Welcome the May 2009 Newsletter, bringing you the latest news and product information.

Release Information

An update for Document! X (6.1.1.2) is now available for download from the Innovasys web site. This update includes compatibility with the Internet Explorer 8 release version.

Help 3 Support

Help 3 is the new help technology being developed by Microsoft for use in Visual Studio 2010. Although it is still very early days, we are already working with Microsoft to ensure that Document! X fully supports Help 3. We are committed to supporting Help 3 and will keep you posted on developments as this new technology starts to take shape.

Engage your help users with Community Extensions

Following a recent survey we were surprised to find many of our existing customers weren’t aware of our Community Extensions functionality and the benefits that it can bring to your help systems.

Community Extensions can be enabled in Document! X with a single click in the Community Features page of the Document! X project. Community Extensions brings a more community based feel to the Help, allowing private notes, ratings and comments to be added to the Topics by end users and authors alike. Community Extensions is an invaluable tool for gathering feedback, correcting errors and enhancing coverage in the documentation.

Community content can be reviewed and moderated directly from a Community Content page integrated with Document! X or from an email notification generated whenever new Community Content is created. Community Content can be marked as Read, Approved, Rejected, Edited or Deleted.

The server component of Community Extensions can be hosted by Innovasys or purchased and installed on your own server. A license for Community Extensions is available free of charge if you hold 5 or more licenses for either Document! X or HelpStudio. Contact sales@innovasys.com for more details.

More information on Community Extensions, including screenshots and example, can be found on the Innovasys website here. To download an example Help File that is configured for Community Extensions click here.

Choose the Template to use when editing a Content File

When adding extra content to your API documentation, a WYSIWYG representation of how the Help will look in the output is an invaluable tool for refining the look and feel of the Help. It also provides the opportunity to preview Templates, or preview changes to your Custom Templates.  

You can choose a specific Template to use when working in the Content File Editor. This option can be found by clicking on the Content File properties button located above the tree view in the Content File and selecting the Template you would like to apply in the Full Page Edit / Preview combo box.

Choose the Template to use in the Visual Comment Editor

The same concept can be applied to the Visual Studio integrated Visual Comment Editor. Working in an editing environment that accurately represents the look and feel of the actual Help can be essential when authoring documentation.

The Template you would like to use within the Visual Comment Editor can be selected in the Visual Studio options page found in the Tools / Configuration dialog in the main Document! X IDE.

See the Source Code XML comments while authoring in the Content File (.NET only)

When using the Content File to add extra information to the documentation, it is useful to see the existing XML Comments while editing. This gives a clear idea of not only the Project Item’s function but also how the Help for that item can be enhanced.

This option can be selected by clicking on the Show the properties of this Content File button located above the tree view within the Content File.  The Show content from source comments when editing setting can be enabled here.

Tips and Tricks

Use the correct phrases for your chosen language

When authoring in a non English language, you can choose the language to use for pre-defined common phrases (e.g. “See Also”, “Members” etc). The Phrase Languages that are shipped with Document! X 2008 are Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Russian, Simplified Chinese and Spanish. The phrase language can be set within the Template and Locale page in the Document! X Project Editor.

Other Tips and Tricks

·         Filter which items are shown in the Content File tree view using the Show Protected, Show Friend and Show Private members. These options are selected using the toolbar buttons directly above the Content File tree view.

·         Move to the next undocumented item using a toolbar button in the Content File tree view or by using the Hotkey Ctrl + Shift + N.

·         Move to the previous undocumented item using a toolbar button in the Content File tree view or by using the Ctrl + Shift + P.