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Subject:Re: So, how do you get the structure used? From:"Michele Marques" <mmarques -at- cms400 -dot- com> To:techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com Date:Thu, 15 Jun 2000 13:08:14 -0400
Tony Virostko <tvirostko -at- familydollar -dot- com> asks how to get people to
use the structure/style guide he has designed.
Someone else has already pointed out that he needs to answer the
question of people who should use it "What's in it for me".
If these people are using Word, I recommend creating a template to
make it easy for them to use the styles. I find that the more I code into
the template, the more people are going to use it properly.
For example, if people are supposed to put specific (brief) information in
certain places, I set the template to prompt them for the information and
give them a new document with the information in the proper place.
I also provide a floating toolbar that accesses macros I have created to:
- provide help on how to use the template and toolbar
- perform common tasks (e.g., add a new row to a table)
If I make it easier to create the document by using my template, then
they will actually use it (and hence, the structure/style that has been
established).
If the document is a longer document, or uses too many styles (in too
many permutations to make creating a starting sample worthwhile), you
might try teaching people how to work with the "Outline View" and
"Document Map" in Word - both of these features work best when
people use Styles and can really make things easier when developing
long structured documents. The benefit to you is that they will be using
named styles (hopefully, your named styles) and applying
bold/italics/etc. to the "normal" style.
-------------------------------------------------------
Michele Marques
Lead Technical Communicator, CMS Manufacturing Systems
mmarques -at- cms400 -dot- com
905-477-4499 x280
