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Latest Posts and News
HelpSmith 9.7 Released. Import Markdown Files, Paste Markdown Content from the Clipboard, Generate Topic IDs Automatically, and More!
May 19, 2023
We are pleased to announce the release of HelpSmith 9.7 (which you can download from our website) that now allows you to import Markdown (.md) files, paste content in the Markdown format into topics from the Clipboard, generate topic IDs automatically, and also includes other enhancements. Import Content from Markdown Files with HelpSmith Today many […]
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HelpSmith 9.6 Released. Insert QR and Barcodes, Easily Paste Content from Web Browsers, Set Positions of Titles for Control Annotations Manually, and More!
January 17, 2023
We are pleased to announce the release of HelpSmith 9.6 (which you can download from our website) that allows you to insert customizable QR and barcodes, adds the ability to copy and paste content with images from a web browser, allows you to set the desired Title position for control annotations in the Image Tool, […]
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HelpSmith 9.5 Released. New 64-bit Architecture, Support for .SVG Images, Improved Hyperlink Dialog, Links to Remote Topics in HTML Help Files, and More!
October 14, 2022
We are pleased to announce the release of HelpSmith 9.5 (which you can download from our website) that is now available as a 64-bit application, adds support for the Scalable Vector Graphics (.SVG) format, allows you to insert hyperlinks to remote topics in external .CHM files, includes a redesigned Hyperlink properties dialog, and other enhancements. […]
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Full-featured Help Authoring Tool
- Multiple output formats from a single source: HTML Help (CHM), Web Help, Printed Manual, Adobe PDF, MS Word, and ePub eBook.
- Full-featured word processor: dynamic styles, variables, spell checker for different languages, and Unicode support.
- Powerful Conditional Compilation capabilities based on build tags.
- Topic templates to customize the appearance of your help file or document.
- The ability to import content from HTML, MS Word, CHM, and other formats.
- And more...
Open XML-based Help Project Format for Teamwork and Translations
The unpacked .HSMP format allows you to store your topics, templates, and project settings as a collection of individual .XML files, which gives you the following advantages:
- Collaborative working on a help project with a version control system, such as GitHub, Subversion, etc.
- Compatibility with external translation tools.
- Possibility to edit project files with a plain text editor.
- Built-in XML Source Editor.
Create Screenshots with Various Annotations Easily
- Built-in Image Tool to capture and insert screenshots.
- Various annotations for images: rectangles, ellipses, arrows, balloons, lines, text labels, control annotations for UI elements, and other objects.
- Hotspots to create clickable areas on an image to link to a topic, or to an external URL address.
- Crop Tool to modify a captured screenshot by removing unwanted parts of the image.
- The ability to capture the mouse cursor.
- Flexible settings to customize the appearance of annotations.
Generate Topic Drafts for UI Documentation Automatically
- Control annotations for user interface elements demonstrated on a screenshot.
- Automatic generation of the topic draft where you can provide a detailed description for controls.
- The ability to recognize controls on a captured window.
- Customizable style schemes for control annotations.
Create a Responsive Web Help System
- Responsive layout compatible with desktop computers and mobile devices.
- Fully customizable Header, Footer and Mobile Header areas.
- Possibility to use custom JavaScript and CSS styles for topics and Web Help layout.
- Support for Facebook and Disqus comments.
- Easy integration with a website or application.
- Built-in web server for testing a generated Web Help system on the local computer.
- Easy integration with Google Analytics.
- Automatic Google XML Sitemap generation.
- Ready-to-use design themes.
Create a Responsive Web Help System
Advantages of the XML-based Help Project Format
HelpSmith Ultimate Edition allows you to use the unpacked .HSMP format for your help project which stores topics, templates, project settings, and other data as a collection of individual .XML files.
Saving a Help Project to the Unpacked XML-based Format
Thus, you can work on a help project collaboratively by using a modern version control system (e.g. GitHub, SVN, etc.), use external translation tools, or just edit project's files with a plain text editor.
“Simple and reliable”
“Its easy to get along with HelpSmith - even new users can get up to speed intuitively to produce content. We have used the product for years for our product help documentation and will continue to do so.”
“Helpsmith is full-featured and very reasonably priced”
“The program has more features than I would possibly expect at this price point and gets more every release. Very good quality also.”
“Helpsmith is a great tool for creating help systems”
“Organization is easy to achieve and maintaining consistent formatted information is super easy. Gone are the days of manual help system creation using the original Microsoft tool. Other tools do not have the suite of tools/methods contained in HelpSmith. Templates are helpful.”
“Easy to Use”
“I really like the flexibility of HelpSmith. It allows me to build my help menu the way I want it, and the multiple templates make it easy to keep consistency and professionalism throughout.”