RoboHelp Office v.3x: the Good, the Bad, and the Indifferent

Overall, in my experience, writers and programmers prefer to use RoboHelp to create and maintain Help systems because the application has fewer issues with the Internet and programming platforms. In fact, for this latest version Of RoboHelp, I have only one minor complaint. Here is a summary of my findings.

Hewitt, Sally. MetroVoice (2003). Articles>Documentation>Software>Adobe RoboHelp

RoboHelp Resources

RoboHelp is the industry's top-selling Help authoring tool. Designed for WinHelp and Microsoft HTML Help, RoboHelp can also be used to produce WinHelp 2000, WebHelp, JavaHelp, and Oracle Help for Java.

Knopf Online (2003). Resources>Documentation>Software>Adobe RoboHelp

Rough Stuff  

Is your Illustrator artwork too smooth-looking? Try adding patterns and textures to your work.

Alspach, Ted and Jennifer Alspach. Adobe Magazine (1996). Design>Graphic Design>Software>Adobe Illustrator

Ruler of All You Survey: How to Make the Best Use of Word's Rulers

If you work for a company of any size at all, then simply getting your staff to use the ruler properly will save them many hours every week, and significantly increase your company's profitability.

Barnhill, Suzanne and Dave Rado. Word MVP Site, The (2005). Articles>Word Processing>Software>Microsoft Word

Rules of the Game  

PageMaker's paragraph rules feature lets you attach lines to paragraphs. So what? Watch this ...

Kvern, Olav Martin. Adobe Magazine (1995). Design>Document Design>Software>Adobe PageMaker

Running with "KEDS": Document Control in Lotus Notes  

Many companies have faced the challenge of putting their policy and procedure documents online, usually in a network or Intranet. KEMET Electronics Corporation had the extra hurdle of achieving complete document control online, The solution is a program cal!ed 'KEDS' (KEMET Electronic Document System).

Ries, Ken. STC Proceedings (1997). Articles>Content Management>Software

SaaSbiz

Information on Software as a Service, ERP Technology, SaaS Software, Enterprise, CRM, Vendore, IT, SME and SaaS News.

Smith, Rizz. SaaSbiz. Resources>Software>Content Management>Blogs

The SALIS: Software Repository System    

Software development and related IT services have boosted the Indian economy in the recent past. There are potential opportunities to provide innovative products and services. There are a large number of small and medium sized software development enterprises that are today in the market in response to demand. While most of them are engaged in software development services, there are a few organizations involved in software product development. Parallelly, Open Source Software (OSS) developers provide the complete source code of their software (libraries, APIs, device drivers and functional packages) free of charge. There is a great incentive for software product developers to use these available resources. However, all Open Source software is subject to specific terms of use or a license which is specified as part of the software. There is no catalogued repository of open source software that provides the licensing details as well as terms of reuse of the software. Software And Licensing Information System (SALIS) fills that void and attempts to provide details required by software product developers to make a decision on what software components can be used and built upon.

Garge, Gopi Krishna, Malati Hegde, Geetha Anil Kumar and Savitha Anil Kumar. International Journal for Technical Communication (2007). Articles>Software>Databases

Save Time With Xpress Design: Style Sheets With QuarkXPress

Consistency is one of the principles that designer must follow. Style Sheets help the designer so he doesn't have to apply manaully the same type of formatting over and over again thrughout the document. Let me give you an example. You are designing a magazine promoting a certain item. You want to have all of your titles with a certain font, a certain size and a certain colour. You can record all of these information in a Style Sheet and then apply them to each title with a click. Now, let's say that you decide that the titles are two small and they all have to be made 4 points bigger. Well, you just go to your Style Sheet and modify the size of your font there and all of the parts of text with that Style Sheet will change in one go. This tutorial is for users of QuarkXPress 5 and 6. If you want to know how to create Style Sheets in QuarkXPress 4 follow the instructions for QuarkXPress version 5.

