Creating Training Materials: The Ultimate Software Guide

Creating Training Materials: The 2026 Software Comparison

Creating training materials is rarely held up by ideas. It is held up by screenshots, formatting and updates. Here is how the five main types of software compare in 2026, and which one fits the training you actually need to produce.

Most teams that set out to create training materials already know what people need to learn. A new ERP module goes live, a team changes its process, a wave of new hires starts on Monday. The problem is the production: someone has to capture every screen, write every step, format it, and then do it again when the software updates.

The right software removes most of that work. The wrong one adds a second project on top of the first. This comparison sorts the market by what each type of tool actually produces, so you can match the tool to the training rather than the other way round.

Why Creating Training Materials Still Takes Too Long

Creating training materials by hand follows the same loop in almost every company: perform the task, press Print Screen, crop, paste into Word, add an arrow, write the step, repeat. A 30-step process can take several hours, and the person doing it is usually the one expert who should be doing something else.

Three things make it worse over time:

• Updates. Every software release changes a screen somewhere, and every screenshot of that screen is now wrong.
• Inconsistency. Ten authors produce ten layouts, and new hires can’t tell which guide is current.
• Format mismatch. HR wants a PDF, the LMS wants SCORM, the support team wants a link. The same content gets rebuilt three times.

Good training material software attacks one or more of these. No single type of tool solves all three equally well, which is why the comparison below starts with what each type is built for.

Five Types of Software for Creating Training Materials

Training material software falls into five groups. Most teams need one tool from the first group and, at most, one from another.

1. Capture-based documentation tools

These tools record a process while someone performs it and turn each click into a step with a screenshot and a short description. The output is a set of step-by-step instructions that can be exported or published.

Best for: software training, onboarding, SOPs, system rollouts. Watch out for: where the tool can record. Browser extensions only see web apps. Desktop tools such as FlowShare also capture SAP GUI, ERP clients and other installed Windows software, and keep the recording on the local machine.

2. eLearning authoring tools

Authoring tools such as Articulate, iSpring or Adobe Captivate build courses: slides, quizzes, branching scenarios and learning paths. They produce structured eLearning, usually packaged as SCORM or xAPI for an LMS.

Best for: formal courses, compliance training, certification. Watch out for: effort. A trained author builds the content, so the people who know the process are rarely the ones who create it.

3. Video and AI video tools

Screen recorders and AI video platforms such as Synthesia or HeyGen turn a process into a narrated video. AI presenters remove the need for a camera or voice-over, which makes multiple language versions realistic.

Best for: onboarding, announcements, first exposure to a new system. Watch out for: maintenance and searchability. Nobody scrubs through a 12-minute video to find step 9, and a changed screen usually means a new recording. See how to generate AI tutorial videos from a documented process instead.

4. LMS and knowledge base platforms

A learning management system (Moodle, Avendoo, TalentLMS and similar) or a knowledge base stores, distributes and tracks training content. It assigns courses, records completion and makes material searchable.

Best for: delivery, tracking and compliance evidence. Watch out for: an empty platform. An LMS does not create content, so buying it first is the most common mistake.

5. Digital adoption platforms

Digital adoption platforms such as WalkMe or Whatfix place guidance directly inside an application: tooltips, walkthroughs and pop-ups at the moment of use.

Best for: large web-application rollouts with budget for implementation. Watch out for: setup time, cost and coverage. Most work in the browser only, and the guidance lives inside the platform rather than as documents you own.

Training Material Software Compared (2026)

Capture-based tools have the lowest creation effort and the fastest updates. Authoring tools and digital adoption platforms produce richer experiences at a much higher cost in time.

