#27446
Painless Functional Specifications - Part 1: Why Bother?
Why won't people write specs? People claim that it's because they're saving time by skipping the spec-writing phase. They act as if spec-writing was a luxury reserved for NASA space shuttle engineers, or people who work for giant, established insurance companies. Balderdash.
Spolsky, Joel. Joel on Software (2000). Articles>Writing>Specifications>Software
#13957
Is Linux in your technical writing future? The possibility is becoming too strong to ignore. Companies like Merrill Lynch and Credit Suisse First Boston are using Linux now, and countries ranging from Germany and France to Pakistan and Venezuela are adapting it and other open source software for government business. In high-tech, IBM reports that over one thousand of its business partners became Linux-certified in 2001, and the Linux applications listed in the IBM Global Solutions Directory rose from 2300 to 2800 in the six months between June 2001 and January 2002. In a little less than three years, Linux has captured over a third of the server market, and, while its share of the desktop market seems stalled at four percent, growing concerns about security, the cost of commercial software, and restrictive licensing practices are starting to change that.
Byfield, Bruce. TECHWR-L (2002). Articles>Software>Open Source>Linux
#14808
If you're expecting to be lost in the interstellar darkness of the command line, you're in for a surprise. Although Linux includes some handy command line tools, today most of Linux's install programs, desktops, and programs now boast graphical windows. The desktops and the windows look a little different from the ones you see in other operating systems, but they're recognizable for what they are. As you'll see in this article, you have to look deeper to see the differences: They lie not only in the performance, but also in a design philosophy that favors small tools over monolithic ones, customization over standardization, and a hands-on approach over hidden complexity. Once you adjust to the novelties, even the command line is not the empty vacuum you expected, but a teeming ecology that in many ways is more powerful--and empowering--than the GUIs (Graphical User Interfaces). If Linux is somewhat rougher in patches than Windows, many people feel that this design philosophy more than compensates. After all, one day in the next few years, Linux is going to have the GUI sophistication, too.
Byfield, Bruce. TECHWR-L (2002). Articles>Software>Operating Systems>Linux
#30189
The rapid growth in the use of PDFs on Websites has lead to increasing concerns about accessibility, particularly for the users of screen reading technology, which converts text into synthetic speech or electronic Braille.
Hudson, Roger. WebUsability (2004). Articles>Accessibility>Software>Adobe Acrobat
#22305
PDF: Fit for Human Consumption If Designed Properly
Jakob Nielsen hit a nerve with some PDF enthusiasts when he recently wrote in his monthly usability column that, in terms of suitability for use on the Web, the format is allegedly 'unfit for human consumption.' We're publishing a rebuttal that another satisfied user recently sent to Nielsen -- and also shared with us. In addition, Steve Borsch provides several samples of PDFs designed to be read and navigated online.
PlanetPDF (2003). Articles>Usability>Software>Adobe Acrobat
#26232
Places to Intervene in a System
The late systems thinking expert Donella Meadows explores 'intervention points' within complex systems where we can seek leverage to affect change within those systems. The essay originally appeared in Whole Earth magazine in 1997 and has been recontextualized in this software development publication.
Meadows, Donella H. with Don Gray. developer.star (2005). Articles>Software>Theory
#21015
Poor Code Quality Contaminates Users' Conceptual Models
Software bugs and system crashes result in huge productivity losses and undermine users' ability to form good models of how computers work. Website designers can help improve user confidence by prioritizing quality and robustness over features and the latest technology.
Nielsen, Jakob. Alertbox (2001). Articles>Usability>User Interface>Software
#27233
Word 2000 can be a nightmare when it comes to positioning shapes – Word 97 was much more predictable.
Rado, Dave. Word MVP Site, The (2002). Articles>Word Processing>Software>Microsoft Word
#22050
The Power of Word Templates and Styles
One of the more powerful features of Microsoft Word rests in the capability for the user to develop specialized document templates. I have found it beneficial, as you will see in the Template Library area of this site, to develop a “library” of specialized templates I rely on to speed document production for my clients. The templates allow me to get through that difficult document design phase. Much time and effort has been devoted to defining effective documentation formats and I have integrated those features in the templates. I overcome any “design” debate by presenting a proposed format (sometimes with outline) for approval. This way unique requirements are identified and implemented immediately, in this early stage.
#20517
PowerPoint 2003: A Comprehensive Overview of the New Features of the New Version
The new features of PowerPoint 2003 are both prominent and subtle, but before we start discussing PowerPoint further, there is some thing important you need to know about Office 2003: Office 2003 requires a minimum operating system of Windows 2000 (Service Pack 3 or later), or Windows XP (preferred). For the Package to CD feature in PowerPoint 2003, you need Office XP to be able to package direct to CD from within PowerPoint. Okay, now we can get down to busi ness...
Millar, Glen. Presenters University. Articles>Presentations>Software>Microsoft PowerPoint
#31188
This tutorial is based on the PC version of Microsoft PowerPoint 2003, but the principles explained here should be similar for older versions of the program and for Macs.
