A basic help authoring tool, Help Cruiser is perfect for those who are new to this field. It offers a wide range of knowledge base templates to choose from, flexible formatting options, and a modern ribbon-style interface that offers various visual themes. What more? You can even import files directly to your help document and speed up the process of content creation.
One of the top help authoring tools in the market today, MadCap Flare supports the whole content development cycle from writing and importing content to designing and publishing it. The tool is carefully designed to meet the needs of instructional designers, technical communicators, and learning and development professionals. So, whether you wish to build technical documents, training manuals, or corporate intranets — MadCap Flare offers the right solution.
Some of the key highlights of this software are drag and drop import, topic-based authoring, user and team management, translation management, and multi-channel publishing. The best part? You can do this without the help of web developers or coding expertise. ClickHelp is a simple and fuss-free help authoring tool that takes your documentation to the next level. Author great content, improve its performance with insightful reports and save significant time across all stages of document creation.
This cloud-hosted help authoring software allows you to author, manage, and publish your documentation on a single portal. One important thing to mention is that it is always best to choose complex combinations when creating a password, so using a password generator is advisable. Other significant features of ClickHelp include smooth navigation, flexible roles and permissions, quick migration of existing content, and single sourcing.
It has a responsive layout that works well on desktop as well as mobile devices. Its topic templates help in customizing the look and feel of your help files.
HelpSmith offers ready-made design themes, a built-in screenshot tool, a word processor, and easy file importing options. The tool also supports Facebook and Disqus comments. As compared to other market-leading help documentation software, HelpSmith lacks advanced features and functionalities. In case you are searching for a high-level authoring tool, HelpSmith may not fit your requirements. This web-based help authoring tool helps you create top-quality technical documentation in one collaborative space.
Topic-based authoring and a powerful content reuse system save you a tremendous amount of time during document creation.
You can use this help authoring software to write fresh content or import files and produce documentation in multiple formats such as help files, user manuals, ebooks, and more. Responsive to multiple devices of different screen sizes, HelpNDoc can be used to create documentation on your favorite devices. A simple user interface, advanced table of contents editor, powerful topic editor, project-wide media library, automatic spell check, and project analyzer are some of the key highlights of this help authoring tool.
HelpScribble is an easy-to-use and fully-featured help authoring tool that helps you create online documentation, printed manuals, WinHelp files, and more. In addition, the tool allows you to add hyperlinks to the content and create new topics with a single click.
In case you already have existing content created using another help authoring software, you can import the same using help decompiler and reuse it in your current document. HelpScribble is best suited for creating documentation for your software products and publishing it in a format of your choice — web help, HTML help, printed manual, and more.
HelpScribble is not a cloud solution, so you will have to download it to access its features and benefits. HelpGenerator is the right choice if you are looking to create CHM files, browser-based help files, and printed user documentation.
Its robust set of features help you stay productive at work and produce quality documents. The tool features an online help editor that makes content authoring extremely easy. You can create topic pages from any part of your application using the Help Generator add-in.
Topic templates provide a defined style and layout, making it easy for you to craft help articles quickly. This help authoring tool helps you identify broken links in your document so that you can fix them before publishing.
It also supports single-sourcing, allowing you to write text once and publish it across the document. HelpGenerator is not a cloud-based tool. Download its latest version to explore the features it provides.
We know that zeroing in on the best help authoring tool from the scores of options available is a daunting task. You need to have a complete understanding of what each tool offers and how it can help you meet your requirements. Chalk out your requirements, go through the online free help authoring tools list given above, and shortlist the ones that fit your criteria. Go for their trial versions if they offer and then make the final choice. Brayn is a knowledge management expert.
As a customer support specialist at ProProfs, Brayn has been instrumental in building a robust knowledge base and documents that help support executives keep every customer delighted. You can catch up with Brayn on Twitter and LinkedIn. Survey Maker Create customer satisfaction survey for free. We believe software should make you happy Learn more about us. July 15, Last modified: December 23, Best for : Dr.
Explain is useful for software development companies that need an affordable solution, whether freelancers, studios, or larger companies. For those who need to explain and create help documentation for their software, Dr. Explain could be a good fit. Do you have a multinational team or customer base?
