AuthorIT V4 Released

AuthorIT V3.x has been around for over two years, and has been gaining in popularity as a relatively low-cost content management system—this month, a long-awaited Version 4 was released.

Developed in New Zealand, AuthorIT was conceived from the outset as a format-neutral authoring environment that would be capable of generating a range of different types of user assistance—these currently include WinHelp, HTML Help, JavaHelp, and XHTML.

As with many powerful and flexible software tools, the interface is complex—even writers with experience using another Help authoring tool will find themselves reaching for the beginner’s tutorial. Having said that, the developers of AuthorIT state that one of their priorities for the V4 release was to make the product simpler and easier to use.

To current V3.x users, the most obvious changes are in the text editor (see figure below). Enhancements include new drag-and-drop creation of hyperlinks and embedded content, and richer support for tables.

Other V4 improvements include:

• A rules-driven import capability that no longer relies on Microsoft Word macros—you can now import from a range of different source types, including FrameMaker, WinHelp projects, HTML Help projects, and Word documents
• Much faster publishing times—the publisher runs in the background, and the developers claim their benchmarks show it to be at least 10 times faster than the current publisher for all outputs

The tool continues to be based on an object-oriented environment in which content elements (such as images or standard pieces of text) can be easily re-used, thus eliminating inconsistencies and reducing maintenance effort. In the current climate of companies seeking to reduce costs and maximize the value of their information resources, it’s an option that many may wish to consider.

The new AuthorIT V4 was demonstrated at the 11th Annual WinWriters Online Help Conference Exhibition.