#19670
Screen Capture Software: Better than Print Screen 
Everyone knows that detailed pictures are a necessary supplement for technical documentation. For those who create software manuals, this means screen captures—images of what users see as they look at the monitor.
Wardin, Carla. Intercom (2003). Design>Graphic Design>Software>Screen Captures
#26865
Secrets to Creating Compelling Photo Collages
Although collage is an old art form, tools such as Photoshop CS2 give it a new twist. You don't need to get out paint, brushes, scissors, and glue to make art. Instead, everything you need is on your computer. With a handful of photos, Photoshop, and the desire to experiment, you're well on your way to creating collage art. Helen Bradley gives the how-to's for creating a collage in Photoshop by using photos and other techniques, and how to use some design and Photoshop tricks to make sure the result is balanced and pleasing to the eye.
Bradley, Helen. PeachPit Press (2006). Design>Graphic Design>Software>Adobe Photoshop
#19646
A website containing templates for producing accessible design using Adobe software products. These documents detail the accessibility features of Adobe products in the context of U.S. government regulations as contained in Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act.
#22324
This tutorial will show you some ways to select areas of your images using the variety of selection tools available in Photoshop. First we'll talk about why selecting part of an image is so useful, and then we'll examine the various selection methods in Photoshop: the Marquee tools; the Lasso tools; the Magic Wand tool; the Color Range tool; and the Quick Mask mode. Finally, we'll look at ways to modify and fine-tune your selections.
Elated (2002). Design>Graphic Design>Software>Adobe Photoshop
#20015
Serving Up Web-Friendly Animations in a Flash: Macromedia Flash Basics
You've undoubtedly heard of Macromedia's Director and have oohed and ahhed over Shockwave movies on the web after, of course, they finally finished downloading. Flash, however, may be less familiar. The May release of Macromedia Flash 2, formerly FutureSplash, marked a new phase in web animation -- one that streams. Working with Flash will enable you to create sophisticated frame by frame animations that stream and include sound. Flash movies require a plug-in; however, you can export your final flash files in one of 12 other formats, including GIF89. So if you're of the anti-plugin crowd, don't hit your back button yet. Besides, if you're relatively sure your audience is using a 'new' browser, then they'll likely have the Shockwave plug-in built in (once both browsers 4.0 are out, that is).
Cowen, Amy. WebRef (1997). Design>Web Design>Software>Flash
#18345
Set Up Records For a Smooth Merger
Instantly generate documents, such as mailing labels, form letters, or envelopes, with the new data merge feature in Adobe® PageMaker®. Using data from spreadsheets, databases, or text editors, you can merge multiple records into one publication. These steps explain how to prepare records so that they merge flawlessly in your publication.
Adobe (2003). Design>Document Design>Software>Adobe PageMaker
#20503
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
#13588
Single-Sourcing with FrameMaker 
As a technical writer, you may be exploring single-sourcing--producing multiple document outputs from a single information source--as a possible option for easing document development and production. Although solutions such as databases, SGML, and XML are available that can enable you to reuse information to produce multiple outputs, single-sourcing doesn't have to involve such complex solutions, expenses, and learning curves. Instead, if your single-sourcing needs are relatively simple, you can effectively single-source using a tool that technical writers commonly have available: FrameMaker.
Marques, Michele. TECHWR-L (2002). Design>Content Management>Software>Adobe FrameMaker
#25961
Site Building With Dreamweaver's Power Tools: Templates
Templates are a core tool in Dreamweaver--and one that's gaining in importance and use. Many designers employ templates at the most basic level to ramp up their production efforts; however, an equal number of designers now avoid them because incorrect setup and application left a bad taste. The benefits of templates far outweigh the time required to master them and it's definitely worth understanding how to do them right.
Lowery, Joseph. Layers Magazine (2005). Design>Web Design>Software>Dreamweaver
#25185
Sizing Images for Print in Elements
This reader wants help sizing images to gang print onto single photo paper sheets...
Photoshop 911 (2004). Design>Graphic Design>Software>Adobe Photoshop
#21892
Sizing PDFs for Posting Online
What is the preferred maximum target file size for PDFs that will be accessed online by average users?
Miller, James. PDFzone (2003). Design>Web Design>Software>Adobe Acrobat
#20116
So Many Tools — So Little Time: Selecting the Right Online Tool
There is a systematic and methodical approach to picking an online authoring tool. First, define the online requirements. Once this is done, match the available online technology to your online requirements. Finally, prototype using a number of different tools.
Kuse, Donna L. STC Proceedings (1996). Design>Web Design>Software>Dreamweaver
#20444
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
#13903
Social and Cognitive Effects of Professional Communication on Software Usability 
We designed and piloted a technical communication course for software engineering majors to take concurrently with their capstone project course in software design. In the pilot, one third of the capstone design course students jointly enrolled in the writing class. One goal of the collaborative courses was to use writing to improve the usability of students' software. We studied the effects of writing on students' user-centered beliefs and design practices and on the usability of their product, using surveys, document analyses, expert reviews, and user test results. When possible, we compared the usability processes and products of teams who did and did not take the writing class. Our findings suggest that the synergy of this interdisciplinary approach effectively sensitized students to user-centered design, instilled in them a commitment to it, and helped them develop usable products.
