QuarkXpress Training Tutorials

QuarkXpress has become recognised as the world's best Page Layout program. From home users, putting together their club newsletter to multinational publishing giants producing newspapers, magazines and books, QuarkXpress is the standard. This tutorial is geared towards helping first time users become familiar with Quark XPress.

OpenEye. Articles>Education>Document Design>QuarkXPress

A Quarky New Approach?

Sorry, guys, but what you're describing is "single sourcing" and it's been around for a while. And I don't think redefining "dynamic publishing" is going to work, either, because that term already means something.

O'Keefe, Sarah S. Palimpsest (2008). Articles>Document Design>Single Sourcing>QuarkXPress

Question and Answer Method of Generating Manuals  

Several Texas Instruments writing groups are using a new manual publication method that emphasizes more customer interaction early in the manual development process. This emphasis brings project teams and customers together to accurately define their expectations for the documentation. Writers chunk information as they create the manuals, which allows reviewers to look at the small pieces one at a time and to focus only on those chunks containing information pertinent to their particular expertise. This method defines manual parameters early in the process, which simplifies usability testing.

Lang, Darice. STC Proceedings (1994). Articles>Documentation>Information Design

Quick Footwork in a Dull Market  

Right now the paper market is stable. So should you relax and enjoy the calm? Hardly. Now's the perfect time to test new paper sheets and negotiate better financial terms with your supplier.

Sidles, Constance J. Adobe Magazine (1997). Articles>Document Design>Prepress>Paper

Reader-Centered Documentation Provides the Necessary Context    

A features-based approach to documentation is appropriate for reference manuals, where the goal is to provide information on something the reader already knows. This article explores how to meet the needs of the reader when providing documentation for user manuals.

Hart, Geoffrey J.S. Intercom (2007). Articles>Documentation>User Centered Design

Reducing Screen Clutter in Acrobat

Are you looking to remove all distractions to read your PDF content? Perhaps you just want to remove all distractions so that you can skim through your PDF document before signing off on it and sending it off? This tip explains how to reduce on-screen clutter in Acrobat to allow you to focus your attention completely on the content.

Shea, Dan. PlanetPDF (2007). Articles>Document Design>Software>Adobe Acrobat

Restructuring Online Documentation for the World Wide Web  

Technical communicators around the world are turning to the World Wide Web us their primary delivery agent for on-line documentation. The transition from older forms of on-line documentation to HTML-based documents pre - sents new challenges in every phase of the documentation process: document creation, layout, access, and especially hypermedia capability The constant development of new web tools presents an even greater challenge for an organization seeking to stay abreast of technology with an ever decreasing budget. This panel will outline the basic steps in migrating to the web while focusing on one organization’s solution to meeting the challenges of restructuring its on-line documentation for web migration.

Goode, Christina M., Jennifer Campbell and David Hale. STC Proceedings (1996). Articles>Documentation>Web Design>Online

Rethinking User-Centered Information Development  

Often in the computer industry there is a tendency to provide information about the features of a system. However, customers usually purchase the system based on knowledge of its features, when they receive the product they need information on how to accomplish tasks. Developing task-oriented information requires a shift in perspective from what the computer technology can do, to what your customers want to do with the technology. The resulting information must be usercentered rather than feature-driven. These types of customer requirements demand afresh development approach.

Stertzbach, Lori A. STC Proceedings (1995). Articles>Documentation>User Centered Design>Usability

The Right and Wrong of Quark and Adobe Strategies

What distinguishes the underlying strategies of Adobe InDesign from QuarkXPress is the absence or presence of a content management system (CMS). And each company asserts that it’s following the less-traveled road. The problem is they’re both taking roads most traveled because of their respective stances towards integrated content management systems, and I’ll show you how after looking at their respective strategies.

Kuhnen, Eric. Content Wrangler, The (2008). Articles>Document Design>Software>Content Management

Saddle Binding of Digital Documents  

Binding method is frequently dictated by the thickness of the piece. Saddle stitching provides a fast and cost-effective way to bind booklets, brochures and catalogs.

Copresco (2001). Articles>Document Design>Finishing>Binding

Scientific Documentation: Learning from Journal Articles  

Suggests that writers of technical manuals could learn a thing or two about usability from the consistent form of scientific journal articles.

Hart, Geoffrey J.S. Intercom (2004). Articles>Document Design>Scientific Communication

Screenshots with the Mouse Pointer

How to produce screenshots which include the mouse-pointer.

Springer, Hans. TC-FORUM (1999). Articles>Graphic Design>Documentation>Screen Captures

Seven Habits for Highly Successful Documents  

To assure that your job flows smoothly through the printing shop without a glitch, this document presents seven preparation habits for highly successful documents.

