TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
"One of the senior engineers here wants the README file for our NT
application to be in .doc rather that .txt format. I disagree because
I don't think an NT server used specifically for our application is
likely to have Word installed on it by default, as is the case with
Notepad."
***
Readme files are traditionally .txt files because that is the lowest
common denominator to ensure everyone can open the file. You have
already given yourself the best reason to keep it a text file and that
is your users will most likely not have Word installed. I might
consider making a readme file a PDF, but I would still have the
instinct to include a short readme.txt file with the package. Ask the
engineer why s/he wants it as a Word file, tell them "Yes, I see your
point", and then explain why the .txt file is better? :)
