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.
Adria Quinones wondered: <<I have a new job at a great company with
only one problem: they use Word97 running on XP.>>
Not sure why this is a problem. Word 97 and 2000 are probably the last
really good versions of Word; subsequent versions added so many
defective bells and whistles (particularly if you use revision tracking
heavily) that they're a questionable upgrade at best imnsho. Plus, if
everyone is a Word 97 ace, you'll have to budget time for training and
surprises.
<<I am carrying the torch for my writing colleagues and championing
moving us to a different version>>
Rule number 1 of software: If it works fine, don't try to fix it.
Resist upgrading until you encounter a problem (e.g., RoboHelp or
WebWorks compatibility) that requires an upgrade or find an enormous
productivity enhancer that makes the risks of upgrading worthwhile.
What problems are you trying to solve? Answer that question and you'll
know whether you need to upgrade. The usual answer for most people is
that the only real reason to upgrade a system that works is if you need
the tax deduction.
<<Management's main concern--and not an unreasonable one--seems to be
templates and file formats. It seems like Word97-2002 files all are
compatible.>>
Yes, with two caveats: First, Word XP (2002) had a few disastrous
compatibility problems with older versions (revision tracking) that
were resolved with a patch. If you use that version, make sure to patch
it fully. Second, there are apparently some problems with "protection"
of Word documents in newer versions of Word (Xp and 2003) that affect
backward compatibility; not sure what these are, but if you don't use
the feature, presumably you escape the problem.
--Geoff Hart ghart -at- videotron -dot- ca
(try geoffhart -at- mac -dot- com if you don't get a reply)
ROBOHELP X5 - SEE THE ALL NEW ROBOHELP X5 IN ACTION!
RoboHelp X5 is a giant leap forward in Help authoring technology, featuring all new Word 2003 support, Content Management, Multi-Author support, PDF and XML support and much more! View an online demo: http://www.macromedia.com/go/techwrldemo
---
You are currently subscribed to techwr-l as:
archiver -at- techwr-l -dot- com
To unsubscribe send a blank email to leave-techwr-l-obscured -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
Send administrative questions to lisa -at- techwr-l -dot- com -dot- Visit http://www.techwr-l.com/techwhirl/ for more resources and info.