Software type	Who creates the content	Effort per guide	Updating after a change	Typical output	Works outside the browser	Where data is stored
Capture-based documentation (e.g. FlowShare)	The person doing the task	Minutes	Re-record the changed steps	PDF, Word, PowerPoint, HTML, SCORM, interactive demo	Desktop tools: yes. Browser extensions: no	Desktop tools: local by default. Browser tools: vendor cloud
eLearning authoring (e.g. Articulate, iSpring)	Trained authors	Hours to days	Edit and republish the course	SCORM, xAPI, HTML5 courses	Depends on the tool	Usually local files or vendor cloud
Video and AI video (e.g. Synthesia, HeyGen)	Trainer or marketing	Minutes to hours	Re-record or regenerate	MP4, hosted video	Screen recorders: yes	Vendor cloud for AI video
LMS / knowledge base (e.g. Moodle, Avendoo)	Imports content from other tools	Not a creation tool	Replace the uploaded file	Courses, tracking, reports	Not applicable	Vendor cloud or on-premises
Digital adoption platform (e.g. WalkMe, Whatfix)	Specialists, often with a partner	Days to weeks	Rebuild affected walkthroughs	In-app guidance	Mostly no	Vendor cloud

See more options in our guide to training manual software.

How to Choose Software to Create Training Materials

Five questions narrow the shortlist faster than any feature list. Answer them in this order.

1. Where does the process run? If any of it runs in SAP GUI, an ERP client, Citrix or another installed Windows application, browser-only tools are out. This one question removes most of the market for ERP documentation and SAP projects.
2. Where may the data go? Screenshots of internal systems show customer names, case data and configuration. In regulated sectors, a tool that uploads every capture to a vendor cloud may never pass IT review.
3. Who will create the content? If the experts doing the work will create it, the tool has to be usable without training. If a central L&D team will, an authoring tool is realistic.
4. How often does the software change? Monthly releases favour tools where one changed step can be re-recorded in minutes. Long, polished courses are expensive to keep current.
5. What format do learners need? A PDF for the shop floor, SCORM for the LMS, a link for support, a video for onboarding. Prefer one source that exports to all of them over separate tools for each.

For most teams, the answer is a capture-based tool for creating training materials, plus the LMS or knowledge base they already have for delivery. Pick employee training software that produces content first; add a platform once there is enough content to justify one.

Create Training Materials From One Recording

The fastest way to create training materials for several audiences is to capture the process once and export it several times. With FlowShare, that looks like this:

1. Record. Start FlowShare on Windows and perform the task. Every click becomes a step with a screenshot, a click marker and an auto-generated description. Capture runs locally and works offline.
2. Edit. Rewrite steps, add headlines, blur sensitive data across all screenshots at once, and apply your company template.
3. Export for each audience. A PDF or Word manual for the floor, an interactive demo for hands-on practice, a SCORM and xAPI package for the LMS, or a direct upload to Avendoo.
4. Add video where it helps. Send the same flow to HeyGen or Synthesia for an AI-narrated version, without recording anything again.
5. Translate. Translate the guide into 29 languages with DeepL in one step.
6. Update. When a screen changes, re-record that part and re-export. Every format updates from the same source.

Short, single-task units work best. MaxBrain used this approach to produce around 50 learning nuggets in a week. For the planning side, from goals to feedback rounds, see our step-by-step guide to employee training materials.

Conclusion: Match the Tool to the Training

Creating training materials gets fast when the people who know the process can capture it themselves. Choose a capture-based tool to produce the content, keep the LMS or knowledge base you already use for delivery, and add authoring, video or in-app guidance only where a specific need justifies the extra effort.

If your processes run on Windows, including SAP and other desktop software, try FlowShare free for 7 days. Record one real process and export it as a PDF, an interactive demo and a SCORM package from the same recording.

Try for Free or Talk to Sales!

FAQs

What is the fastest way of creating training materials?

Record the process once while an expert performs it, then edit the generated draft. Capture-based software produces the screenshots and step text automatically, so creating training materials becomes a review task rather than a writing project.

Which software do I need to create training materials?

Start with the type of content you need. For software and process training, a capture-based documentation tool covers most needs. Add an eLearning authoring tool for formal courses with quizzes, and an LMS once you need to assign and track training.

Can training materials be created without sending data to the cloud?

Yes. Desktop capture tools such as FlowShare record and store everything on the local Windows machine and work offline. Content only leaves the machine when you export or publish it.

How do I keep training materials up to date?

Keep one source per process and re-record only the steps that changed. When every format (PDF, SCORM, video) is exported from that source, one update refreshes all of them.