Thinking Windows, a leading provider of billing software solutions for Australian water authorities, has long embraced MadCap Flare’s single-source publishing to improve efficiencies and eliminate redundancies.  But it also uses Flare for its new device-agnostic mobile output — and recently was able to deliver online Help to GPS-enabled mobile devices around Australia in less than 30 days.

“We have long recognized the importance of delivering online documentation to an increasingly mobile workforce,” says Stephen Tearle, director of Thinking Windows.  “With Flare 6, for the first time there is a technical communication product on the market for device-agnostic, single-source publishing to handheld and mobile devices.  Now instead of carrying around instructional cards, the field operators have easy Web access to the information they need.”

Read the full case study here: Thinking Windows Delivers Mobile Web Help in Less Than 30 Days with MadCap Flare

Scriptorium

Sarah O’Keefe and Matt Arnold will be representing Scriptorium at the STC Summit in Dallas next week. If you’re attending the conference, be sure to visit our booth to meet Sarah and Matt, pick up some chocolate, and get a free copy of our updated white paper compilation, The Compass (while supplies last).

If you’re not attending the STC Summit, you still have a chance to pick up conference swag from us by visiting our virtual booth—a short survey that asks the same questions we ask conference attendees. During the survey, you can also ask us questions about any challenges you’re facing with developing and distributing technical content.

Complete the survey by May 5th (the day the STC Summit ends), and we’ll enter you into a drawing to win one of six copies of  The Compass—and the winners get some chocolate, too. No Scriptorium conference booth would be complete without chocolate!

SnagIt

Capture anything you see on the screen. Edit and combine those captures. Share them via your favorite applications. Organize and find them again later. The more you use SnagIt, the more ways you’ll find to use it!

Want to get a laugh? Add a speech balloon to that photo of your cat and fire it off in an instant message.

Need to make an impression at work? Capture that sales chart and point out important details with a sleek-looking arrow. SnagIt can turn a simple screenshot into a powerful information graphic.

SnagIt is versatile, yet surprisingly simple! As one SnagIt user said, “It’s as basic or as powerful as you need it to be.”

Maybe that’s why millions of people worldwide love using SnagIt, in a million different ways.

Learn more and download a free 30-day trial of Snagit at: www.techsmith.com/snagit.asp.

Blog Sponsors

• Webworks ePublisher
• Scriptorium
• Help Generator help authoring software
• Southern Polytechnic: Information Design and Communication
• Simplified English
• MindTouch
• Madcap Software
• Dr.Explain
• Adobe Technical Communication Suite
• Congree

Camtasia 5 not only excels in voice, but allows you publish the files in a variety of formats that best fit the type of recording. Camtasia Studio is also easy to use. Overall, I think TechSmith’s products are right on target.

You’ll see some Camtasia ads on the sidebar and at the bottom of posts. It’s part of my advertising model — I choose a product I like, and then offer to exchange advertising on my blog in exchange for a free license of the product. Chances are, I’ll probably write a few posts about the tool as well. When enough users click the ads (determined by the product’s value), I’ll remove the ads and put ads for different products there. This advertising model not only helps monetize my blog, it also gives me new tools to write about, and makes me more knowledgeable.

Note that, despite the blog sponsors, the content of my posts will always remain Tom’s authentic opinion. I’ll never write a post promoting a product that I secretly despise.