Foul Writer’s World

MadCap are putting another nail into the Adobe coffin for Technical Communication. Blaze is a direct competitor to Framemaker. But why use Blaze? If you already use MadCap Flare like I do, you have the ability to output Framemaker and Word files. But if you only ever create printed documentation why not use a program that specialises in it.

Flare and Blaze share the same editor engine, and essentially this release of Blaze will show what is next for Flare. One of the new features that i’m especially interested in is the new Subject Matter Expert review capabilities. Previously, to get an SME to review a document meant sending them the whole document. Why? Because I, like many other Technical Authors, don’t have the time to generate a reviewable product for the SME. It usually goes out as a Word document with a note to review pages x to y. But now with these new capabilites, Blaze helps send single pages/sections via email to an SME for review. All the information, pictures and style properties are wrapped up in a single file.

But so what? The SME now has something to read but how does that help. Well this is the clever bit. Madcap have produced another piece of software called X-Edit Xpress that allows a user to make edits and ammendments without needing to know the nitty gritty about formatting. The reviewed and edited document can then be sent back and incorporated back in the project.

To try the process out, Blaze and X-Edit Xpress sign up for the previews at www.madcapsoftware.com

Edit# Once I complete a thorough run down of the application i’ll be posting a review on the main page. For further details about Blaze and MadCap, I suggest taking a look at the following articles and podcasts:

• Tom Johnson (blog): Madcap Blaze’s Topic Review Feature: A First-of-a Kind Feature with an Interesting Workflow
• Charles Jester (podcast): MadCap’s VP Mike Hamilton Speaks! (Dec 7th, 2007)

Other related information

• News in Brief: W/E 14th June 2009
• Flare 4 out of the bag
• More Flare for all
• Flare release imminent?
• Huhh… and I call myself the FoulWriter
• DITA coming to an application near you!
• The tools I use
• MadCap release Mimic 2