Help Authoring Tools in Technical Communication

Technical Writers use help authoring tools for creating online help (application help). There are lots of help authoring tools in market. You can also find some few free tools like HelpMaker etc.

Top 3 Help authoring tool:
1) Adobe RoboHelp

Help authoring tool product from Adobe Company. RoboHelp is a commonly used application to create Help systems, Help for the Web, and user manuals. RoboHelp enables user you to create projects for:

• WinHelp - .hlp format
• Microsoft® HTML Help - .chm format
• WebHelp - designed for Web application (HTML format).
• JavaHelp - Sun Microsystems' standard for providing user assistance and electronic documentation for Java applets and applications.
• Printable format (PDF).

For more information and demo check Adobe official website.

2) Author-it
A product from AuthorIT Company, established in 1996. Basically Author-it intended for creating, maintaining, and distributing content.

Company quotes:
"The Author-it suite is based on the philosophy of One Source, One Solution. This means that once content is created, the information can be easily shared across multiple documents and published to a wide range of different print, help, and web formats."


Author-it can produce documentation in the following formats:

• RTF, PDF, or Microsoft Word format for printed documentation
• Microsoft WinHelp (Windows Help)
• Microsoft HTML Help
• Web and browser based help
• XML
• DITA (Darwin Information Typing Architecture)

For more information and demo check AuthorIT official website.

3) MadCap Flare

A product from MadCap Software, company was formed by software engineers who came from Adobe Systems and Macromedia. Flare is a powerful, XML-based professional content authoring and publishing software application.



Flare can produce different types of outputs like:

• WebHelp and  DotNet Help 
• PDF, XPS, and Word
• Microsoft Compiled HTML Help

For more information and demo check MadCap software official website.