WYSIWYG XML editing

Help & Manual 5 is a true WYSIWYG XML editor that doesn't require any knowledge of XML or XML coding skills. You work as you would in a familiar word processor like Word, but you also have full access to the XML source if necessary.

Pure XML

The source format of Help & Manual 5 is XML.

Your projects are saved as XML files, either directly in a folder with subfolders, or in a single compressed file that contains the subfolders. No matter how you choose to store it, the XML format is consistent throughout the entire workflow.

Save menu

 

Easier localization of help projects

With XML as the source format you can now use computer aided translation tools directly on the help project sources without any conversion or export/import cycle. If you want you can also edit your H&M topics and projects directly with XML editors.

Workflow integration for 3rd party tools

XML as the primary save format opens the door to direct integration of 3rd party tools in your Help & Manual workflow.

In other words, you can integrate the output of other tools (e.g. source code documentation tools) with Help & Manual and review and edit and polish your pre-generated documentation with your favorite help authoring tool.

We plan the integration of Microsoft Sandcastle for a later 5.x update of Help & Manual.

 

 

Read on: Publishing with skins