MadCap Mimic 5.0 Features Full-Motion Video, Integrated Playback Controls, and Enhanced Recording Options

LA JOLLA, CA, October 05, 2010 (Press-News.org) MadCap Software, Inc., the leader in multi-channel content authoring and a showcase company for Microsoft Visual Studio and Microsoft XPS, today announced that MadCap Mimic 5.0 is now available. Mimic is MadCap's native XML, state-of-the-art software application used for creating software simulations and tutorials. The latest version supports full-motion video (FMV) and integrated playback controls to enhance the user experience and facilitate learning. Mimic 5.0 also offers several features to improve usability for authors, including enhancements to the recording process, compiling process, formatting, and skins.

"With version 5.0, Mimic significantly advances, not only the experience of the author, but also that of the user who ultimately views the simulation movies," said Anthony Olivier, MadCap Software co-founder and CEO. "Our new full-motion video and integrated playback features--coupled with more customization options than ever--enable authors to produce movies that maximize the end user's comprehension quickly, efficiently and intuitively. This latest release of Mimic continues our commitment to empowering documentation teams to deliver superior value to their companies, customers and partners."

Full-Motion Recording
For the first time, Mimic records entire movements with full video capture. This provides smoother animation along with the ability to record everything from YouTube videos and Window animations to animated dialog boxes and drop downs. The resulting simulation movies offer a better user experience and facilitate learning.

Authors have the flexibility to choose among three options. "Video Select" records the entire movie as FMV within a single frame--ideal for capturing an actual video as it plays. "Automatic Select" directs Mimic to automatically capture images as the author performs actions in the recording area. "Manual" offers single-click simplicity for enabling authors to manually select each new image to be captured during a recording session.

Playback Controls
With Mimic 5.0, authors can now embed playback controls--such as Back, Forward and Pause--into the same Flash/ShockWave Flash (SWF) output file as the movie. There's no longer a need to ship these controls out in a separate HTM file. The integrated playback controls mean users can more easily view movies at their own pace, increasing comprehension and learning.

Usability Enhancements Include Updated Recording Process
MadCap provides a more intuitive and flexible recording process with three new features in Mimic 5.0. A "Record" button replaces the previous "OK" button; now when authors click on this button, the recording session begins immediately. Also new is a system tray that replaces the sidebar. Clicking on the Record button launches a temporary pop-up that lists keyboard shortcut hints and points to the Mimic shortcut button in the system tray. Therefore, when an author wants to perform an action, such as pausing or ending the recording session, there's a choice between using one of the keyboard shortcuts or clicking the Mimic icon in the system tray to select an action from the context menu. Finally, a new "Save" prompt in Mimic 5.0 prompts authors to save and name their movies as soon as they finish recording.

Mimic 5.0 also features a number of skin enhancements. The "Fit to Movie" option automatically resizes the navigation toolbar, so it is the same width as the movie--enabling navigation to appear to be part of the movie. The latest Mimic version also provides an embedded skin option for Flash output, as well as a new and more intuitive default skin for output, which authors can easily change and customize.

Mimic 5.0 features several other usability enhancements, including:
- A command line compile/recompile flag, which ensures that a movie will always be generated when the author runs this command, whether or not changes were made to the movie.
- Adjustable movie size for blank movies with options to set the width and height of a new blank movie.
- Page numbers for PDF and XPS output of a movie, which are automatically added to the bottom of the pages.
- Compile-only trial watermark--allowing authors who purchase Mimic to use the movies they recorded during the trial period, since the watermark only appears on the trial output.
- Memory enhancements for greater speed and efficiency.
- Redesigned icons to create a more intuitive experience.

Availability and Pricing
MadCap Mimic 5.0 is available today, both separately and as part of the MadCap MadPak. A standalone Mimic package is priced at $299 per single-user license. The MadPak, which also includes MadCap Flare, X-Edit, Capture, Echo and Analyzer, is available for $1,299 per license. Support fees start at $199 per year for the Bronze Level, $299 for the Gold Level, and $499 for the Platinum Level. Discounts for multi-year support contracts are also available.

About MadCap Software
MadCap Software, Inc. is a leading technical communication software firm specializing in integrated applications for end-to-end content development, delivery and management. MadCap's software products provide state-of-the-art content workflow solutions for multi-channel publishing, including the Web, print, desktop and mobile. Through its strategic partner Microsoft Corp., MadCap delivers solutions optimized for Microsoft Windows, Visual Studio, and the .NET environment. Headquartered in La Jolla, CA, MadCap is home to some of the most experienced software architects and product experts in the documentation industry. Learn more about MadCap Software at www.madcapsoftware.com.

MadCap Software, the MadCap Software logo, MadCap Lingo, MadCap Flare, MadCap Blaze, MadCap Capture, MadCap X-Edit, and MadCap Mimic are trademarks or registered trademarks of MadCap Software, Inc., in the United States and/or other countries.