Bruno, Elisabetta. Designorati (2005). Design>Document Design>Software>QuarkXPress

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

Screen Captures in Software Documentation    

While screen captures are the most widely used illustrations in manuals, there is almost no literature on their role and design. In this paper we draw together practice, theory and empirical research to advance a taxonomy that identifies these roles and designs. We suggest that screen captures in software documentation can help the user to switch attention, develop a mental model of the program, verify screen states, and identify and locate window elements and objects. Four important design areas (coverage, positioning, size, and cueing) are distinguished and empirical findings discussed. Research has substantiated the claim that screen captures speed up task completion, but others have yet to be proven. We believe that a more refined approach, afforded by the taxonomy, is likely to improve practice and research, and yield strong evidence supporting the use of screen captures in software documentation.

van der Meij, Hans and Mark Gellevij. Technical Communication Online (1998). Articles>Software>Documentation>Screen Captures

Scriptwriting Software  

Compares and contrasts two popular scriptwriting programs: MovieMagic Screenwriter 2000 and Final Draft Audio Video.

Chu, Steve W. Intercom (2002). Articles>Word Processing>Software>Screenwriting

The Secret Ingredient of Every Methodology

In any software development methodology, there's a secret ingredient that doesn't get enough press. It doesn't matter whether you follow Cooper, Beck, McConnell, or anyone else on the long list of notables.

Ferlazzo, Ellen Lawson. Sprezzatura Systems (2002). Articles>Software>Methods

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

Section 508 Templates

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.

Adobe. Design>Accessibility>Software>Section 508

Seek and Ye Shall Find--And Replace  

Offers tips on using search and replace commands in word processors.

Hart, Geoffrey J.S. Intercom (2001). Articles>Word Processing>Software>Search

Selecting Stuff

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

Sending a Portfolio Presentation to a Client

In Photoshop CS there's a new feature that takes a folder full of images, creates a slide show (complete with transitions), and compresses it into PDF format so you can e-mail it easily to a client for proofing. This is perfect for showing your portfolio to clients, sending clients proofs of wedding shots or portrait sittings, and any of a dozen other uses, none of which I can happen to think of right at this particular moment, but I'm sure later today, when I'm at the mall or driving to the office, they'll come to me.

Kelby, Scott. Layers Magazine (2005). Articles>Presentations>Software>Adobe Photoshop

Services First, Technology Second, People Third

Microsoft doesn't care much about shared source or Smart Tags and we are wasting our time following their marketing trail. We need to focus on Microsoft's true goal, which is to completely dominate the internet services market. We should pay attention to how they are building a services infrastructure, not a technology infrastructure. We should figure out how they are going to use tools like Passport and Microsoft Messenger to control our personal information and various internet transactions.

Rhodes, John S. WebWord (2001). Articles>Internet>Software

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

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

Sharing Files Between OpenOffice.org and Microsoft Office

Even if you're the most dedicated OpenOffice.org (OOo) user in the world, sooner or later you'll be asked to share files with someone using Microsoft Office. Some free software advocates refuse outright, or suggest outputting to HTML, PDF, or RTF formats, but these aren't always options -- especially if your boss is the one doing the asking. However, with a few preparations and a sense of what works and what doesn't, you can usually share files with Microsoft Office users with a minimum of headaches on both sides. Here's how.

Byfield, Bruce. NewsForge (2005). Articles>Word Processing>Software>OpenOffice

A Shortcut for Selecting Online Publishing Tools for UNIX  

Online publishing is beginning to boom thanks to recent technology developments. On Unix platforms, the variety of tools available for developing online documents can be confusing. The confusion eases considerably when you realize that the tools are of two types: those that emphasize searching the document's text and those that emphasize presenting the document's information. A third type of tool, designed specifically for online publishing, will become available on Unix platforms soon. Someone looking for an online publishing tool can quickly narrow the selection by considering which of these types best fits the application.

Harvey, Patrick. STC Proceedings (1994). Articles>Publishing>Software>UNIX

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