Adobe Launches Technical Communication Suite 4

New Versions of Adobe FrameMaker and Adobe RoboHelp Power XML Workflows and HTML5 Publishing to Tablets and Smartphones

SAN JOSE, Calif. — July 24, 2012 — Adobe Systems Incorporated (Nasdaq:ADBE) today announced Adobe® Technical Communication Suite 4 software, the next generation of its single-source authoring and multi-device publishing toolkit for technical writers, help authors and instructional designers. The new version of Adobe’s industry-leading suite helps streamline the creation of popular standards-compliant technical content by leveraging native XML/Darwin Information Typing Architecture (DITA) support. It also enables authors to make technical information widely accessible on iPad* and other tablets and smartphones by publishing to formats such as multiscreen HTML5, eBook and native mobile apps.

Adobe also introduced new versions of the suite’s core components: Adobe FrameMaker® 11, a powerful authoring and publishing solution for XML/DITA and unstructured technical content, and Adobe RoboHelp® 10, a user-friendly authoring and multiscreen HTML5 publishing solution for help systems, policies, procedures and professional knowledge bases. Adobe Illustrator® CS6, Adobe Captivate® 6, Adobe Presenter 8 and Adobe Acrobat® X Pro round out the suite, integrating powerful graphics editing, eLearning and demo creation as well as dynamic PDF functionalities.

“Today’s consumers demand that technical content is easily consumable, interactive, searchable and available on-the-go – changing how content is created and delivered,” said Naresh Gupta, senior vice president, Print and Publishing at Adobe. “Adobe Technical Communication Suite 4 brings together the newest versions of Adobe’s best-in-class software to address these needs while providing a high return on investment and low cost of ownership.”

The latest release of Adobe Technical Communication Suite 4 offers tight tooling integration to help streamline, simplify and accelerate content creation and delivery workflows in today’s multi-author, multi-reviewer environments. This results in shorter learning curves, lower training costs and higher adoption rates among technical communication professionals. Using the suite, organizations from large enterprises to small and medium-sized businesses can also track and analyze content usage and consumption patterns for continuous optimization.

Product Highlights

Adobe Technical Communication Suite 4 integrates the latest versions of Adobe’s content creation tools to help users author, enrich, review, manage and publish** high-impact technical content. With Adobe Illustrator® CS6, Adobe Captivate® 6 and Adobe Presenter 8, users can publish engaging content with stunning graphics, 3D images, interactive demos and more. With Acrobat® X Pro, users can rapidly collaborate with review-capable PDF documents.

With Adobe FrameMaker 11, the leading authoring and publishing solution for XML/DITA and unstructured content, users can take advantage of lower transition costs and higher ROI for migration to XML. With Adobe FrameMaker 11, content creators can:

Natively author structured content using the new XML code view.
Enrich content with hotspots and enhanced 3D and video support.
Collaborate smarter and faster with PDF-based round trip reviews.
Manage content with out-of-the-box CMS integration.
Leverage the new Adobe FrameMaker Publishing Server 11, the server version of FrameMaker 11, to automate high-volume, high-quality publishing processes for the delivery of content to tablets, smartphones and desktops using formats such as multiscreen HTML5, PDF, eBook, mobile apps, WebHelp, CHM and Adobe AIR® Help.

Adobe RoboHelp 10 offers an easy-to-use authoring and multichannel, multiscreen HTML5 publishing solution to deliver help and policy content to web, mobile, desktop and print platforms. With RoboHelp 10 users can:

Deliver content to the iPad* and other tablets, smartphones† and desktops using output formats such as multiscreen HTML5, WebHelp, CHM, AIR Help, PDF, eBook and native mobile apps.
Work in multi-author, multi-reviewer environments using collaboration and review features and native integration with Microsoft® SharePoint for faster time-to-market.
Personalize and optimize content for relevance and search to improve content adoption rates.
Develop context-sensitive help with a host of usability enhancements.

Quotes from Industry Thought Leaders

Bernard Aschwanden, president and owner, Publishing Smarter

“The powerful mix of tools in Adobe Technical Communication Suite 4 helps our clients create the right content, for the right audience, in the right format, and deliver it at the right time. Adobe Technical Communication Suite enables content creation and distribution and reduces manual overhead. This is the way software should work.”

Joe Welinske, president, WritersUA

“Adobe RoboHelp 10 represents an important step in supporting the next generation of software applications. As more and more computing is done through mobile devices, it is vital to adjust the delivery of ‘Help’ content. The support of HTML5, Media Query, and Multiscreen output in RoboHelp 10 assists technical communication professionals in reaching their objectives.”

Scott Abel, The Content Wrangler, Inc.

“Not all technical authors are the same. That’s why it’s hard to select a single authoring tool that meets the need of each and every contributor. Adobe FrameMaker 11 acknowledges this problem and provides a much-needed solution in its new role-based views approach. Customizable authoring experiences – XML Code View for power using code junkies, Author View for writers, and WYSIWYG view for those who need a simple, desktop publishing view of the content being produced. The new suite is a much-needed addition to the professional’s tool arsenal.”

Pricing and Availability

Adobe Technical Communication Suite 4, Adobe FrameMaker 11 and Adobe RoboHelp 10 are immediately available in English, French, German and Japanese versions through Adobe Authorized Resellers and the Adobe Store. Estimated street price for Technical Communication Suite 4 is US$1899 (upgrades from US$799). Adobe FrameMaker 11 and Adobe RoboHelp 10 are also available as standalone products for an estimated street price of US$999 each (upgrades from US$399). For details on pricing, visit www.adobe.com/go/tcs_upgrade.

Helpful Links