If you are interested in getting your hands on beta 2 (aka preview release) of ToolBook 10.5, it is now available.
New features of ToolBook 10.5 include the following:
- Updated Quick Start tab on the Startup Dialog to be Simpler and More Useful
- Support for Apple iPad and Windows mobile devices
- Geolocation support for mobile content
- iPhone support for drag and drop:
- Smoother Resizing of Graphics
- Exit Buttons Functionality and Appearance Improved
- Paste Unformatted Text Menu Item
- Checkbox added to Publish to Web Wizard to Enable Diagnostics
- Prompt to Resize Page When Changing Styles
- Advancements in support for Section 508 content creation
- Reduction in learning curve with changes to startup user interface components
- Improved clipboard support for Microsoft Office products
Further details are given below along with a link to the download site.
Features
Updated Quick Start tab on the Startup Dialog to be Simpler and More Useful
The Quick Start tab has been updated to include a set of templates sized for optimal viewing on various devices. Users of prior versions of ToolBook will also notice that the “Show Preview” button has been removed. The preview is now shown all the time.
Support for Apple iPad and Windows mobile devices
ToolBook now produces content for Windows Mobile and Apple iPad, in addition to the already supported iPhone, iPod Touch and Google Android. Key benefits:
- Organizations can provide learning on more mobile devices enabling easier access to learning by their learner community.
Geolocation support for mobile content
This new feature – a first for online content authoring solution – enables authors to create learning content that can take into consideration a user’s geographical location. Examples of how this could be used are:
- A course is created that displays information to the user based on his or her location; such an example could be the display of job training content pertinent to the factory floor versus a store front, all based on the location of the user as they are viewing the course.
- A course is created that teaches fire safety training. The course could now be enabled to detect if the user can physically locate various fire exits in their building.
iPhone support for drag and drop:
This new feature provides users the ability to drag objects around the iPhone screen with their fingertip. This make it much easier for iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch users to use the question types match item, drag object, and slider in a style consistent with the overall user experience on these devices.
Smoother Resizing of Graphics
Resizing graphic images within ToolBook will now result in smoother, better looking images.
Exit Buttons Functionality and Appearance Improved
The Exit Buttons in the catalog have been updated to use Actions. This enables the course author to modify their behavior easily. For example, a confirmation prior to exit can now be added simply by adding one action in the actions editor. In addition, these buttons will now match the current style of the book.
Paste Unformatted Text Menu Item
This selection beneath the Edit menu allows for quickly pasting text into fields while simultaneously stripping out all formatting. The keyboard shortcut is ctrl-shift-v.
Checkbox added to Publish to Web Wizard to Enable Diagnostics
This option activates the diagnostic or “debug” mode for the published HTML. This will display a separate window when the course is opened in a browser, which displays diagnostic information.
Prompt to Resize Page When Changing Styles
When the pages of a book is sized differently from the default size for a style, and a new style is applied to the book, ToolBook will now prompt the author to decide whether to resize the book to match the default for the style, or keep the current size.
Other enhancements in this release:
- Advancements in support for Section 508 content creation
- Reduction in learning curve with changes to startup user interface components
- Improved clipboard support for Microsoft Office products
Test Drive ToolBook 10.5
As with any beta release, it is not yet feature complete – and as we continue to develop ToolBook 10.5, you are welcome to take a look at what we have implemented so far and send us comments via the beta web site.
Visit this site for information and download instructions:
