Tools of the Trade [long]

[Robert Daffin <RSD3393 -at- ACR2000 -dot- COM>]

I want to take a moment to put my two cents in on the discussion about
tools, and whether it matters which tools you use.
 
Microsoft Word is a word processor, and as such, is one of the best word
processors available.  As long as you limit your use of this tool to word
processing, you should not encounter most of the problems users have when
working with Word.
 
Unfortunately, there is a perception out these that Word is a good tool for
generating long technical documents.  In my experience, Word is ill-suited
for this task.  If you disagree with this point of view, take a moment to
review the templates that ship with Word, and those that Microsoft makes
available on their Office web site.  How many technical manual templates do
they provide?  None!

 
The target market for Word is the inexperienced user who needs to be able to
crank out a letter without having to cope with a tremendous learning curve
that might otherwise prevent him from getting his work done.  From this
user's point of view, Word is the best thing since sliced bread, as it is
geared to hold his hand throughout the process of writing that letter.  It
is these same features that continually frustrate the intermediate Word
user, as he is continually annoyed by the way Word automatically fixes
"problems" in his document.
 
FrameMaker, on the other hand, is a desktop publishing tool that is designed
to help users create and manage long technical documents.  So long as you
limit your use of FrameMaker to this purpose, you should have no trouble
with it.
 
The target market for Frame is the experienced user that wants to control
every aspect of his document, and doesn't mind coping with the steep
learning curve involved with mastering the program.  Frame is not for
everyone, though, as it requires a disciplined approach to generating
documents.  The ugliest piece of documentation I have ever seen was a Frame
document done by a former coworker of mine (who is now working as an MIS
guru) that consisted of multiple disconnected pages, unlinked text frames,
unwarranted multiple text flows, and odd format overrides.
 
Can you generate quality documents with inappropriate tools?  Of course you
can!  When I first started working as a technical writer, we were working
with a document set that was generated on the Mac platform using Ready, Set,
Go!  Every time I opened a document, RSG would "forget" where the
illustrations were, and would pop up a confirmation box as it "found" each
"missing" illustration.  Thus, it would often take five to ten minutes just
to open a document!  I also collected a long series of screen captures of
Mac system errors that occurred while working in this program.  I even set
up the slide show screen saver to display these screen captures, much to the
annoyance of my boss.
 
Needless to say, our transition to FrameMaker made my life much easier, as I
no longer had to put up with RSG's problems.  I was much happier, and much
more efficient as a result.
 
In my experience, I have seen my best results when I have played to the
strengths of the software tools that are available to me.  Technical writers
can be extremely efficient when working in Word, if their work process
involves passing their Word docs over to a graphic design specialist, who
then handles the layout in a proper DTP program.  This work process allows
writers to focus on the writing, without having to concern themselves with
the visual presentation of their work.  
 
Unfortunately, too many of us are flying solo, without the support of a
fully-staffed publishing group.  We are forced to cope as best we can with
all aspects of document production, from writing, to illustrating, to
managing the layout, to indexing, to publishing.
 
The issue is not whether you can create quality documentation in a tool that
is ill-suited for your purposes, but whether you would want to, in the first
place.  If you are currently forced to use Word, and you are unhappy with
your having to use it, find another job!  There is just too much opportunity
out there currently for any tech writer to have to suffer because their
manager has not seen fit to provide them with the tools the writer needs to
be a happy and productive worker!
 
If you genuinely like the company you work for, but are forced to use tools
that are ill-suited for your purposes, petition management to provide you
with something you can use!  btw, it is not usually sufficient to merely
*ask* for it, you must present a proper business case with metrics that
explain how the new tool will increase your efficiency, and at what point
the company can expect their Return On Investment (ROI).
 
For those of you who are using Word and having problems with your long
technical documents, I offer the following tips:
 
 -Turn background printing off (Tools > Options > Print > Printing Options).
This change addresses some page-numbering problems I have experienced with
Word 97.
 
 -Do not put in your section breaks, headers, and footers until you are
preparing the final proof of your document.  This change alone will help
minimize your exposure to potential header/footer corruption problems.
 
 -When you begin performing a major revision of an existing document, take
the time to remove all headers, footers, and section breaks from your
working copy.  The "rework" involved in putting them back in at the final
proof stage is a small price to pay for the peace of mind you will have
while working with the document.
 
Robert Daffin 
Software Development Engineer 
ACR Systems, Inc. 
(904) 296-8554, ext. 3393 
 

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