Technical documents provide information that readers need to make decisions or complete tasks. Technical editing ensures that this information is presented in a way that facilitates the reader's understanding. Technical editors offer suggestions for improvement in design of both content and layout and therefore work with the document in both early and late stages.
#24020
A Copyeditor's Adventures in Multimedia Land
Publication in the 1990s encompasses worlds that most copyeditors never dreamed of when, with a mixture of delight and mistrust, we cautiously approached the first spell checkers. At least we could relate to the idea of mechanically checking spelling. The whole idea of multimedia is a little more unnerving.
Whalen, Elizabeth A. Editorial Eye, The (1998). Articles>Editing>Multimedia
#22103
Review: The Copyeditor's Handbook: A Guide for Book Publishing and Corporate Communications 
The Copyeditor's Handbook is a solid resource for novice and experienced copyeditors alike. Although it functions well as a textbook and a general learning tool, it certainly is not a replacement for The Chicago manual of style, nor does it purport to be. It's a book that acknowledges an assortment of vexing copyediting questions and offers multiple answers to most of them.
Hernandez, Gary. Technical Communication Online (2002). Articles>Reviews>Editing
#28826
Core Principles of Information Architecture 
Technical editing is like information architecture. As technical editors, we complete development edits and usability edits to ensure organization, labeling, navigation and search meet the users' needs. As information architects, we are involved with "the design of organization, labeling, navigation, and searching systems to help people find and manage information more successfully."
Corbin Nichols, Michelle. STC Proceedings (2007). Presentations>Information Design>Technical Editing
#15103
Describes a college course on content editing--editing that focuses on clarifying content. Emphasizing career opportunity, the course touches on new technologies that have transformed editing, the editor-author relationship, and the editing of user manuals.
Bush, Donald W. Intercom (2000). Articles>Education>Editing
#13722
Courses for Technical Editors in Australia
I don't know of any tertiary-level courses in Australia specifically for technical editors, although there are several programs for general editors or journalists. I'll add information to this page as I find it.
Technical Editors Eyrie. Academic>Courses>Technical Editing>Australia
#23557
As an editor, you realize how important it is to edit information consistently. What you might not realize how important it is to let the writer know how you are going to edit, what you are going to edit, and what you expect from the writer. An editing policy lets you communicate these things to the writer. When you and the writer know what to expect from each other, you are able to work together as a team to produce a quality document.
Reed, Wendy L. STC Proceedings (1994). Articles>Editing>Collaboration
#24448
Using simple templates, you learn how to customize editing metrics to represent your department processes.
Avanzato, Chris. STC Proceedings (1995). Articles>Editing
#25242
Creating, Implementing, and Maintaining Corporate Style Guides in an Age of Technology
This article details a step-by-step process for creating, implementing, and maintaining a corporate style guide to ensure consistency in organizational communication. Through literature research, analysis of sample style guides, and practitioner interviews, this article provides recommendations for gaining management support, building a process to develop a style guide, determining content, encouraging employee buy-in, and maintaining a corporate style guide.
Bright, Mark R. Technical Communication Online (2005). Articles>Editing>Style Guides>Collaboration
#19474
Creative Techniques for Modifying Images 
Images are an integral part of most page layouts. Documents such as brochures, newsletters or information flyers rely on images in many ways. Images can be manipulated to suit a particular design purpose. They can be used as backgrounds to anchor elements, frames to delineate regions or shapes to help balance the page. Images can also be used to add interest to a page by contributing shape, texture or color. To use images in a creative manner, it is necessary to realize that the image is not a static entity. Modifying images for a particular design purpose or to add interest to a page can result in a more creative design.
Birchman, Judith A. STC Proceedings (2001). Design>Graphic Design>Image Editing
#31020
Critiquing Critiques: A Genre Analysis of Feedback Across Novice to Expert Design Studios 
In the discipline of design, the most common presentation genre is the critique, and the most central aspect of this genre is the feedback. Using a qualitative framework, this article identifies a typology of feedback, compares the frequencies of feedback types between different levels of design studios ranging from novice to expert, and explores what the feedback reflects about the social and educational context of these design studios. Results suggest that the feedback socialized students into egalitarian relationships and autonomous decision-making identities that were perhaps more reflective of academic developmental stages or idealized workplace contexts than of actual professional settings--therefore potentially complicating the preprofessional goals of the critique.
Dannels, Deanna P. and Kelly Norris Martin. Journal of Business and Technical Communication (2008). Articles>Editing>Collaboration
#31096
Use this study guide to learn how to crop and size graphics in several different applications. Cropping is not particularly problematic, but sizing is.
McMurrey, David A. Illuminati Online (2004). Design>Graphic Design>Image Editing
#23495
Although CRT is small in numbers, it is already acquainted with the 'big' sister societies, such as tekom (Germany), ISTC (Great Britain) and other Technical Communicator groups in Europe. We were very pleased with the initial contacts made in Brussels early in 2001 aimed at establishing a new umbrella organization for technical communicators in Europe.
