I’ve done a bunch of presentations on various Help Authoring Tools (HATs), including “Do You Need a Hat or Wat?” at the STC annual conference a few years ago. Whenever anyone asks me which tool is best for creating Help systems, I have always referred them to the HAT matrix that Char James-Tanny maintains over at Helpstuff.com. As the tools proliferate and the variety of available functionality increases, the Help matrix has gotten bigger and bigger. Though packed with useful information all in one place, the matrix itself is now beginning to get a bit unweildy.

Here’s the good news: Char has just announced that she is building a new HAT matrix as a database that will allow you to create custom reports based on the features that you need for your specific situation. She’s scheduled the new site to be available on October 1st, and personally, I’m looking forward to playing around with it!!