#24988
Document Hack (A Technical Writer's Journal): The Acrobat and the Illustrator
Using Acrobat, you can make minor edits to a PDF file, but Acrobat documents are very sensitive. Typing a single character can throw several lines off, destroy tables and cause all sort of other troubles. Alternately, it can be relatively uneventful and painless. You will not know until you type in that character.
Hewitt, John. Writer's Resource Center (2004). Articles>Document Design>Software>Adobe Acrobat
#18822
Document Layout Concepts (Frames and All That)
The primary reason to use Framemaker is the power that it offers in managing long and possibly technically complex documents. And while detailed control of the formatting of every paragraph and character is important, the overarching concern is overall structure and layout on a document- or book-wide basis. As the product's name announces, at the heart of FrameMaker's structure and layout paradigm is the 'Frame'. Yet I found the user documentation on the actual subject of frames to be perplexingly opaque. Frames are mentioned here and there, and what is described is not incorrect. But nowhere in the user docs is there a concise and complete discussion of this central FrameMaker feature -- which tends to stall efforts to actually get started on using FrameMaker in a productively-planned manner. Indeed, it is tempting to speculate that the FM learning curve is infamously steep precisely because this conceptual core is so ill illuminated. So, determined to dispell the fog (at least for me!), I resorted to studying the very helpful Programmers' Reference and Guide, and built a MIF-Browser tool to get to the bottom of the matter. Herewith is an effort to clarify what to me seem the essentials needed for productive use of FrameMaker, condensed in one place.
Wideman, Graham. WidemanOne. Design>Document Design>Software>Adobe FrameMaker
#22356
Document Setup in Adobe InDesign CS
In this topic, you will set up a new document in Adobe InDesign CS.
#23141
Document to the Question: Understanding What Users Ask and Where They Look for the Answers 
The user's idea of the problem is often very different than the help or program designer's. The online help topics often reflect the designer's viewpoint, not the user's.
STC India (2003). Articles>Documentation>User Centered Design>Help
#25379
Documenting in N-Dimensional Space
As technical communicators, we are being challenged with how to structure information in a multiple dimensional space made possible with Web technology.
Albing, Bill. KeyContent.org (2005). Articles>Documentation>Information Design
#28734
Documenting networks is playing less with words, and more with diagrams. It also requires an engineering mind, an ability to think out-of-box, and creative mind. Technical writers can rise to a new scale and expand their skill sets if they are able to document networks.
EDITsphere (2007). Articles>Documentation>Intranets>Graphic Design
#21657
The issue of documenting schemas—or any machine readable language—goes beyond simple additions of comments. Thereal challengeistocreateschemasthat arereadablebothdirectlybylookingat their sourcecodeandbydocumentation extraction tools.
van der Vlist, Eric. O'Reilly and Associates (2001). Articles>Information Design>XML>Documentation
#25922
There are a number of ways in which you can use drag and drop to get content in and out of InDesign. Here are my favorites: If you ever get a lot of content for a layout delivered to you in a folder full of images, logos, text files, etc., there's a fast and easy way to get the files into InDesign that will enable you to avoid placing them one by one.
Cole, Tim. Mac Design Magazine (2005). Design>Document Design>Software>Adobe InDesign
#28059
Dragging and dropping into InDesign 
There are a number of ways in which you can use drag and drop to get content in and out of InDesign.
Cole, Tim. Adobe Evangelists (2006). Design>Document Design>Software>Adobe InDesign
#27704
The Effects of Motivational Elements in User Instructions 
Should instructional texts be purely technical, with a focus on effectiveness and efficiency, or should they also focus on satisfying and motivating users? Good arguments have been made for paying attention to motivational aspects. But only analyses of existing instructions have been published so far, and guidelines for making user instructions motivational have not yet been studied carefully. This article presents motivational strategies and an experiment to test their effects. The results show that motivational elements have little effect on users’ effectiveness and efficiency in performing tasks, their product appreciation, and their self-efficacy, but they do increase users’ appreciation for the instructions.
Loorbach, N., Steehouder, M., Taal, E. Journal of Business and Technical Communication (2006). Articles>Documentation>Rhetoric>User Centered Design
#29091
The Effects of Using Colored Paper to Boost Response-Rates to Surveys and Questionnaires
Many people have speculated over the last 80 years or so about the possibilities of using colored paper to boost response-rates to surveys and questionnaires, and several studies have been carried out. Most of these enquiries report no significant effects from using colored paper, although there have been some exceptions. In this investigation we pooled together the results from all of the experimental studies known to us on the topic and we carried out a meta-analysis to see if there might be a positive effect for colored paper overall. The results indicated that this was not the case, for we found no significant differences between the response rates to white and to colored paper in general. However, when we considered separately the most common colors used, it appeared that pink paper had the greatest effect. "One of the first considerations [to obtain a high response-rate] is the color of paper used in mail questionnaires. United States government officials who are responsible for the mailing of several million questionnaires every year have definitely determined that yellow paper gives the highest percentage of returns, with pink next in effectiveness, while all dark colors give much smaller returns" [1, p. 142].
Hartley, James and Andrew Rutherford. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication (2003). Articles>Document Design>User Centered Design>Color
#29313
Efficiency: It's Not Just for Production Monkeys
With a few free tools from software companies and other users, you can carve out more time for what you really love -- creativity.