Mirel, Barbara E. and Leslie A. Olsen. Technical Communication Quarterly (1998). Design>Software>Usability>Rhetoric
#18308
Software for Building a Full-Featured Discipline-Based Web Portal
The University of Wisconsin-Madison's Internet Scout Project [1] received funding in the fall of 2000 from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation [2] to build an open source software package that would allow collection developers to share their collection's metadata via the web. The resulting software, the Scout Portal Toolkit (SPT), is virtually turnkey, very inexpensive to maintain and operate, and easy for non-technical staff to download, set up and populate with metadata. Conforming to international standards for metadata, data harvesting, and Web technology makes SPT useful for and usable by a wide variety of projects and organizations, allowing and encouraging collaboration and record sharing among projects. Over the SPT project's two-year period, beta testers and in-house quality assurance testing provided valuable feedback, helping to ensure that the software was robust, easy to use, and well-suited to the needs of the intended audience.
Almasy, Edward, David Sleasman and Rachael Bower. D-Lib Magazine (2002). Articles>Web Design>Content Management>Software
#14601
The Software for Cultures and the Cultures in Software
Software is viewed as an artifact which interacts with cultures of societies in which it functions. Software manufacturers make efforts to adapt the appearance of their products to aesthetic and historical values of the markets in which they are sold (“software for cultures”). It is well known that software embeds behavioral and organizational principles that are culture-determined (“cultures in software”). Internet and e-commerce bring these phenomena into the fore of the debate on societal implications of Information Technology. The paper argues for a research agenda on the multifaceted interactions between software and culture.
Kersten, Gregory E., Stan Matwin, Sunil J. Noronha and Mik A. Kersten. University of Ottawa (1999). Articles>User Centered Design>Software
#21726
Software for Information Architects
Information professionals have a love-hate relationship with technology. We love IT because it has made our jobs necessary by enabling the creation and connection of tremendous volumes of content, applications and processes. We hate IT because it constantly threatens to replace the need for us.
Morville, Peter. Argus Center (2001). Careers>Information Design>Software
#20600
The new source code features in Adobe® GoLive® CSmake it easy to enhance the appearance of source code and specific HTML elements.
Adobe (2003). Design>Web Design>Software>Adobe GoLive
#19240
Speechlet is a system which allows blind students of the Java programming language to use existing course material. Most Java courses use program examples that generate graphic output. The main reason for this is that students enjoy writing programs that produce interesting and exciting outputs. However, a blind student is unable to see the output of their program and is unable to even gauge that their program has worked. Speechlet was therefore produced to allow a blind student to move the mouse pointer over the screen and hear a spoken description of what is there. This paper discusses the reasons for the development of Speechlet, followed by a description of its operation and finally a discussion of its use in practise.
Mullier, D.J. TechDis (2003). Articles>Web Design>Accessibility>Software
#19634
A Standards-Compliant Publishing Tool for the Rest of Us?
Publishing with web standards is not for experts alone. A new tool hopes to make it easier for anyone. ALA interviews Six Apart’s Anil Dash about what might be the first standards-compliant web publishing tool for the rest of us.
Dash, Anil. List Apart, A (2003). Articles>Web Design>Software
#27440
'Step-and-repeat' is the term used for the process of duplicating an object and spacing or transforming the duplicates sequentially.
Bauer, Peter. Planet Photoshop (2006). Design>Graphic Design>Software>Adobe Photoshop
#21839
Twelve Photoshop tips for the Web that'll make you a speed demon.
Peck, Wendy. Adobe Magazine (2000). Design>Graphic Design>Software>Adobe Photoshop
#30821
The Stomper Scrutinizer: Web Browser w/Visual Simulation
The Stomper Scrutinizer is a webkit based browser that includes a simulation of human foveal and peripheral vision. By providing a realistic distortion of non-focused page content, the Scrutinizer reveals the perceptability of design features. It is also useful for conducting usability tests, design reviews, and has a number of features (including screenshots) for talking about design.
Andy Edmonds. StomperNet (2007). Resources>Software>Accessibility>Web Design
#28455
This tutorial teaches CSS using both hand-coding and Style Master for Windows. You can also follow it using instructions for Style Master for Mac OS X. By working through the exercises you will learn all about CSS for text styling and page appearance including layout, and create a stylish looking page like this. If you want to learn CSS by hand-coding alone, simply work through all the exercises and code examples and skip all the specially styled Style Master instructions.
Western Civilization (2005). Design>Web Design>Software>CSS
#31951
There’s no question that developers need version control when working on an app. But what about designers? In this article Chris Nagele, founder of Beanstalk, talks about the benefits and basics of Subversion for designers.
Nagele, Chris. Vitamin (2008). Articles>Web Design>Collaboration>Software
