#14658
IBM ViaVoice, Millenium Edition 
Schulter reviews the performance of IBMís latest speech recognition software.
Schulter, David. Intercom (2000). Articles>Technology>Software>Voice
#21960
Stuck for design ideas? Try messing around with plug-in filters for Illustrator.
Kvern, Olav Martin. Adobe Magazine (1995). Design>Graphic Design>Software>Adobe Illustrator
#25423
For the same reason a doctor uses different types of scissors or scalpels for specific cases, or a handyman carries different types of screwdrivers, a smart designer will have the tools that are necessary to complete any design task that might arise. In many ways Photoshop and Illustrator seem to be exactly alike, but they aren't.
Golding, Mordy. Illustrator World (2005). Articles>Graphic Design>Software
#14722
Identifying Additions and Deletions, Part I: Using Compatible Software
Hart describes the problems and possibilities of Microsoft Word's Track Changes feature.
Hart, Geoffrey J.S. Intercom (2001). Articles>Editing>Software>Microsoft Word
#14736
Identifying Additions and Deletions, Part II: Incompatible Software
Hart describes the difficulties of viewing electronic edits when the editor and the author are using incompatible software, and offers tips for working around these difficulties.
Hart, Geoffrey J.S. Intercom (2002). Articles>Editing>Software>Video
#20102
Illustration Software Tutorials
Tutorials and techniques for drawing and working with illustration software in general. Also tutorials for specific programs including Illustrator, CorelDRAW, Freehand, Xara, Canvas, and more.
Chastain, Sue. About.com. Resources>Software>Technical Illustration
#30074
Implementing New Desktop Publishing Tools
When faced with having to respond to increased demands for online documentation using outdated tools, the technical writing staff of Hughes Network Systems (HNS) realized the need for a whole suite of state-of-the art tools and techniques. The challenge lay in convincing management to spend the time and money to acquire them. By coupling an understanding of their own needs as well as those of their customers with an appreciation for the HNS corporate culture, the writers were able to effect a strategy that guaranteed success.
Lipkin, Regina M. STC Proceedings (2001). Articles>Document Design>Software>Case Studies
#19803
Implications for Writers Documenting Object-Oriented Projects
Object-oriented (OO) projects bring with them new technology and new processes. While programmers focus on the OO methodologies governing design and implementation of program code, writers must struggle to adapt to a very different kind of development cycle. To avoid chaos, development teams must explicitly define their processes from the start.
Berry, Robert R., Karen L. Mobley and Kathryn L. Turk. STC Proceedings (1994). Articles>Documentation>Software
#20506
With a little forethought, placing text in InDesign becomes almost effortless.
Adobe (2003). Articles>Document Design>Software>Adobe InDesign
#30830
The Importance of Software Documentation Standards
The look and feel of a help system can differ greatly from one product to the next, as can the writing. So how can the technical writing community emphasize the importance of software documentation standards and create a more unified help experience that users can adapt to?
Helpscribe (2008). Articles>Documentation>Standards>Software
#18496
The Importance of TMX for Translation Tool Buyers
In June of 1997, a small group of individuals representing the major buyers and providers of translation tools and services began a process that will have dramatic benefits for the users of translation tools. With the momentum of Microsoft behind it, that group began defining a standard for exchanging translation memory data between translation tools. This definition has been recently published by the Localization Industry Standards Association (LISA) as the Translation Memory eXchange (TMX) standard. Defined as a Document Type Definition (DTD) in SGML, this standard defines vendor-neutral conventions for storing translation memories in a manner that allows them to be uniformly exchanged between any tool of any vendor adhering to the standard. So how will TMX affect the translation tool market and what does it mean to current and future users of translation tools?
Briggs, Brian M. SDL International. Articles>Language>Localization>Software
#11785
Improving User Documentation and Customer Care
In recent years, the Customer Care Survey of Service and Support Practices in the Software Industry has consistently reported that only about half of software publishers put their documentation through a formal test. We thought that these numbers were low, so we checked them at the Software Testing, Analysis & Review (STAR) conference (Orlando, May 16, 1996). During a plenary session, Kaner asked attendees (software testers) whether their groups tested their companies’ user manuals. Confirming the Customer Care data, at least half the room stood up to signify that their companies did not. This means that reputable companies are not testing their manuals – companies who don’t care about quality don’t spend money to send testers to STAR.
