Re: Updating Hard Copies of Existing Manuals

Subject: Re: Updating Hard Copies of Existing Manuals
From: Bill DuBay <bill_dubay -at- PHOENIX -dot- COM>
Date: Tue, 10 Jun 1997 17:06:08 PDT

I refuse to do updates like that. It is the biggest mess, waste of time, and
customers hate it. Keep a track of who gets what and send them the whole new
manual. Period.

Bill DuBay
Technical Writer
Phoenix Technologies Ltd.
email: bill_dubay -at- phoenix -dot- com
(714)790-2049 FAX: (714)790-2001
http://www.phoenix.com
-------------
Original Text
From: gloria <gmedcalf -at- PRAIRIE -dot- LAKES -dot- COM>, on 6/10/97 2:49 PM:
>My company is implementing a new program in which we send our customers
>pages of information for each software release. The customer can then
>insert these pages into their existing documentation set (three-ring
>binder format). These pages will either replace existing pages, or will
>take the form of additional pages to be inserted into the middle of
>documents.
>
>How do you handle page numbering with this a plan like this? Replacing
>old pages and inserting new ones in the middle of chapters is going to
>wreak havoc on the continuity of the page numbering, which leads to my
>next concern...

I have done this in the past by numbering the added pages as A, B, C, for
example page 15 becomes page 15A, 15B, 15C, 15D, etc. I haven't used
Interleaf so don't know if it will do this or if you'd have to do it
manually.

>How do you handle the inevitiable obsolescence of the manual TOCS
>everytime additional pages are sent to the customer?

Send a new TOC and index with the added pages.

>This documentation is done on Interleaf 5.4 and 6.11 running on a UNIX
>platform.
>
>Thanks for any rays of illumination you can send my way!
>
>
>--
>Kelly Halbritter
>Senior Technical Writer
>
>halbrttr -at- cig -dot- mot -dot- com
>

gloria
gmedcalf -at- prairie -dot- lakes -dot- com

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