Cramer, Dan. Ereunao (2007). Articles>Presentations>Software>Microsoft PowerPoint
#20999
PowerPoint is the world's most popular tool for presenting information. There are 400 million copies in circulation, and almost no corporate decision takes place without it. But what if PowerPoint is actually making us stupider?
Thompson, Clive. New York Times, The (2003). Articles>Presentations>Software>Microsoft PowerPoint
#22781
When I convert my PowerPoint presentations to PDF, why do they become so huge? How can I get around this?
PDFzone (2004). Articles>Presentations>Software>Microsoft PowerPoint
#21602
Review: PowerPoint, ¿Anatema o Bendición?
La mayoría de las presentaciones usan PowerPoint en su vertiente más fácil, muchas transparencias llenas de listas de puntos. Muchos ponentes, encima, se limitan a recitarlas. Pero con PowerPoint es posible también salirse del camino trillado y hacer presentaciones que consiguen su objetivo: comunicar claramente un mensaje.
Dursteler, Juan Carlos. InfoVis (2003). (Spanish) Articles>Reviews>Software>Microsoft PowerPoint
#28545
This tutorial presents a brief overview of the process for preparing presentation slides, introduces you to important design principles to consider as you prepare your slides, and helps you analyze the design of sample presentation slides.
Battalio, John T. Bedford-St. Martin's (2007). Articles>Presentations>Software>Microsoft PowerPoint
#30457
Preserve Changes in RoboHelp for a Linked FrameMaker Book
While it is ideal to maintain all the content in FrameMaker, there are special situations which may require the RoboHelp content to be out of sync from FrameMaker documents either for short duration or for small set of topics. These special situations can relate to project deadlines or project requirements which make the process of maintaining a single source difficult.
Adobe (2007). Articles>Documentation>Software>Adobe RoboHelp
#30374
A Primer of Object Orientation: What It Is and What It's Good For 
The computer industry is moving toward the adoption of the object-oriented approach as the standard mode of analyzing, designing, and implementing applications. This paper applies the new orientation to the task of simulating the traffic of people in a building. This paper is a primer to a new technology which promises to revolutionalize programming: object orientation. To make the presentation concrete, I will build it around a case history. Imagine that an architect asked you to create a simulation that will help her determine how many elevators anew building will need to keep the average wait for an elevator to, say, under thirty seconds. How would you go about this task?
Haltresht, Michael. STC Proceedings (1993). Articles>Software>Programming>Methods
#20706
Publishing Documentation in Microsoft Word: Don't Do It!
To save costs, many small businesses take the do-it-yourself route to publishing product and support documentation. The tool of choice is often Microsoft Word - after all, you probably already have a copy of it and know how to use it reasonably well. But while using Word to develop your materials is an acceptable choice, using it to publish documentation is not! Read on to learn some of Word's shortcomings as a publishing method, and what alternatives are available.
Rosteck, Tanja S. Suite101 (2001). Articles>Documentation>Software>Microsoft Word
#21531
QuarkXPress is categorized as page layout software - software that lets you easily place text and graphics on a page. Using well-designed page layout software has the feel of moving actual columns of text, blocks of color, and images around and pasting them into place. Unlike a word processor, which is driven by a continuous text flow, QuarkXPress gives you complete control over the elements you place on each page. QuarkXPress is a standard at most publishing companies and advertising agencies.
Lycos (2004). Articles>Document Design>Software>QuarkXPress
#21525
QuarkXPress Technical Manual Project
The following is a step-by step tutorial outlining how to make a technical manual suitable either for print or for screen display as an Adobe Acrobat PDF file.
Mike's Sketchpad (2002). Articles>Document Design>Software>QuarkXPress
#26750
Word can be very unforgiving! Once a document becomes too unwieldy, it starts to stagger and then collapses, wiping out all the formatting in the process. In some cases, you can recover the raw text but, as a rule, the layout and presentation is destroyed. However, there are several ways that reduce the likelihood of this occurring.
Klariti (2006). Articles>Software>Word Processing>Microsoft Word
#14786
Rating Electronic Mail Clients: Convenience or Security?
Archee assesses the security of several e-mail clients.
Archee, Raymond K. Intercom (2002). Articles>Technology>Software>Email
#25930
Read and Write DocBook XML Using OpenOffice.org
The project goal is to explore the possibility of using OpenOffice.org as a WYSIWYG editor of XML content. The principle is to edit structured documents using styles. These styles are then transformed to XML tags on export.
OpenOffice.org (2005). Articles>Documentation>Software>OpenOffice
#18528
Though most presentations are delivered live, sometimes you need a prerecorded segment to use as narration for a video or a PowerPoint slideshow. If sound quality is your primary concern, it's best to use a professional sound studio. But if time and budget concerns are also part of the equation, it's possible to create high-quality narration yourself by adding some inexpensive recording equipment and software to your computer and following some basic recording guidelines. Assuming you already have a computer with a sound card (which acts as a digital recorder), what other gear do you need?
Fisher, Jeffrey P. Presentations (2003). Articles>Presentations>Software>Microsoft PowerPoint
#25140
Redefining the Document Using Adobe Acrobat 
How content is combined from multiple sources quickly and easily.
Baker, Donna L. STC Region 7 Proceedings (2002). Articles>Document Design>Software>Adobe Acrobat