Copresco (2001). Articles>Document Design>Prepress

SGML Document Structuring: Implementing Document Analysis  

SGML (ISO 8879) provides organizations a standard for structuring and managing electronic information independent of software and hardware restrictions. Its premise is that all documents have a logical structure that can be represented with symbols. Using these symbols, SGML identifies a document’s elements and their interrelation slips. SGML separates format from content, allowing masses of information to be logically stored and easily retrieved. Data from one document marked with SGML tags can be used to create everything from brochures to reference manuals. This workshop emphasizes SGML document analysis and its impact on technical communicators.

Coggin, William O., Leslie K. Gasser and Beth A. Williams. STC Proceedings (1996). Articles>Document Design>SGML

Single-Sourcing from FrameMaker 5.5.6 to ForeHelp Premier 2000

This article centers on a single-source documentation process that involves authoring structured, chunked documentation in Adobe FrameMaker 5.5.6 and converting it 'just in time' to a WinHelp online help system using ForeHelp Premier 2000.

Snavely, Deborah. InFrame (2000). Articles>Software>Document Design>Adobe FrameMaker

Six Tips for Improving Your Design Documentation

Documentation is a crucial component of successful product planning and implementation, so it's important that it communicates as effectively as possible. Good organization, complete information, and clear writing are, of course, key to the success of any design document, but there are some other, less-obvious techniques you can use to make your documents more readable and understandable. Here are a few of them.

Olshavsky, Ryan. Boxes and Arrows (2003). Articles>Documentation>Document Design

Six Tips for Improving Your Design Documentation

Good organization, complete information, and clear writing are, of course, key to the success of any design document, but there are some other, less-obvious techniques you can use to make your documents more readable and understandable. Here are a few of them.

Olshavsky, Ryan. Boxes and Arrows (2003). Articles>Web Design>Documentation

Small Scale, Big Impact: Creating an Employee Newsletter  

Every few weeks we receive a flyer about a 'seminar' or a 'workshop' on newsletters -- now to write them, how to design them, how to produce them, how to improve them. Although we haven’t actually attended any of these seminars, they travel to many major cities, and the list of topics covered and the testimonials printed in the flyers are impressive. This phenomenon of the successful traveling newsletter seminar suggests that A) lots of people (hence organizations) are interested in creating or improving newsletters, and B) there’s lots to be learned about newsletters.

Anderson, Pamela A., Sally Nereson, and Dorothy J. Wiemann. STC Proceedings (1994). Articles>Document Design>Publishing>Newsletters

The Soapbox, Please

I admit that my intelligence is easily insulted. It’s probably because I’ve got so little of it left – raising a child, running a business, and working in the software industry take their toll, after all – that I’ve got to defend it with the ferocity of a rabid fruit bat. But, as I review the state of the art in desktop publishing software, I’m left with one nagging question: Just exactly how dumb do these guys think I am?

Kvern, Olav Martin. Upper and lowercase Magazine (1999). Articles>Software>Document Design

Sony HDV HC1 High-Definition Camcorder

Introduces the high-definition Sony HDV-HC1 digital camcorder for technical/professional communication practice.

Karlin, Erin and Amy Tehan. Studio for New Media (2006). Articles>Document Design>Video>High Definition

Stop Writing Documentation!  

Redesign your information; write topics, not books.

Hackos, JoAnn T. ComTech Services (2001). Articles>Documentation>User Centered Design

Structured Authoring and XML: Part One

Implementing structured authoring with XML allows organizations to create better content. The addition of hierarchy and metadata to content improves reuse and content management. These benefits, however, must be weighed against the time and money required to implement a structured authoring approach. The business case is compelling for larger writing organizations; they will be the first to adopt structured authoring. Over time, improvements in available tools will reduce the cost of implementing structured authoring and make it affordable for smaller organizations.

O'Keefe, Sarah S. Carolina Communique (2003). Articles>Documentation>Information Design>XML

Structured Authoring and XML: Part Three

Not every content-creation group will benefit from structured authoring and XML. Sometimes, the expense of implementation outweighs the benefits realized, especially in smaller groups with less total page count.

O'Keefe, Sarah S. Carolina Communique (2004). Articles>Documentation>Information Design>XML

Structured Authoring and XML: Part Two

In a structured authoring environment, authors create documents by assembling elements and text in an order permitted by the structure definition document. You might think of structured authoring as being similar to template-based authoring with a strict template. Authors do not assign formatting; the formatting is automatically assigned based on the structure of the document. Formatting may differ for different output media.

O'Keefe, Sarah S. Carolina Communique (2003). Articles>Documentation>Information Design>XML