Kaner, Cem and David Pels. Usability Interface (2000). Articles>Usability>Software
#29655
Improving Your Editing Efficiency: Software Skills, Soft Skills, and Survival Skills
Editing efficiently involves a mix of software skills, soft (human) skills, and strategies for surviving chaos. Although software skills are certainly important--we never have as much time as we need, and computers really can help--we must still nurture author-editor relationships. Knowing the strategies battle-scarred editors have developed over the years can save you from duplicating those scars. In this paper, I'll discuss the software skills you'll need to work efficiently, how to cope with the human factors involved in editing, and some strategies for managing the often-chaotic editorial life.
Hart, Geoffrey J.S. STC Proceedings (2005). Articles>Editing>Software
#25921
Harness the power of scripts to automate common tasks in InDesign.
Kloskowski, Matt. Mac Design Magazine (2005). Design>Document Design>Software>Adobe InDesign
#22764
InDesign CS has introduced a large number of changes in scripting. Some things are new, some are simple changes in terminology, and some are changes that will break existing scripts. This is a guide to some of these changes, and is designed primarily to help in moving scripts written for version 2.0.2 to CS.
Stanley, Shane. Scripting Matters (2004). Design>Document Design>Software>Adobe InDesign
#26016
If you approach InDesign as you did your former page layout application, you may be missing out on some features that will make your life easier.
White, Terry. InDesign User Group (2005). Design>Document Design>Software>Adobe InDesign
#25620
InDesign Tools Palette, Part 1
This is the first of several tutorials covering InDesign CS' tool palette. It covers the Selection tools, the Pen tool and the Type tool. It also gives tips and trick on how to make selections in InDesign.
Bruno, Elisabetta. Designorati (2005). Design>Software>Graphic Design>Adobe InDesign
#26559
InDesign Tutorial: Advanced Typographical Controls
Find out how to use Adobe's single line and paragraph composer, hyphenation settings and other typographical controls.
Bruno, Elisabetta. Designorati (2005). Design>Software>Document Design>Adobe InDesign
#26011
InDesign Tutorial: Design With Character - Character Style Sheets
Character Style Sheets can be real time savers for designers especially in the creation of long or multi-page documents. Character Style Sheets are simply recorded format that you can then use in your design at will. Consistency is one of the principles that designers must follow. Character Sheets help the designer so he doesn't have to apply manually the same type of formatting over and over again throughout the document.
Bruno, Elisabetta. Designorati (2005). Design>Document Design>Software>Adobe InDesign
#25420
InDesign Tutorial: Setting up a Document
Let's start with some basics. Here you will learn how to create a new document, add pages and other basic functions. A second tutorial will follow to complement this one.
Bruno, Elisabetta. Designorati (2005). Articles>Document Design>Software>Adobe InDesign
#25958
InDesign Tutorial: The Paragraph Palette
With this tutorial you will learn how to use InDesign's Paragraph Palette. Here is an explanation of most of InDesign's Paragrah Palette's functions which should arm you with enough knowledge to do most design tasks you might need to do while laying out a design document.
Bruno, Elisabetta. Designorati (2005). Design>Document Design>Software>Adobe InDesign
#25873
#25842
InDesign Tutorial: The Tools Palette Part 2
This is a second tutorial about InDesign's Tools Palette, which follows a previous post from May 2005.
Bruno, Elisabetta. Designorati (2005). Design>Software>Design>Adobe InDesign
#31133
InDesign is Adobe's replacement for the aging PageMaker application. In many ways, InDesign is very similar to PageMaker, but there are differences that can throw an experienced PageMaker user for a loop (albeit briefly). In this tutorial you will set up a simple layout and master page.
Iowa State University (2000). Design>Document Design>Software>Adobe InDesign
#25421
This tutorial goes through the different parts that compose InDesign's work area. If you want to drive a car, you want to make sure that you know where the break is, where your wheel is, where your indicator is and so on. The same is for InDesign. You want to know where you can find all the tools that you will be using to create your InDesign documents.
Bruno, Elisabetta. Designorati (2005). Articles>Document Design>Software>Adobe InDesign