Ashcroft, Sean. Creative Pro (2007). Articles>Document Design>Software>Adobe InDesign
#21494
A compilation of the most frequently asked questions about graphics in electronic catalogs. You will find answers to general as well as to technical questions.
ITEDO Software (2003). Design>Documentation>Graphic Design>Online
#30084
Embedded Indexing in FrameMaker
Embedded indexing is the process of creating index entries electronically in a document’s files. Although desktop publishing packages are not the best tools for indexing, they can be used to create effective embedded indexes. For technical documents that will be updated frequently or will go online, technical communicators can create embedded indexes that will help their audience find information quickly and efficiently.
Mauer, Peg. STC Proceedings (1999). Articles>Document Design>Indexing>Adobe FrameMaker
#24160
Empirical Proof for Presenting Screen Captures in Software Documentation
None of the previous studies on screen captures addressed the functions in the framework. There was no empirical research on any of the four functions of screen captures. This article presents our research on these functions. Each section starts with a brief explanation of the function. Next, we illustrate the screen capture designs used to test the function. The remainder of each section explains the setup and results of the empirical study. The article ends with some general conclusions about the functions of screen captures.
Gellevij, Mark and Hans Van Der Meij. Technical Communication Online (2004). Articles>Documentation>Graphic Design>Screen Captures
#24884
The Empowered User: A New Approach To Software Documentation
User empowerment offers a strategy for addressing the software end user's needs. The definition of user empowerment emphasizes a user-driven, informationmanagement oriented approach in response to changes that have taken place in the modern workplace after computers and computer software arrived. Working with software requires a significant shift in thinking and learning, responding to increased abstraction, isolation, and information volumes. Computermediated work demands that users develop new skills and job roles, and that documentation writers develop new techniques for manuals.
Barker, Thomas. STC Proceedings (1994). Articles>Documentation>User Centered Design
#20480
Enhance Text Design with Nested Styles
Creating nested styles is a great way to add unusual text effects to your document.With Adobe InDesign® CS, you can apply one character style to the beginning of a paragraph, and then determine where that character style stops and the next character style begins. By creating a paragraph style that includes these nested styles, you can quickly apply the effect to multiple paragraphs.
#30491
Enhancing Customer Satisfaction by Assuring Documentation Quality
From the customer's perspective, an important and visible part of a product or service is its documentation. Bellcore's Technical Publications (Tech Pubs) organization uses a Quality Assurance (QA) program that focuses on enhancing customer satisfaction through delivering high-quality documentation. This program emphasizes a 'network' approach to documentation development, whereby technical writers can most efficiently use the support network of QA reviewers and management available to them. The Tech Pubs QA program draws on the needs of clients and the expertise of technical writers to strive to achieve the highest level of quality possible in producing documentation.
Dolese, Cathy and Tara Durkin. STC Proceedings (1993). Articles>Documentation>Quality>User Centered Design
#23131
Enhancing Tutorials With Acrobat
Ideas for enhancing tutorial documents using Acrobat features.
McCue, Claudia. PlanetPDF (2004). Design>Document Design>Tutorials>Adobe Acrobat
#26733
Enterprise Agility: SOX and Enterprise Information Integration
The intent of Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) can be characterized as risk reduction: reduce errors, inhibit fraud, and provide shareholders with transparent equal-access to material knowledge. But implementation is principally procedural controls and documentation, under threat of penalty. The vague parts of SOX are where the real leverage lies: principles of intent, and corporate transparency.
Dove, Rick. Paradigm Shift International (2005). Articles>Knowledge Management>Information Design>Documentation
#23539
Equations must have a number in parentheses at the right of the page. Must be numbered in the order they appear. Must be able to be read as part of the text.
Young, V.L. and K.J. Sampson. Ohio University (2004). Articles>Document Design>Technical Writing>Mathematics
#13053
Essential Resources for FrameMaker Users
FrameMaker may be the current standard for technical publication, but that doesn't mean it's a perfect program. Many writers who've used FrameMaker find that it's complex and quirky, with a lot functionality hidden in its now somewhat dated interface. So where do you go when you need help? This article will give you some suggestions.
Soltys, Keith. TECHWR-L (2001). Articles>Document Design>Software>Adobe FrameMaker
#18337
The Euro: What Will It Mean to the Desktop Publisher?
How will the character be inserted into typeset copy? Every time typesetters set a piece containing a monetary amount in Euros, they will have to type a character that doesn't exist in most typeface character sets. A partial remedy is the inclusion of a Euro character in the character set of Macintosh and Windows. For instance, starting in Mac OS 8.5, pressing Option-Shift-2 will insert the Euro character — but only in the fonts that come with the Mac. Older fonts will insert a different character.
Adams, Peter C.S. Makingpages.org (2002). Design>Document Design>Typography>Europe
#30269
An Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Automated Templates
Automated templates are an alternative to traditional supporting information for helping users perform complex tasks. In this study users performed tasks with and without wizard to trial and error, printed manuals, and online the use of automated templates. Results suggest that if fakes help, and examined the use of supporting information some time for users to learn to use automated templates, but in performing complex tasks. We also considered once they do, the templates help users perform tasks more whether automated templates serve an educational successfully and more quickly.
Bayer, Nancy L., R. Darren Carleton, Susan Goetchus, Robert Krull and Rick S. Sapir. STC Proceedings (1994). Articles>Document Design>Content Management
#21931
Special 'blooper reel' edition: the author's biggest paper mistakes.
Sidles, Constance J. Adobe Magazine (1996). Design>Document Design>Prepress>Paper
