RE: Numbered headings

["Beilby, Margaret" <MBeilby -at- ebuilt -dot- com>]

Hi,

You wrote:
<But almost all the manuals I have seen do not use numbered
<heading styles at all. I find it confusing. Is it the standard way of doing
<it?

Our standard is to used numbered headings/sections for technical manuals
(programming, guides, system administration guides, etc.) and unnumbered
headings for end-user guides. 

There are a couple of reasons for using numbered headings in the technical
manuals.

1.  Many technical people are used to this format and really prefer it.
However, I always try to consult with our clients' technical users for
guidance. For the most part they prefer numbering because it's easier to
refer to the sections in the document.

2. The other reason is that many technical people are also non-native
speakers of English. The numbered headings give them an additional "road
sign" and makes it easier for them to use the documents.

Thanks,

Margaret Beilby
Sr. Technical Writer
eBuilt, Inc.
mbeilby -at- ebuilt -dot- com 


^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

A landmark hotel, one of America's most beautiful cities, and 
three and a half days of immersion in the state of the art:
IPCC 01, Oct. 24-27 in Santa Fe.  http://ieeepcs.org/2001/

  +++  Miramo -- Database/XML publishing automation.  See us at  +++
  +++  Seybold SFO, Sept. 25-27, in the Adobe Partners Pavilion  +++
  +++ More info: http://www.axialinfo.com  http://www.miramo.com +++

---
You are currently subscribed to techwr-l as: archive -at- raycomm -dot- com
To unsubscribe send a blank email to leave-techwr-l-obscured -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com
Send administrative questions to ejray -at- raycomm -dot- com -dot-  Visit 
http://www.raycomm.com/techwhirl/ for more resources and info.