Ever since the WritersUA Conference earlier this year in Palm Springs, folks have been asking about RoboHelp. (I mostly get asked...or told ;-)...to add RoboHelp back to the HAT Matrix because, after all, Adobe says a new version is in development. But that's another story...)

Last night, John Daigle posted a link to Adobe's updated FAQ to the HATT list. (Thanks, John!) It covers RoboHelp, FrameMaker, and even mentions Quadralay.

They cover some interesting points:

• The next major release is expected in the first half of 2007. This has slipped slightly from the time frame that was announced at WritersUA, when they announced that the new version would be released in the first quarter of 2007. However, the latest version of Microsoft Office has also slipped, which could be a factor. (I'll feel better when a RoboHelp beta is announced.)

• You can submit new feature requests through the link on the FAQ page.

• They are monitoring logs and the user forums to track the most common bugs so that they can be fixed. (I wonder if the print output will now contain true cross-references?)

• They state that they continue "to sell and support RoboHelp", but later on, state that they will "evaluate the opportunity to reintroduce upgrade and maintenance plans". So, "support" means that you can use the Knowledge Base and forums, and pay for individual support calls. It *doesn't* mean that you can purchase an upgrade or maintenance plan.

  Another FAQ says that current users shouldn't consider migrating to another HAT.

  The combination of these three FAQs really bothers me. While many of the other paragraphs are nothing more than "marketing-speak" (and everyone knows how fond I am of "marketing-speak" ;-) ), these three answers actually hope that you'll continue to invest in X5, even though the status quo hasn't changed. That bothers me. (And I know it doesn't bother everyone. I'm just saying that it bothers me.)

• OK, seriously, it is possible to produce online Help with RoboHelp from FrameMaker source files. However, most experts pity those who have to use this process because it's a) not single sourcing and b) it's highly inefficient. (Does this mean that they might seriously consider bringing back RoboHelp for FrameMaker?)

By next year at this time, new versions of both RoboHelp Office and FrameMaker should be available. Cross your fingers :-)