VERDICT: A modern cross-media technical publishing solution – that at its centre is old-fashioned and in need of a major overhaul.

We live in a fast-changing, global, consumer society and just about every product, and minor product variation, needs to come with its own technical documentation...

An enhanced interface and support for Framemaker and multiple languages help give RoboHelp a new lease of life.

At one time producing online help was generally treated as an afterthought to the software development process and usually knocked up in Word using a few macros and Microsoft’s free compiler...

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VERDICT: Improved recording capabilities, richer design and interactivity and deeper integration with PowerPoint see Captivate build on existing strengths.

Adobe Captivate is a Flash-based solution for computer-based training (CBT). The use of Flash provides an immediate and massive advantage as it means that Captivate’s output is automatically viewable by anyone with the Flash player installed – roughly 98% of users with an internet connection...

VERDICT: Plenty of core new power for the digital camera user – but Paint Shop Pro Photo X2 is still playing catch-up.

Over its long history Paint Shop Pro has built up a great deal of bitmap editing power, but it has also come to seem dated and increasingly out of tune with the times...

VERDICT: Improved handling of single-source repurposing and new support for rich media and Unicode – but Framemaker is still crying out for a core overhaul.

Framemaker was one of the first DTP packages and this year celebrates its 21st birthday...

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VERDICT: A new interface, smart albums, guided editing and photo merging but comparatively little to boost core efficiency.

Organizing and enhancing thousands of digital photographs is a time-consuming task and the digital camera owner needs dedicated help to make the process as productive and enjoyable as possible...

Tom Arah shows you the best way to bring some texture into your design work.

Long-term readers will know that I am a big fan and keen advocate of the use of seamless bitmap textures. Such textures play an essential role in the production of 3D work, as we saw again last month, but they can also prove just as useful within 2D bitmap and vector environments...

VERDICT: Piranesi gets the major overhaul of interface and tools that its extraordinary creative power deserves.

Piranesi stands out from all other bitmap editors because it is able to handle material and depth information as well as colour; it might sound a relatively small difference but it unleashes a massive amount of 3D painting power...

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VERDICT: Improved interface and drawing capabilities, new photo matching and hand-drawn effects - and it’s still free.

Over the years @Last Software’s SketchUp managed to win itself a small fanbase, particularly among architects, for its valiant attempt to make 3D modelling as simple as 2D drawing...

VERDICT: Builds on the free Google SketchUp with enhanced export options and a new dedicated presentation application.

Based on the impressive feature set of the free Google SketchUp (see separate review), the obvious question is: what more does the commercial Google SketchUp Pro 6 offer to justify its price?