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.
Julie Stickler objected to the use of the "Idiots" and "Dummies"
guides: <<I find that while there is good information in these guides,
that the style is too breezy and informal. I would definately not
adopt that type of informal style for anything that I was writing for
the corporate world.>>
Others have reported similar misgivings about these guides, but it pays
to remember that different audiences require different styles. While
you might find these guides trivial and possibly even insulting, they
sell in the tens of thousands of copies. Clearly, that's a large
audience of people who like and need what they're providing and aren't
getting that in the developer's own documentation.
For stuff in areas I'm not familiar with, and for a break from the
heavily techy stuff I often have to read, they make an effective choice
or a good introduction before I start more complex and demanding works.
(For example, there's a copy of "Chinese for Dummies" in my immediate
future. <g>)
If you're in the fortunate position of documenting something like Word,
for which dozens of third-party manuals exist, it's well worth your
while purchasing a few of the better ones as reference material. You'll
often find interesting solutions to problems you weren't able to solve
yourself, innovative strategies for communicating information more
effectively, and whole areas of your documentation that are missing.
What better tool for improving the quality of your own documentation?
Now Shipping -- WebWorks ePublisher Pro for Word! Easily create online
Help. And online anything else. Redesigned interface with a new
project-based workflow. Try it today! http://www.webworks.com/techwr-l
Doc-To-Help 2005 now has RoboHelp Converter and HTML Source: Author
content and configure Help in MS Word or any HTML editor. No
proprietary editor! *August release. http://www.componentone.com/TECHWRL/DocToHelp2005
