New MadCap Scholar Program Helps University Educators and Students Access Tools Supporting Documentation Best Practices

    LA JOLLA, CA, April 14, 2011 /24-7PressRelease/ -- MadCap Software, Inc. (www.madcapsoftware.com), the leader in multi-channel content authoring and a showcase company for Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) Visual Studio and Microsoft XPS, today announced the MadCap Scholar program. Offering special discounts on MadCap's state-of-the-art technical communications software, the new program helps students, educators and universities gain access to industry-standard tools that support technical writing and documentation best practices.

At the center of MadCap's technical communications software family is MadCap Flare, the versatile single-source, multi-channel authoring tool that lets users create content once and then publish to any number of formats, including high-end digital print, desktop publishing, the Web, and mobile devices. With its native XML architecture and topic-based authoring, MadCap Flare already is being used as an educational tool in leading university and college classrooms across North America, Europe and Australia.

Through special discounts in the MadCap Scholar program, MadCap is making it easier than ever for educators and students to take advantage of Flare and other applications in the MadCap technical communications family. They include:
- Discounts of up to 50% off of MadCap products and suites for educators and students with a valid university or college email address and/or ID.
- Short-term semester license keys, which allow university and college educators to outfit their entire labs for the period of the semester.
- Volume licenses for qualified university programs, such as courses in writing and publishing, technical communications, language translation, and online documentation.

Other products available through the MadCap Scholar program are MadCap Analyzer for analyzing and improving Flare-based project content; MadCap Contributor for editing, reviewing and contribution by subject matter experts (SMEs) to Flare content; MadCap Mimic for publishing software simulation movies, video and audio; MadCap Capture for screen capturing and graphics editing; the MadCap Lingo translation environment tool (TEnT); and MadCap Feedback Server, which tracks usage patterns and provides Web 2.0 features for obtaining user ratings and comments.

"MadCap Software offers the latest technologies in providing technical communication products and solutions for businesses around the globe--and the universities and colleges worldwide that are educating the next generation of business professionals," said Anthony Olivier, MadCap Software founder and CEO. "Through our MadCap Scholar program, we are expanding our commitment to supporting these educational institutions with state-of-the-art software that can help students prepare for the real-world content creation and publishing demands of today's companies."

Supporting Today's Business Publishing Best Practices
MadCap technical communications software supports current and emerging best practices in business content creation, publishing and distribution, which are now being taught in universities and colleges around the globe.

Use of XML enables content re-use and the separation of content from style. Thousands of companies have standardized on publishing XML content, and both the US and European Union have made XML-based content submission a requirement for agencies such as the Food and Drug Administration. MadCap Flare's built-in XML visual editor presents a what-you-see-is-what-you-get (WYSIWYG) view, so writers can create XML content without ever writing a line of XML code.

DITA support allows authors to use the Darwin Information Typing Architecture for creating, producing and delivering information in XML. Most widely used for technical communications, DITA increasingly is used for other types of business documents covering procedures, policies and training.

Mobile publishing is gaining popularity as businesses capitalize on the power and convenience of reaching users through their smart phones, PDAs, and other mobile devices. MadCap Flare allows for native, intuitive publishing of any documentation to mobile devices, which is completely platform-independent. Flare also uniquely offers a built-in Quick Response (QR) code generator. This lets authors insert QR codes into print documents, which mobile devices can then scan to automatically link to interactive content on the Web.

Universities and Colleges Highlight Benefits of Flare in Education
"When we overhauled the class, we looked at a number of tools, but Flare was the one that dovetailed nicely with our needs," recalled Jennifer Ciroli, adjunct professor at Carnegie Mellon University. "With its native XML architecture, single-sourcing, and topic-based paradigm, Flare was a natural fit."

"We place a priority on providing our students the best software tools available, so they have the ability to take the concepts they learn in class and produce modern online documentation," said Professor Sissi Closs, of Karlsruhe University of Applied Sciences (HsKA). "Flare was a natural choice for teaching the class with its state-of-the-art architecture and modern user friendly interface."

"With Flare, all of my lectures can be cross linked, and they are amplified by all the rich educational resources available on the Internet today," said Humber College Humanities Professor George Byrnes. "It really points to the power of using authoring software, like Flare, that has been designed for online information delivery."

MadCap Scholar Program Eligibility
University and college administrators, educators and students who want to learn more about the MadCap Scholar Program and their eligibility to participate can visit www.madcapsoftware.com/education, email [email protected], or call 1-858-320-0387.

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. (NASDAQ: MSFT), 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 Flare, MadCap Analyzer, MadCap Contributor, MadCap Mimic, MadCap Capture, MadCap Lingo, and MadCap Feedback Server are trademarks or registered trademarks of MadCap Software, Inc., in the United States and/or other countries.

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