Providing a solution?

["Hart, Geoff" <Geoff-H -at- MTL -dot- FERIC -dot- CA>]

Tamara Reyes-Muralles wonders: <<... my potential client... wants his
company's operation/business manual placed on their Web site. His concerns
are budget and time...>>

If the budget is tight, be very careful. Make sure you get paid! Specify
"pay within 30 days of acceptance of manuscript or the copyright belongs to
me" or something similar in your contract. (Never work without a contract.
Have a look at www.editors.ca for a sample freelance editing contract, and
check the techwr-l archives for other advice on contracts.)

<<He does not want to purchase software to build the manual for the Web
site>>

You can easily generate HTML directly from Word--the code might not be
particularly clean or elegant, but it's a simple "save as" if you follow
some of my tips later in this message. Moreover, you could record a search
and replace macro that will do much of the cleanup for you if you want. To
edit the HTML directly, save the file as HTML, change the filename to use a
.txt extension. Word will now open the file and show you all the HTML codes.
Delete whatever is unnecessary, then save the file again as text. Change the
name back to .html and you're done.

<<he does not want anyone to have the ability to change the manual's context
(just him)>>

I assume you mean "after downloading the file" rather than hacker-proof?
That's not possible; you can only make it difficult to modify the content.
Worst-case scenario, someone can make a screenshot of every page, run it
through OCR software, then change whatever they want. But if you want to
make it _difficult_ to change, best bet is probably password-protected PDF.
You can still crack these files, but you really have to work at it.

<<every time a change was required to their other manual, they would email
the change to their Webmaster. Now, the Webmaster does not have the time to
make anymore changes.>>

Working in Word and exporting to HTML is the simplest way to achieve this.
Did your client get a copy of FrontPage or FrontPage Express when they
purchased their computers? (The latter is free and surprisingly common with
some systems running Windows 2000 and later.) Haven't used FP, but I'll bet
it handles Word files well. Anyone willing to confirm that?

<<The potential client suggested that maybe my company could develop the
manual's structure (shell), they could develop the content, and my company
could polish (copy edit) the content.>>

Sounds like a good start, but be very wary about the "polish" part. Clearly
define your terms. If the client isn't a writer or can't hire one, they'll
produce material that requires major substantive editing, not simple
copyediting. Most clients don't understand the difference between the two,
so clearly and explicitly define what will be expected of you.

<<He wants to know the amount of the time and money required...>>

You can't know that until you see some sample files and can assess the work.
As a compromise, consider proposing that you'll work for $X per hour for the
first document, after which you'll be able to bid on a fixed price per 250
words (etc.).

<<Write the content in Word. Use hyperlinks in the Word document. Save the
word document as a html file. Place the html file on the Web site (ftp).
Provide a hyperlink to the file. If changes need to be made, they could be
made in the word document, and the word document could be saved again as a
html file.>>

The simplest and most efficient solution, though with the problems mentioned
above.

<<The only problem with saving a word document as a html file is that
formatting can be lost.>>

You can save most formatting if you use a template with styles named after
standard HTML styles such as "paragraph", "list item", "heading 1", etc.
These map directly to whatever formatting you use (e.g., a CSS style sheet
or browser defaults). Of course, a single-column layout with no text boxes
(use tables instead) will map better to HTML than a newsletter-style layout
with stories split across pages and snaking columns. Teaching your client to
use that template will make life easier for everyone.

<<However, the html file could not be manipulated by the employees. A word
document on a Web site can be saved as a different name and then
manipulated, right?>>

Both HTML and Word can be easily edited. (See above.)

<<Write the content in Word. Convert the word document to a pdf file (they
have Adobe Writer). Place the pdf file on the Web site (ftp). Provide a
hyperlink to the file.  If changes need to be made, they could be made in
the word document, and the word document could be saved again as a pdf
file.>>

This would also work, though the PDF should be designed for onscreen use if
that's how people will use it.

<<Can pdf files be edited with Adobe Reader? If a person has Adobe Writer,
can a person rename the pdf file and then edit it?>>

The files can't be edited with Reader, but anybody with the full Acrobat
package can edit them unless you use a strong password and limit the rights
(e.g., to make the file "read only" or "print only").

<<Write the content in FrontPage. Save the entire manual as a html file.
Place hyperlinks at the top of the html file to the manual's corresponding
headings. If changes need to be made, they could open the html file in
FrontPage and resave.>>

See my previous comments. The problem with FrontPage is that unless everyone
who contributes material has a copy, you won't be able to exchange FP files
with people who use Word for editing. (Well, you can, but it's awkward, as
described above.) FP's biggest drawback is that (so far as I know) it lacks
Word's revision tracking feature, which is a major productivity enhancer
when it comes to editing and review.

--Geoff Hart, geoff-h -at- mtl -dot- feric -dot- ca
(try ghart -at- videotron -dot- ca if you get no response)
Forest Engineering Research Institute of Canada
580 boul. St-Jean
Pointe-Claire, Que., H9R 3J9 Canada 

"I have always wished that my computer would be as easy to use as my
telephone. My wish has come true. I no longer know how to use my
telephone."--Bjarne Stroustrup (originator of C++ programming language)