Madcap Flare: Podcast Interview with Paul Pehrson, MVP in Madcap Software Forums

All About Madcap Flare: Podcast Interview with Paul Pehrson, MVP in Madcap Software Forums

January 19th, 2008 | Posted in Recom. Podcasts, Tech Writer Voices 16 Comments »

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Duration: 35 min.

Madcap Flare is one of the most powerful online help authoring tools on the market today. In this podcast, Paul Pehrson, MVP in the Madcap Software forums, talks about Madcap Flare in depth. If you create online help, this is definitely a podcast you should listen to. Paul is a really sharp guy and if you’ve ever participated in the Madcap Software forums, you’ve probably been helped by “Doc-Guy” (Paul’s alias).

(We recorded this interview in-person, since we actually work less than a mile from each other.)

Topics Discussed in this Podcast

Flare’s XML editor
Integration of Flare with source control
How Madcap addresses the entire writer’s workflow
Generating quality printed output from Flare
Cross-platform shortcomings
Thorough integration of CSS standards in Flare
Flare’s CSS editor
Flare’s learning curve — how long it takes to learn Flare
Variables and snippets
Indexes and insertion of index keywords within topics
Implementing variables across the entire workflow
Rewards from being a forum volunteer and moderator
Madcap Software’s family feel
Relevance of company size and location
Mike Hamilton, vice president of product management
Lingo and the single sourcing of content across images, topics, and outputs
Lingo’s efficiency with localization
Madcap’s responsiveness to blog comments and feedback
Feedback Server and topic-based comments
Balancing complexity with usability
Madcap Analzer and Feedback Server
Product/company image generated by blogs and user forums
The online help market in 5 years
Reasons for Framemaker’s stagnation
Qualities of companies that will succeed in the future
The best way to learn Flare

If you enjoyed this podcast, you’ll also like Charles Jeter’s recent interview with Mike Hamilton.

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Tags: authoring suites, authoring tools, Charles Jeter, content reuse, Feedback Server, Flare, knowledge base, Madcap Analyzer, Madcap Flare, MadCap Software, Mike Hamilton

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elephant.org.il says:

January 23, 2008 at 7:23 am

Madcap Flare Podcasts…

Madcap Flare is one of the best online help authoring tools on the market. Here are 3 podcasts on Flare and Madcap Software that you might want to check out. All About Flare: Interview with Madcap MVP Paul Pehrson. I talk with Paul Pehrson about Flare …

All about Flare by Communications from DMN says:

January 25, 2008 at 12:35 am

[...] a recent podcast, Tom Johnson spoke with Paul Pehrson about Madcap Flare. It’s a wide-ranging discussion that [...]

Technically Speaking » Flare podcast says:

January 25, 2008 at 1:08 pm

[...] is the linkLa jeux de casino gratuit est un jeu de roue, comme la Roue de Fortune à la télé. to Tom’s podcast post. He’s allowed me to embed the podcast here on my website, so you can listen to it from here [...]

Jörg Ertelt says:

January 27, 2008 at 1:25 pm

Hi,

I think it´s time to point at the activities in germany around MadCap and it´s products. As a reseller, HelpDesign provides a lot of services related to MadCap.

* Flare day (Event). Every year we perfom a single day presenting Flare and all other products of MadCap:
http://www.flare-anwendertage.eu/index.html

* The german speaking Flare-Forum (Forum for all other products of MadCap as well):
http://www.flare-forum.helpdesign.eu/

* The german speaking Knowlegdebase (current status: revision):
http://www.flare-knowledgebase.de/

* http://www.helpdesign.eu/software/madcap/index.html

Thanks.
Jörg

MadCap Software • View topic - Flare Podcast with Doc Guy says:

January 31, 2008 at 5:01 am

[...] 10:20 pm 28I just interviewed Doc Guy (Paul) for an in-depth podcast on Flare and posted it here: http://www.idratherbewriting.com/2008/01/19/madcap-flare-paul-pehrson/It’s an informative interview full of everything related to Flare — Flare’s strengths, weaknesses, [...]

All About Madcap Flare: EServer TC Library says:

February 1, 2008 at 8:25 pm

[...] all works in ‘Software’ View all works in ‘Madcap Flare’ All About Madcap Flarehttp://www.idratherbewriting.com/2008/01/19/madcap-flare-paul-pehrson/Pehrson, Paul and Tom H. JohnsonTech Writer [...]

Madcap Flare Spotlight — “Six Persistent Flare Problems” Post by Paul Pehrson | I'd Rather Be Writing says:

February 5, 2008 at 3:02 pm

[...] Writing: Practical Advice for Diversifying Your Skillset — Podcast Interview with Mark HaniganAll About Madcap Flare: Podcast Interview with Paul Pehrson, MVP in Madcap Software ForumsThe Impact of Social Media on Technical Communication — Podcast Interview with Bill [...]

skazemi says:

February 6, 2008 at 10:35 pm

Hello.
I need write a chm file that display contents in left side of window and display panels(search tab,index tab,…)in right side of window.
Is it possibble ? How?
Please Help me.
Tanks.

Tom says:

February 6, 2008 at 11:51 pm

Sure, you can use most any online help tool to produce an HTML Help .chm file. If you need technical support, try the Yahoo HATT Listserv.

SkypecypeKem says:

February 16, 2008 at 9:17 pm

Only the two opinions bruised in my groin, and drowning my questions into a stiff mass, kept me from consisting from the saddle.

CharlesJeter.com » Is RoboHelp Dead?… Again?!? says:

February 18, 2008 at 4:59 pm

[...] » Martin Luther King Day & My Family on Martin Luther King Day & My FamilyMadcap Flare, Madcap Software, and Online Help — Podcast Interview with Paul Pehrson, MVP in Madcap… on MadCap’s VP Mike Hamilton Speaks! (Dec 7th, 2007)elephant.org.il on MadCap’s VP Mike [...]

TecWriter says:

April 3, 2008 at 1:15 pm

[...] All About Madcap Flare: Podcast Interview [...]

podcastfaq.com • View topic - lapel mics with XLR jacks? says:

April 13, 2008 at 10:43 pm

[...] despite the flaw I mentioned. If you want to hear a recording I did with it, check out this link: http://www.idratherbewriting.com/2008/0 … l-pehrson/. I think it sounds pretty clear. One mistake I made, and I know this sounds dumb, is that I tried [...]