capture 4.0 indicate the circumstances under which certain image content will be included or excluded. For instance, an image might have one callout object for advanced users and another for beginning users. Condition tags for “advanced” and “beginner” can ensure that the right callout appears with the image.
The use of condition tags for images and movies will be enhanced further with the next releases of two products that are already tightly integrated with Mimic and Capture: MadCap Flare for multi-channel content authoring and MadCap Blaze for authoring long print documents. Mimic and Capture will be able to automatically access any condition tags created in these next versions of Flare and Blaze. This integration will build on the unique and powerful cross-product, single-sourcing, variable support that exists today and allows changes in Flare and Blaze to occur simultaneously in Capture and Mimic, as well.
Targets in Mimic 3.0 enable users to generate multiple movie outputs from the same file. A target is simply one instance of a movie output type, and users can create as many targets as they need, with different settings for each target output. Targets used in conjunction with condition tags let users specify elements to be included in some outputs but excluded from others. Targets supported today include the Mimic Movie Format (MMF), Microsoft Silverlight 2.0, Adobe Flash, and Adobe AIR. In Capture 4.0, targets remove the need to create a copy of an image for each output format. Now users can save an image to multiple profile targets simply by placing check marks next to the profiles they want to use.
Object enhancements and Auto-Save also are new to both Mimic 3.0 and Capture 4.0. Object enhancements take two forms. First, object groups let users join objects into an object group, which then acts as a single object. Objects can be easily ungrouped at any time. Additionally, object anchors “lock” the positions of objects, so that they stay in place even if an image is cropped or resized. Meanwhile, the Auto-Save function protects work in progress and allows users to set the frequency with which files are saved.
“A company’s simulation movies and graphic images typically share many properties—whether due to the similarities of products and services being shown or corporate branding. However, most solutions require the same content to be recreated several times over,” said Bjorn Backlund, MadCap Software co-founder and CTO. “These two new releases are filled with industry-first features to eliminate that redundancy, resulting in greater consistency and maximum content reuse for faster time to market.”
Mimic 3.0 offers several other new productivity features for creating simulation movies.
- Frame libraries and master frames enable users to reuse movie frames in two ways. Frame libraries let users store often-used frames so that they can quickly insert them into movies later, eliminating the need to produce multiple versions. Meanwhile, master frames allow the reuse of objects and other elements, facilitating consistency and cutting time. Users first create a master frame. They next associate the master frame with any movie to apply its elements (buttons, image objects, etc.) to all the movie frames. Users can then selectively remove elements from those frames where they are not applicable.
- Advanced Silverlight 2.0 output options, including the ability to specify how many frames to load before a movie begins playing.
- Drag-and-drop frames to easily move them around within a movie.
- Timeline toggle button, which lets users automatically adjust the timing of objects in proportion to any changes made to the movie frame.
Additional image capture and editing features in Capture 4.0 include:
- Profile enhancements for either profiling an existing image or cloning an existing profile to create a new one. The ability to apply a profile to any existing image removes the need to recapture an image in order to create a new profile for it. A user just opens an image that is using settings from one profile, and then with the click of a button, can select the settings from another profile. Profile cloning helps users to quickly and easily create new profiles that share many of the same settings. The user simply clones a profile, and then adjusts the new profile as necessary.
- Use of images from clipboards; users can create a new image by capturing whatever is on their Windows clipboard.
- Maximizing a cropped image and returning it to its original size now just requires a single button-click.
Like all MadCap documentation and authoring solutions, Mimic and Capture offer Unicode support for all left-to-right languages; access to these XML files is especially useful for translating movies into a range of Western and Asian languages. Additionally, Mimic works with MadCap Lingo, the industry’s only fully integrated translation memory system and authoring tool. Both Mimic and Capture are part of MadPak, the industry’s only true single-source suite for multi-channel publishing. Other solutions include MadCap Flare for multi-channel authoring; MadCap Analyzer for analyzing, reporting on, and recommending improvements to a project’s content; and MadCap Echo for Web 2.0 audio functions.
Availability and Pricing
MadCap Mimic 3.0 and MadCap Capture are available today, both separately and as part of the MadPak. A standalone Mimic package is priced at $299 per single-user license. Capture is priced at $89 per single-user license. The MadPak, which also includes MadCap Flare, X-Edit,
Echo and Analyzer, is available for $1,299 per license. Support fees are $199 per year for the Bronze Level, $299 for the Gold Level, and $499 for the Platinum Level. Discounts for multiyear support contracts are also available.
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.
