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

Threaded Text in InDesign CS

If you use Microsoft Word, you are used to the fact that if when your text will get to the end of a page, another page will be automatically added. With InDesign and most layout programs, this is a little bit different. This is because layout programs work with text boxes (or tex frames) which allow you more freedom when you lay out your document.

Bruno, Elisabetta. Designorati (2005). Articles>Document Design>Software>Adobe InDesign

Usability SIG Web Site Tests Macromedia FlashPaper

The Usability SIG is always interested in new ways to put publish our newsletter on the Web. When an upgrade to Macromedia’s Contribute 2.0 included a new program called FlashPaper, we decided to give it a try.

Dick, David J. Usability Interface (2004). Articles>Document Design>Software>Flash

Using Acrobat Standard 6.0 in a Document Review Cycle

A six-part sample lesson on how to use Acrobat and PDF for document review. Included for download are several files referenced in the exercises.

PlanetPDF (2004). Articles>Document Design>Software>Adobe Acrobat

Web zu PDF

Mit dieser Technik steht Ihnen eine einfache Methode zur Verfügung, Webseiten oder einzelne Bereiche eines Webs downzuloaden und als PDF zu speichern.

TECOM (2003). (German) Articles>Document Design>Software>Adobe Acrobat

If It’s Not Easy to Use, It’s Not Used

Debates about Microsoft Word vs. Adobe Framemaker appear with regular frequency on the tech-writing mailing lists I am subscribed to. Everyone agrees Frame is an awesome publishing tool. Yet, everyone keeps cribbing about it. So, why does a bright bunch of people who are masters at figuring out stuff, otherwise known as tech-writers, only hesitatingly agree Frame is “kind of great”? I think it’s mostly because Frame is so difficult to use.

Info Developer (2008). Articles>Document Design>Software>Usability

Open Source Alternatives To Tech Pubs Tools

Given how hard it is for students (and their programs) to afford the expensive tools in our profession, I thought it might help to pass along these alternatives to commercial products. I think anyone breaking into the field (or a new type of tool) would do very well to train up on these open source tools and create portfolio pieces with them.

STC Austin (2009). Articles>Document Design>Software>Open Source

Learn InDesign One Feature at a Time

There’s simply no way to learn InDesign (or any other major application) all at once. If you’re a frustrated newcomer to InDesign, or even if you’ve been using it for some time and want to expand your knowledge, here’s a suggestion: Set aside about 15-20 minutes every day to learn the basics of one feature. It doesn’t really matter what that feature is.

Levine, Bob. InDesign Secrets (2009). Articles>Document Design>Software>Adobe InDesign

The Appeal of Adobe InDesign

Working with InDesign is interesting. On the one hand, it’s not really a tool built for technical writers. It’s intended for people laying out magazines, brochures, other heavily designed print matter. As such, some things can be confusing. Cross references, figure references, a table of contents — get ready to search the help to figure these out. On the other hand, the power of the InDesign is somewhat captivating. You’re only limited by your own ignorance.

Johnson, Tom H. I'd Rather Be Writing (2009). Articles>Document Design>Software>Adobe InDesign

Adobe FrameMaker: Custom Master Pages

New FrameMaker documents have default Master Pages. Single-sided documents have one, called "Right," and double-sided documents have two, called "Left" and "Right." We use these pages to place the objects we want to repeat on all the Body Pages, things like our running heads, page numbers and repeating graphics. But what do you do when you need a different look for a Body Page, on a repeating basis? For example, no page number on the opening page of each chapter? You set up a custom master page. Here's how.

Binder, Barbara. Blogs.com (2009). Articles>Document Design>Software>Adobe FrameMaker