Flare 4.2 release notes?

[pdenchfield]

Flare is prompting me to download the latest update, version 4.2. Before I do so, I would like to review the release notes. However, I do not find them in the Knowledge Base. If you have seen the Flare 4.2 release notes, please let me know!

[Richard Ferrell]

Here are the release notes for Flare 4.2

http://kb.madcapsoftware.com/default_CSH.htm#GEN1022F

[pdenchfield]

Hmmm, when I click that link I get the welcome page for the Knowledge Base at the following URL: http://kb.madcapsoftware.com/default_Le ... adCap-Skin

When I explore Flare > General in the TOC, I don't see 4.2 or GEN1022F listed.

Any ideas?

[Richard Ferrell]

You may want to refresh your browser, as this was just added.

http://kb.madcapsoftware.com/Content/Fl ... eNotes.htm

[pdenchfield]

Thanks, Richard - it worked that time! (Not sure what the issue was...I didn't have to refresh.)

[doc_guy]

For a list of features that have been added, check out the What's New in Flare V4.2 help topic "What's New in this version". I'd point you to it in the Flare Online Help, but that doesn't seem to be updated to 4.2 yet.

[pdenchfield]

Paul, is this list of new features available without downloading 4.2?

[doc_guy]

The online help from MadCap doesn't seem to be updated to 4.2 yet. But here is the stuff from the help topic:

New Features—Version 4.2
Following are the new features in this "dot" release of Flare.

Auto-Save
There is a new setting in the Options dialog (Tools>Options) that lets you tell Flare that any open files should automatically be saved periodically. You can specify the number of minutes that should elapse between each auto-save.

Feedback Context-Sensitive Help Calls—View and Reset
You can view the number of times a particular topic has been opened through a context-sensitive Help (CSH) call that you integrated into your output. This includes each CSH ID, the topic it points to, and the number of times it has been accessed.

You can also reset the CSH call count so that the counter starts over at 0. You might use this feature, for example, if you have been testing your Feedback data in Flare and want to reset the counter to 0 before you publish your output.

Note: This feature is available for DotNet Help and WebHelp outputs. It is not available for HTML Help (CHM) output.

Feedback Search Phrase Counts—Reset
When you view search phrases used by readers, one of the columns in the window pane displays the count. You can reset this column so that the counter starts over at 0. You might use this feature, for example, if you have been testing your Feedback results and want to reset the counter to 0 before you publish your output.

This feature is available when you open the internal Feedback Explorer (View>Feedback Explorer) and select Searches Phrases or Search Phrases with No Results.

Feedback Server Installation Improvements
MadCap Feedback Server now supports Microsoft Windows Server 2008 and SQL Server 2008 (Express and Standard).

In addition, when installing the MadCap Feedback Server, you previously could only select an SQL Server if it was found on your local computer. Starting with this version, you have a choice of selecting a local SQL Server (same as before) or selecting any SQL Server on your network.

As a result of this, the following changes have been made to the Feedback Server Setup dialog.

The SQL Server field now shows all SQL Servers on your network, as opposed to only those that are on the local computer.
The "authentication" fields on the bottom portion of the dialog are new. You would use these fields if you are attempting to connect to a SQL Server located elsewhere on the network. If you are connecting to a local SQL Server, chances are that you do not need to complete these fields. The authentication fields are used to supply the necessary domain, user name, and password. You can also verify the credentials before completing the setup.
If you are installing over an existing installation, a new check box appears at the bottom of the Feedback Server Setup dialog; it lets you import data from your previous installation. Most likely, you want to make sure this box is checked. (There is a new button labeled "Import Data" on the toolbar in the Feedback Admin that lets you do the same thing.)

These improvements are related to Flare because of Flare's integration with MadCap Feedback Server. However, the actual installation of Feedback Server occurs outside of Flare.

Feedback Service Profiles—Edit
Feedback profiles can now be edited in a few ways:

• Select fields for dialog
• Modify labels and other styles for profile fields
• Email notification check boxes
• End users edit profiles

[Editor's note: Lots more info on each of these is detailed in the help file. I didn't copy it into the forums, because it has a bunch of screen shots and was pretty long.]

Open With—Project Organizer
If you right-click on a file in the Project Organizer, an "Open with" submenu lets you open that file in another application (e.g., Notepad). This option had been removed in a previous version of Flare, and it is now back.

Recent Comments Window Pane—Topic Links
In the Recent Comments window pane, topic links are now provided so that end users can easily navigate to the topic associated with the selected comment.

You can change the look of this link by (1) opening your skin, (2) expanding the Control node, (3) selecting CommentNode or CommentReplyNode, and (4) modifying properties within the TopicLinkFont group.

[pdenchfield]

Much appreciated, Paul!

[Robotman]

I noticed there are file size changes in the HELP VIEWER v4.2 API. Is there a list of changes for this?

Thanks,

[Richard Ferrell]

Flare webhelp should be updated in the next few days with Flare v4.2