The University of Michigan Center for Health Communications Research (CHCR) has released Version 2.5 of its free Michigan Tailoring System (MTS) software for noncommercial education and research purposes by noncommercial entities.

MTS is the first publicly available software that allows writers to individually tailor health communications. For the first time, without the need for constant technical support and assistance from a team of computer programmers, health educators can write tailored messages, test them in real time, and see the results for a given individual.

This software was released using an open source model. This means it is an evolving platform that can be adapted and adopted by a broad range of researchers and health agencies, which increases the ease and likelihood of its dissemination.

The Michigan Tailoring System has two components. The MTS Workbench is the user interface designed for writers and health educators to create logic and write and test tailored messages. The MTS Engine runs behind the scenes to select images or tailored messages for individuals using logic defined by writers.

The Michigan Tailoring system was created to enable the broad use of tailoring in health communications research and practice. Its adoption promises to expand the dissemination of effective, inexpensive, and far-reaching health interventions.

Download the software and documentation at: http://chcr.umich.edu/mts

• Better list capabilities
• With the new "listitem" command, you can create multi-level lists and tailor down to the bullet and sub-bullet level.
• Live error checking
• As you create messages in the message editor, it checks what you're doing in real-time and tells you immediately if there's a problem. Then, it gives you tips on how to solve it.
• More user-friendly logic auto-complete
• The logic auto-complete window now appears in a better location and gives you hints about your characteristic's values. If you don't want it, you can turn it off in the Preferences menu.
• Improved Live Preview
• A more intuitive interface lets you quickly test different cases with just a few clicks. Preview also better accommodates data that comes from more than one source.
• New, updated look
• Helpful features like shading and "breadcrumbs" let you more easily navigate your message documents.
• Individual cell selection
• Now you can select individual cells by clicking them, just as you can in most spreadsheet software. You can turn this option on from the Preferences menu.
• Improved Dictionary Viewer
• Dictionary Viewer is in a new location and allows you to rearrange the columns to better suit your needs.