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Adobe Systems (Nasdaq:ADBE) has announced Adobe Technical Communication Suite 4 software, the next generation of its single-source authoring and multi-device publishing toolkit for technical writers, help authors and instructional designers.
The new version of Adobes suite helps streamline the creation of popular standards-compliant technical content by leveraging native XML/Darwin Information Typing Architecture (DITA) support. It also enables authors to make technical information widely accessible on iPad and other tablets and smartphones by publishing to formats such as multi-screen HTML5, eBook and native mobile apps.
Adobe also introduced new versions of the suites core components: Adobe FrameMaker 11, an authoring and publishing solution for XML/DITA and unstructured technical content, and Adobe RoboHelp 10, a user-friendly authoring and multi-screen HTML5 publishing solution for help systems, policies, procedures and professional knowledge bases. Adobe Illustrator CS6, Adobe Captivate 6, Adobe Presenter 8 and Adobe Acrobat X Pro round out the suite, integrating graphics editing, e-learning and demo creation as well as dynamic PDF functionalities.
Todays consumers demand that technical content is easily consumable, interactive, searchable and available on-the-gochanging how content is created and delivered, said Naresh Gupta, senior vice president of print and publishing at Adobe, in a statement. Adobe Technical Communication Suite 4 brings together the newest versions of Adobes best-in-class software to address these needs while providing a high return on investment and low cost of ownership.
The latest release of Adobe Technical Communication Suite 4 offers tight tooling integration to help streamline, simplify and accelerate content creation and delivery workflows in todays multi-author, multi-reviewer environments. This results in shorter learning curves, lower training costs and higher adoption rates among technical communication professionals. Using the suite, organizations from large enterprises to small and midsized businesses can also track and analyze content usage and consumption patterns for continuous optimization.
Adobe Technical Communication Suite 4 integrates the latest versions of Adobes content creation tools to help users author, enrich, review, manage and publish high-impact technical content. With Adobe Illustrator CS6, Adobe Captivate 6 and Adobe Presenter 8, users can publish engaging content with stunning graphics, 3D images, interactive demos and more. With Acrobat X Pro, users can rapidly collaborate with review-capable PDF documents.
The powerful mix of tools in Adobe Technical Communication Suite 4 helps our clients create the right content, for the right audience, in the right format, and deliver it at the right time, Bernard Aschwanden, president of Publishing Smarter, said in a statement. Adobe Technical Communication Suite enables content creation and distribution and reduces manual overhead. This is the way software should work.
With Adobe FrameMaker 11, users can take advantage of lower transition costs and higher return on investment for migration to XML. With Adobe FrameMaker 11, content creators can natively author structured content using the new XML code view; enrich content with hotspots and enhanced 3D and video support; collaborate smarter and faster with PDF-based roundtrip reviews; and manage content with out-of-the-box CMS integration, Adobe said.
“Not all technical authors are the same, Scott Abel, editor and community manager for The Content Wrangler, said in a statement. That’s why it’s hard to select a single authoring tool that meets the need of each and every contributor. Adobe FrameMaker 11 acknowledges this problem and provides a much-needed solution in its new role-based views approach: Customizable authoring experiencesXML Code View for power using code junkies, Author View for writers, and WYSIWYG view for those who need a simple, desktop publishing view of the content being produced. The new suite is a much-needed addition to the professionals tool arsenal.”
Users also can leverage the new Adobe FrameMaker Publishing Server 11, the server version of FrameMaker 11, to automate high-volume, high-quality publishing processes for the delivery of content to tablets, smartphones and desktops using formats such as multi-screen HTML5, PDF, eBook, mobile apps, WebHelp, CHM and Adobe AIR Help.
Adobe RoboHelp 10 offers an easy-to-use authoring and multichannel, multi-screen HTML5 publishing solution to deliver help and policy content to Web, mobile, desktop and print platforms. Among other things, with RoboHelp 10, users can work in multi-author, multi-reviewer environments using collaboration and review features and native integration with Microsoft SharePoint for faster time-to-market.
Adobe RoboHelp 10 represents an important step in supporting the next generation of software applications, said Joe Welinske, president of WritersUA, in a statement. As more and more computing is done through mobile devices, it is vital to adjust the delivery of Help content. The support of HTML5, Media Query, and Multi-screen output in RoboHelp 10 assists technical communication professionals in reaching their objectives.
Adobe Technical Communication Suite 4, Adobe FrameMaker 11 and Adobe RoboHelp 10 are available in English, French, German and Japanese versions through Adobe authorized resellers and the Adobe Store. Estimated street price for Technical Communication Suite 4 is $1,899 (upgrades from $799). Adobe FrameMaker 11 and Adobe RoboHelp 10 are also available as stand-alone products for an estimated street price of $999 each (upgrades from $399).