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.
Good piece. Which leads me to post about the critiques I saw of Frame 7 for not changing the interface and making it more modern. Thank God they didn't. I know where to find things for the most part unless I'm trying to do something I haven't done before. Please don't make me relearn where everything is for the sake of a new interface.
I used to use AmiPro (and loved it - the transition to Frame from AmiPro was painless since the way they handle creating documents is very similar). Then I upgraded to a version of SmartSuite with WordPro. I use Word Pro occasionally, but more often than not use Frame. Why? They changed the interface and the way the application works. I can barely figure out how to change or create a paragraph style. Highlighting words using Shift+Control+cursor keys doesn't work. They've made it easier (maybe) by making you be at the end of the previous word (only) and press Shift+cursor keys to highlight. Start anyplace else and you're highlighting one character at a time.
Back to Frame, if there are features to add, add them. If features can be improved, improve them. If you can make the interface prettier without mucking up the interface, then make it prettier. If you want to change the way it works - well, at least give me the choice to revert back to the "traditional" interface. Even Microsoft was smart enough to allow us to use the classic Windows Explorer interface (which I, by the way, prefer).
Thanks for listening. I do love this list.
Mike Hiatt
Manager, Tech Pubs
VocalData, Inc.
Dallas, TX (yep, that one) mailto:mhiatt -at- vocaldata -dot- com
www.vocaldata.com
The article gets at the attitudes of users when manuals, new features, and
new ways to do the same old thing intersect.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Check out RoboDemo for tutorials! It makes creating full-motion software
demonstrations and other onscreen support materials easy and intuitive.
Need RoboHelp? Save $100 on RoboHelp Office in May with our mail-in rebate.
Go to http://www.ehelp.com/techwr-l
Your monthly sponsorship message here reaches more than
5000 technical writers, providing 2,500,000+ monthly impressions.
Contact Eric (ejray -at- raycomm -dot- com) for details and availability.
---
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.