Flacke, Marie-Louise. TC-FORUM (2000). Articles>Editing>Regional>Europe
#20549
Like many of you, I come from a training background. Like many of you, we’re experts in group facilitation, engaging our learners, and creating instructionally sound materials. Yet, many trainers are not graphic artists nor do we have a score of graphic artists helping us create our training presentations. As a result, our training presentations often may not adequately represent the professionalism and quality that we’ve built into our training.
Traut, Terence R. Presenters University (2003). Design>Graphic Design>Image Editing>Technical Illustration
#31138
Once you have successfully captured your video clips, you will want to edit and arrange them to create you movie. It is very rare to flawlessly capture exactly what you need, with the exact in and out points that you want. You will need to trim unwanted frames and footage from your clips.
Iowa State University (2002). Design>Multimedia>Editing>Video
#22115
Deciding What Needs to be Done
Before you begin editing a document, you need to analyse it and plan what needs to be done. The exception is when your job is strictly limited (by your supervisor or the client) to correcting only the glaring errors of spelling, punctuation and grammar (a 'light edit'). There is no point to attempting a more substantive edit if doing so will only get you into trouble (or if the client won't pay you for the time you spend).
Hollis Weber, Jean. Technical Editors Eyrie (2001). Articles>Editing>Project Management
#29428
Defining Editing and the Top Five Rules
Do no harm: this means no harm to the author's intended meaning, reputation, or legal liability; no harm to the reader, such as by omitting necessary safety information; and no ethical harm, such as by knowingly distorting the truth.
#26458
Glossaries are lists of specialized word definitions contained in technical documentation that can assist the nontechnical user to comprehend fully the technical topic at hand. In a joint project with SAS Institute, I sought to discover how glossaries were first developed, what guidelines are available for technical writers in the writing of glossaries, and what rhetorical technique might be of value for glossary writers. I found that glossaries are much more than simple word lists; they are, in fact, an opportunity for the technical writer to outline and protect the parameters of technical discourse between a company and its customers across multiple communications channels, and different languages. In an increasingly global technical environment, an explicit connection between the rhetorical technique of definition and the writing of glossary definitions should be made to aid technical writers in this task.
Tackabery, Michelle Kidd. Technical Communication Online (2005). Articles>Editing>Glossary
#13455
The levels of edit concept can be a valuable editorial tool, especially to clarify for staff what editors do with documents. However focusing on degrees of edit (light, medium, and heavy) can simplify decisions about editorial work on a document. Dividing heavy edits into macro edits and micro edits can clarify what editors do in editing a document thoroughly. This presentation simplifies the editorial process by examining the three different degrees of edit and establishing the aims and procedures for macro and micro editing.
Samson, Donald C., Jr. STC Proceedings (1993). Presentations>Writing>Editing
#15111
Describes how technical writers can design usable, helpful tables of contents for both printed documentation and help files.
Wright, Marcia G. Intercom (2002). Articles>Editing>Information Design
#27985
Designing an Effective Review Process
Review processes can easily become frustrating and complicated. Hart shows how to create and revive a review process that can be tailored to the needs of your situation.
Hart, Geoffrey J.S. Intercom (2006). Articles>Publishing>Editing>Workflow
#22838
Developing a Company Style Guide
Every company that produces external publications--whether brochures, research papers, or reference manuals-benefit from a company style guide. This paper discusses the advantages of a style guide, why a company-specific style guide is preferred, how to develop a style guide, and what a style guide should (and should not) include.
Gelb, Janice and Jefferey J. Gardiner. STC Proceedings (1997). Articles>Style Guides>Editing
#20133
Developing and Implementing Project Style Guides
Style guides can be very effective tools for achieving uniformity in documentation. Their use can enhance the appearance, readability, and tone of a document. In this progression session, I would like to discuss why style guides are needed, what should be included in them, and how to create a style guide appropriate for your project. I invite participants to bring style guides with them for critique and discussion.
Marks, Sandra R. STC Proceedings (1996). Articles>Style Guides>Editing
#22767
Developing Evaluation Criteria
We encourage you to adapt criteria to your specific communication assignments. You might specify, for example, the technical or scientific content for which your students are responsible. You might also specify how students will address communication concerns such as audience, purpose, context, organization, support, design, and expression.
#31098
As a technical writer, you'll typically have to create indexes for the print books and for online helps you develop. The type of index we mean here is the classic back-of-book index that shows page numbers on which topics and subtopics occur within the book. An online index is much the same except that you supply hypertext links rather than page numbers.
McMurrey, David A. Illuminati Online (2004). Articles>Editing>Indexing>Technical Writing
#20303
In 1985, the writing and editing group at Los Alamos National Laboratory established four levels of edit for technical reports. When a survey in 1994 showed that both authors and editors felt the levels were not meeting author needs, we set about revising them. Our goals were to simplify the editing process, focus editing on improving technical clarity, and ensure that value was added in editing. This paper describes our revision process and product--—three author-based levels of edit.
Prono, Judyth, Martha DeLanoy, Robert Deupree, Jeffrey Skiby and Brian Thompson. STC Proceedings (1998). Articles>Editing>Standards
