#24676
Whatever the subject of lists I follow, two basic questions usually come up about every three months. Usually the person posting the question has to make a decision between: Pagemaker or Quark (and often FrameMaker), or Macintosh or PC.
Haugen, Diane. Document Design (2001). Articles>Document Design>Software
#22774
How can I tell if JBIG2 compression was used on my PDF file?
Rosenthol, Leonard. PDFzone (2004). Articles>Information Design>Software>Adobe Acrobat
#18957
Distiller or Writer for Web Docs? 
Acrobat Distiller will always produce better quality PDF's than PDFWriter - which is one reason why PDFWriter wasn't part of the standard installation in Acrobat 5 and is completely gone for Acrobat 6. Both tools add metadata to PDF files - PDFWriter only uses the old 'InfoDict' method, while Distiller does both that and the new XML-based metadata.
Rosenthol, Leonard. PDFzone (2003). Design>Publishing>Software>Adobe Acrobat
#22780
Can somebody explain what the process of distilling is -- in simple terms?
#31159
DocBook and DITA Editors: Is Their Future Online?
Thanks to my Google News Alert service, I recently discovered some on-demand XML Editors supporing DITA. While Salesforce democratized software on-demand in the CRM market, I am still perplexed on the future of on-demand pure play software. So let's see first what makes on-demand software, also known as Saas (Software as a Service), so attractive nowadays. I see five compelling reasons.
Talbot, Fabrice. LiveTechDocs (2008). Articles>Information Design>Software>DITA
#24990
FrameMaker is the industry standard for writing book-length documents. It is a powerful program capable of creating books of well over a thousand pages. The learning curve for the program is significant. FrameMaker is a much different animal than Microsoft Word and other word processors.
Hewitt, John. Writer's Resource Center (2004). Articles>Document Design>Software>Adobe FrameMaker
#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.
#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
#27213
The Draw Layer: A Metaphysical Space (And How to Bring It Back Down to Earth)
Word's draw layer is a metaphysical space where floating objects reside. It really isn't a layer, since floating objects can be sent behind the text layer or brought out in front of it. Either way, they continue to reside in the draw layer.
Rado, Dave and Bill Coan. Word MVP Site, The (2005). Articles>Graphic Design>Software>Microsoft Word
#28488
Whether you're creating a personal page for your family, a school or classroom web site, or one for your small business, Dreamweaver is a powerful tool that will help get the job done. Each Dreamweaver tutorial features text and screen shots, and some include narrated multimedia tutorials in Flash.
Anderson, Ben. Guides and Tutorials (2007). Articles>Web Design>Software>Dreamweaver
#24479
Dreamweaver MX: Insert an Accessible Table
Dreamweaver can create accessible Web content for users who have impairments. The Insert Accessible Table feature creates accessible table content for users who use a screen reader to experience the Web. Dreamweaver supports JAWS for Windows, from Freedom Scientific, and Window Eyes screen readers, from GW Micro.
Berg, Debbie. WebDeb (2003). Design>Web Design>Software>Dreamweaver
#24480
Use site cloaking to prevent certain files and folders from being uploaded or downloaded.
Berg, Debbie. WebDeb (2003). Design>Web Design>Software>Dreamweaver
#21310
So, you’ve read the article, 'HTML Wireframes and Prototypes: All Gain and No Pain' and now want you want to make an HTML wireframe or prototype. This an easy and pain-free process, using Macromedia Dreamweaver 4.0. Follow this step-by-step guide and you'll be up and prototyping in a jiffy.
Stanford, Julie. Boxes and Arrows (2003). Articles>Web Design>Software>Dreamweaver
#31187
Defining a site is one of the more complicated procedures in Dreamweaver, so do not attempt this process unless you have some time, patience, and knowledge of how to transfer files to your server space.
Cramer, Dan. Ereunao (2007). Articles>Web Design>Software>Dreamweaver
#14250
Effects of Pictures, Age, and Experience on Learning to Use a Computer Program 
Research indicates that older people generally do not process information differently than younger people do. Instead, 'the main difference ... seems to be that elderly users are less capable in dealing with any shortcomings in the manuals than younger users. The impact of badly designed manuals is usually greater for elderly people,' (van Hees 1996, p. 531). In line with this view, Hartley (1994) suggests that 'text will be easier for older people to use when their perceptual and memory processing loads are reduced' (p. 171). Although the criteria for good design remain a bit unclear, we can accept the general idea that designing well will help the elderly.
van der Meij, Hans and Mark Gellevij. Technical Communication Online (2002). Design>Accessibility>Software>Elderly
#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
#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
#10630
The EZSort tool helps interface designers organize information based on users' expectations using statistical cluster analysis. This tool includes two packages -- USort and EZCalc. The USort program can be used by card sort participants to sort virtual cards with a simple GUI interface, instead of using physical cards. It can also be used by study administrators to generate card list and enter existing card sort result from individual participants. Once individual card sort results are captured by the USort package, test administrators can use the EZCalc package to manage card sort data from multiple participants, and perform cluster analyses. EZCalc generates tree diagrams that allow direct adjustment of the cluster thresholds. The packages can be used in designing Web sites, program interfaces, and many other information design applications.
IBM (1999). Resources>Software>User Centered Design>Card Sorting
#22323
In this tutorial you'll learn how to use layer masks to create the effect of one image gradually fading into another.
Elated (2003). Design>Graphic Design>Software>Adobe Photoshop
#14684
Faster, Better, and Cheaper: The Software Development Life Cycle
Block shows how a technical writer's involvement in each stage of software development can lead to higher quality software products.
Block, Barbara M. Intercom (2001). Design>User Centered Design>Software
#21864
There are plenty of things in life worth fearing, but frame-based layout isn't one of them. If you've been using PageMaker 6.5 but haven't explored frames yet, here's your chance to find out just how much fun you've been missing.
Kvern, Olav Martin. Adobe Magazine (1998). Design>Document Design>Software>Adobe PageMaker
#27426
Shows how to find the exact center point of your Photoshop document.
Kloskowski, Matt. Planet Photoshop. Design>Graphic Design>Software>Adobe Photoshop
