Re: Remote reviewers, document markup, FrameMaker?

Subject: Re: Remote reviewers, document markup, FrameMaker?
From: Chris <cud -at- telecable -dot- es>
To: "TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com>
Date: Fri, 12 Apr 2002 11:58:12 +0200


As a telecommuter in another country, remote reviewing is all I do/get. Acrobat is a frequently used tool. Using it effectively is not difficult - you only need to know about the annotation tools, and go. I find people love highlighting, drawing circles, etc. And you can save off the comments and just return them. Depending on the size of your review team, it may be worth the investment.

Another low-budget approach is to use plain old email:

pp 722, Reviewing Remotely for Cheap, 4th para - you forgot to mention that reviewers need computers before they can use email.
You could use autonumbering to provide numbers for each paragraph or heading - then turn it off for the final production of the book. Since you're sparkling and new, you can set up the process as you like. Not recommended for editorial review, but for technical review it works fine. Maybe you can buy Acrobat for the editors and executives, and use email for the technicians. Everybody should have Acro Reader, though - that would be the way to distribute the docs themselves.

Personally, I don't like to receive hundreds of pages by fax... I don't see how fax can work except in extreme situations where only a few pages need actual scribbles. You can still send out PDF, but receive the fax... Costs less. I also like to focus my reviews for the technicians - I know such and such a developer is only interested in the "Expensive Review Methods" sections, so I save out a scratch version for her, PDF it, and off it goes. And I have rarely encountered problems of reluctant reviewers. Just lucky? Perhaps, but if everybody is committed to making an excellent product, the reviews come in on time. If somebody isn't committed, then you've got bigger problems than doc reviews. That's just been my experience.

--
Chris Despopoulos, maker of CudSpan Freeware...
Plugins to Enhance FrameMaker & FrameMaker+SGML
http://www.telecable.es/personales/cud/
cud -at- telecable -dot- es



^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Free copy of ARTS PDF Tools when you register for the PDF
Conference by April 30. Leading-Edge Practices for Enterprise
& Government, June 3-5, Bethesda,MD. www.PDFConference.com

Are you using Doc-to-Help or ForeHelp? Switch to RoboHelp for Word for $249
or to RoboHelp Office for only $499. Get the PC Magazine five-star rated
Help authoring tool for less! Go to http://www.ehelp.com/techwr

---
You are currently subscribed to techwr-l as: archive -at- raycomm -dot- com
To unsubscribe send a blank email to leave-techwr-l-obscured -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com
Send administrative questions to ejray -at- raycomm -dot- com -dot- Visit
http://www.raycomm.com/techwhirl/ for more resources and info.



Follow-Ups:

Previous by Author: Re: FrameMaker to HTML
Next by Author: Re: Telecommuting
Previous by Thread: Remote reviewers, document markup, FrameMaker?
Next by Thread: Re: Remote reviewers, document markup, FrameMaker?


What this post helpful? Share it with friends and colleagues:


Sponsored Ads