TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
So, does anyone else use the following font selection methodology:
1. Open font list.
2. Close eyes.
3. Wiggle cursor.
4. Click something (with eyes still closed)
5. Use whatever was selected.
This has served me well. Except for that one manual, which ended up entirely
in WingDings--but heck, no one noticed. I have the CASE diagrams somewhere
if anyone is interested...(kidding--please don't e-mail me for them).
Actually, the WingDing manual did insulate me from random name changes
passed down from marketing. They never noticed when I did not change the
product name in the manual.
Seriously, however, one of the drivers for my group moving to XML was
product name changes. We experienced a terribly moment in history when the
product name was change DAILY. We could not even finish hunting down all of
the old name changes before a new name change came along, let alone develop
the new content. What a mess.
So, we moved to XML (the name thing was not the only reason, but it was a
good ROI justification). We keep product names as external text entities
(<!ENTITY bohica "WidgetWhisker2000" >) and insert the entity as needed.
Now, when marketing changes the product name, we tell them that it will take
3 days, change the single entity (total time to update 1500-topic doc set--3
minutes), then go fishing.
This technique is not limited to XML. You can use variables in FrameMaker
for the same thing. (Take note, newbies, this is one of the tricks the old
farts use to appear mystical. And marketing is ALWAYS toying with product
names.) I have not used Word for a while, but I am sure that it is possible
to do something similar.
Fainting goats are pretty cool. No Techwr-L tie-in. You just don't
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
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.
