Where's the beginning? (was RE: When to Spell Out Acronyms)

Subject: Where's the beginning? (was RE: When to Spell Out Acronyms)
From: mlist -at- safenet-inc -dot- com
To: techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
Date: Tue, 21 Nov 2006 11:07:37 -0500

Al Geist [mailto:al -dot- geist -at- geistassociates -dot- com] had this to say:

On the issue of spelling out acronyms upon first occurrence
or in a place that readers are most likely to see 'em...

> If you place the table at the beginning of the document,
> then wouldn't that
> satisfy the criteria of spelling it out the first time it
> appears? If so,
> that would save you the time rearranging when your former
> first instance it
> not longer the first instance because of
> revisions....phew...need a cup of
> coffee after that last sentence.

This, of course, got me to wondering what's the best approach
in Help.

We've pretty much been dropping paper and PDF documents in
favor of Help. Mostly WebHelp.

So, where's the beginning of Help?

I've already got contending demands to have my WebHelp
start page be:

a) the disclaimer, acknowlegement and copyright page

b) an intro page for product configuration (my preference)

c) various other bright ideas.

Since I can only really have one "Start" page, I can't accomodate everyone.

I _could_ spell out acronyms in hidden-til-you-click dynamic html
expanding or drop-down text... but since a person can enter Help
at any point, that would mean putting expansions behind (under? around?)
virtually every occurrence of an acronym. That would make my Help
pages even patchier than they are now. Eek!

As well, I already make liberal use of expanding or drop-down text
for asides, non-essential examples, good-to-know stuff, etc., and
I don't wish to "devalue" those links by crowding them among
thousands of repetitive expanded acronyms.

What do others do?

Kevin

The information contained in this electronic mail transmission may be privileged and confidential, and therefore, protected from disclosure. If you have received this communication in error, please notify us immediately by replying to this message and deleting it from your computer without copying or disclosing it.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

WebWorks ePublisher Pro for Word features support for every major Help
format plus PDF, HTML and more. Flexible, precise, and efficient content
delivery. Try it today! http://www.webworks.com/techwr-l

Easily create HTML or Microsoft Word content and convert to any popular Help file format or printed documentation. Learn more at http://www.DocToHelp.com/TechwrlList

---
You are currently subscribed to TECHWR-L as archive -at- infoinfocus -dot- com -dot-

To unsubscribe send a blank email to
techwr-l-unsubscribe -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
or visit http://lists.techwr-l.com/mailman/options/techwr-l/archive%40infoinfocus.com


To subscribe, send a blank email to techwr-l-join -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com

Send administrative questions to admin -at- techwr-l -dot- com -dot- Visit
http://www.techwr-l.com/techwhirl/ for more resources and info.


Follow-Ups:

Previous by Author: RE: Friday - So Bad It's Fun
Next by Author: RE: Where's the beginning? (was RE: When to Spell Out Acronyms)
Previous by Thread: Help window not updating
Next by Thread: Where's the beginning? (was RE: When to Spell Out Acronyms)


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


Sponsored Ads