• Comment: Not encyclopedic, but more an advertisement of the product. Not ready for WP:NSOFT - Signed by NeverTry4Me Talk 00:39, 5 August 2022 (UTC)

Dr.Explain
Developer(s)Indigo Byte Systems LLC
Initial release1 July 2005; 19 years ago (2005-07-01)
Stable release
6.4[1] / May 12, 2022; 2 years ago (2022-05-12)
Operating systemMicrosoft Windows
PlatformPC
Available inEnglish, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Brazilian Portuguese, Russian, Dutch, Turkish, Sweden
TypeIDE
LicenseShareware
Websitewww.drexplain.com

Dr.Explain is a Windows-based help authoring tool published by Indigo Byte System LLC.

Features

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Program allows a technical writer to create documentation in various formats, such as CHM (HTML Help), HTML, PDF, and RTF. It also has the ability to generate code for the C++, Delphi, and Visual Basic programming languages to integrate the generated CHM help files into the applications. Also Dr.Explain includes user guide templates and image annotation automatic tools for rapid[2] documentation creation. The software also has the capabilities to create electronic educational resources in online and PDF formats.[3]

The program allows capturing application windows or web pages and automatically adds annotations to interface elements on screenshots. This approach is functional when describing the functionality of software as it partially automates the creating of documentation.

The program provides the possibility of multi-user work through Dr.Explain collaboration servers.

History

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The section lists the most essential version updates[4] of Dr.Explain software since its initial release in the Summer of 2005.

Dr.Explain 1.2. The first public release of Dr.Explain. (July, 2005)[5]

Dr.Explain 1.5. The multi-byte languages support were introduced. (September, 2005)[6]

Dr.Explain 2.0. The functions for customizing the visual style with CSS, indexing by keywords in CHM, spell checking were added. (August, 2006)[7]

Dr.Explain 2.5. Menu capturing, context sensitive help IDs support, validation tools, and 40 new features were added.(March, 2007)[8]

Dr.Explain 3.0. Images, tables, lists, font styles, and user-defined variables support were added. (March, 2008)[9]

Dr.Explain 4.0. The program's GUI was completely remastered. (Macrh, 2010)[10]

Dr.Explain 4.1. The program was translated into 9 languages. The functions of annotating images, exporting to PDF and inserting HTML fragments have been added. Also it became possible to import documentation from various formats to Dr.Explain. (October, 2010)[11]

Dr.Explain 4.5. The screenshot annotation templates constructor was introduced . (December, 2011)[12]

Dr.Explain 4.10. Social network integration and instant PDF preview were introduced . (March, 2013)[13]

Dr.Explain 5.0. The program introduced the possibility of team-work and collaboration through a cloud service Tiwri.com (September, 2014) [8]

Dr.Explain 5.5. The x64 platform support was introduced. The further x86 platform support and development has been stopped. (September, 2017)[14]

Dr.Explain 6.0. The program's GUI was remastered and new simplified screenshot capturing tool plus improved content editor were added. (April, 2020) [14]

Dr.Explain 6.3. The collection of user guide and knowledge base templates was added to the program. (November, 2021) [4]


Awards

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  • On the G2 Crowd website, Dr.Explain is regularly marked with a High Performer award (from Spring 2018 till Spring 2022)[15] in the category of "help authoring tool" (HAT) software, and is placed in the list of top help file authoring tools.[16] The G2 Crowd score is based on the ratings from real users, which takes into account the factors, such as the ease of use, ease of setup, quality of support, compliance with requirements, and others.
  • On November 20, 2015, ComponentSource awarded the Indigo Byte Systems LLC with Dr.Explain as a single listed product with Top 100 Publisher Award.[17]. The allocation of the awards has been calculated based on real sales orders placed by verified customers globally during 2014.
  • On September 02, 2013, Dr.Explain has been reviewed by Frederick Barton, a software review editor at FindMySoft. Based on the user interface, features and complexity, Findmysoft has awarded Dr.Explain with Essential award.[18]

Events

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Dr.Explain team regularly participates and sponsors professional events on software development and technical writing:

  • ESWC: European Software Conference, 2021[19]
  • ISDEF: Independent Software Developers Forum, 2017[20]
  • Delphi Developer Days, 2017[21]
  • UA Europe: An annual conference for technical communicators, 2013[22]
  • Tekom tcworld conference, 2010[23]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Dr.Explain Download Page". Dr.Explain.
  2. ^ Achtelig, Marc. "The list of Rapid help development tools by Indoition". Indoition. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
  3. ^ "Software tools for creating electronic educational resources in the resource-based learning process". Journal for Educators, Teachers and Trainers JETT, Vol. 12 (3), 2021; ISSN: 1989-957. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
  4. ^ a b "Dr.Explain Version History". Dr.Explain. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
  5. ^ "Dr.Explain User Reviews at CNET". CNET Download. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
  6. ^ Marnie, Hutcheson (18 October 2019). "New Stuff: Resources for Your Developer Toolbox". MSDN Magazine, December 2005 issue. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
  7. ^ "Developer Product Briefs: The latest products for VSM readers". Visual Studio Magazine, September 2006 issue. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
  8. ^ a b "Dr.Explain Changelog at Softpedia". Softpedia. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
  9. ^ "Dr.Explain Version History at Software Informer". Software Informer. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
  10. ^ "Dr.Explain 4.0 Enables Rapid Creation of Software Help Systems to Speed up Software Rollouts". Benzinga. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
  11. ^ "Dr.Explain 4.1 - Innovative Help Authoring Suite Localized for Local European Markets and Latin America". PRWeb. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
  12. ^ "Dr.Explain 4.5 - A new version of the best help file and manual authoring tool". YouTube. December 2011. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
  13. ^ McAndre, Colum. "Dr.Explain 4.10 review". Communicator (Spring 2014): 36–39. ISSN 0953-3699.
  14. ^ a b "Dr.Explain News at ComponentSource". ComponentSource. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
  15. ^ "G2 Crowd - Dr.Explain Reviews". G2 Crowd. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
  16. ^ "G2 Crowd - Help authoring tools". G2 Crowd. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
  17. ^ "Bestselling Publisher Awards for 2014-2015". ComponentSource. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
  18. ^ "Dr.Explain Editor's Review at FindMySoft". FindMySoft. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
  19. ^ "European Software Conference and Epsilon Award". ESWC. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
  20. ^ "ISDEF - Independent Software Developers Forum 2017 Sponsors". ISDEF. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
  21. ^ "Delphi Developer Days 2017 Tour Sponsors". Delphi Developer Days. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
  22. ^ "Exhibition and Vendor Presentations at UA Europe 2013". UA Europe. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
  23. ^ "It's worth taking part! - Tekom". Yumpu. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
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Category:Online help Category:Technical communication tools Category:Screenshot software