Then this help authoring software might be of interest. It also supports various font faces, including Unicode, which makes it possible to create help documentation in, for example, Arabic or Chinese languages. Best for : ClickHelp is for teams who need a robust help authoring software but want to skip the complexities. This cloud-hosted solution boasts support for rich topic content, such as quizzes, videos, and survey forms. Apart from single-source authoring, you can also reuse content across different projects.
One handy feature is the conditional content ability to tag content for different users, meaning that you can save the more advanced help content for developers. The tool also features convenient tools for external content creation and content review. The version control system makes it possible to work offline or edit remotely. The system checks out the topics as they are added and then adds them back in and compares them with the previous version when you finish editing.
Best for: Confluence is built for sharing your public and internal technical documentation. You also have the option of purchasing third-party apps and custom themes for extra features. Confluence is particularly attractive for teams who want a solution that integrates well with other tools. Depending on your needs, you can choose to host the software yourself or go for a cloud-based solution. While Confluence is a reliable option, it may be too advanced for smaller teams looking for a simple help authoring tool.
Here are a few things to keep in mind:. Many of the dedicated help authoring solutions focus on one thing: customer support. However, Helpjuice offers a powerful knowledge base that can do much more — it is a complete knowledge management solution. Try us out for free for 14 days. Return To Blog. Written by: David Oragui Published: June 16 In this post, we'll discuss: What a help authoring tool is Why you should consider using help authoring tools The best help authoring solutions Some simple tips to get you started with creating useful help documents What Is Help Authoring Software?
Some of the basic features you can expect from any help authoring tool include: Adding a source text that you can compile into different formats, called single-source authoring Import and export help documentation Editing text, code, or data Managing indexes, tables of contents, or images Adding multiple authors to collaborate on the same text Customizing the interface, so it fits your brand A few tools offer more advanced features, such as customization, increased security functions, and analytics tools.
Why Use Help Authoring Software? There are several advantages to using help authoring tools. You can: Save time with single-source and topic-based authoring. Write a text once, then compile it into different formats from the same source. Easy to write, easy to edit, easy to update. Collaborate on documents. Let the team write, comment, and edit together in one document to get the best customer support material possible.
No more wasting time searching for the latest document version or trying to gather scattered comments into one document. Go multi-language. Serving customers in multiple languages can quickly turn into a headache. The right help authoring tool makes it easy to switch to the correct language — both for your team and for your customers.
Skip excessive coding. No need to build and maintain a platform from scratch — instead, use a tool that already has all the features you need.
Improve your SEO. Your customers might turn to Google before they go to your website. We all know how Google loves well-structured, interlinked, keyword-rich content, so your help documentation will rank highly.
A help authoring software helps you establish a content hierarchy with indexes or tables of contents, link related content, and expand on popular topics. Highlights : Google-like search help customers find the right answer, quickly Interactive questions guide customers to a tailored solution — for example, based on the product model or software version.
Source The interface is minimalistic and allows you to switch views between author, code, and preview. Source A library of templates speeds up content creation. Highlights : Project-wide media libraries Advanced table of contents editor Automation of repetitive tasks with the script editor HTML5-based websites or online help documents Automatic check for broken or misspelled links in the documentation Paligo Best for : The cloud-based Paligo brands itself as a heavy RoboHelp and Madcap competitor.
Highlights : XML- and topic-based authoring Authoring, versioning, and content management functions Topic-based reuse of content Workflow tools for reviewing drafts, translations, and comments Single-sourcing of content into Salesforce HelpSmith Best for : HelpSmith is excellent for those who want an easy-to-use tool that produces simple help web pages and documents.
Source The single media repository for media, such as images and videos, makes it easy to use files in several different projects. Explain Best for : Dr. Source Do you have a multinational team or customer base?
Source One handy feature is the conditional content ability to tag content for different users, meaning that you can save the more advanced help content for developers. Source The version control system makes it possible to work offline or edit remotely. Highlights : WYSIWYG-editor and interface similar to Microsoft Office Translation tools connected to ICanLocalize translation services Version control system makes it possible to work offline Templates and skins create a coherent look Tools for screen-capturing, QR-code generation, and graphics editing Confluence Best for: Confluence is built for sharing your public and internal technical documentation.
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