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.
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list members to help underwrite the costs of the list (just
as ads in a newspaper, magazine, or journal underwrite the
costs of those publications).
In this posting, look for the following ...
* STORY: SnagIt - The Choice of the Latest Generation (NEW)
* TRAINING: LEARN WHAT STRUCTURED FRAMEMAKER CAN REALLY DO WITH XML!
(NEW)
* REMINDER: LavaCon: Only 3 Weeks Left to Register
* FRAMEMAKER TRAINING -- SF Bay Area, Newark, Dallas & Phoenix
* ANNOUNCE: WebWorks ePublishing Webinars: The Fast Track to
Advanced Skills
* IMPORTANT: An open letter to the TECHWR-L community
and at the end you'll find the concluding administrivia with
information about these ads and how to place your own.
STORY: SnagIt - The Choice of the Latest Generation
~~~~~~~~~
Dan the technical writer loved being around the interns. They were so
young, outgoing and fun - plus, full of fresh ideas. An intern named
Mark was particularly sharp, and always on top of everything.
One day Dan was talking to Mark about a project, and Mark asked, "Have
you ever used SnagIt?"
"Have I ever used SnagIt!" Dan scoffed, ready to tell Mark about how
he'd been using the screen capture program for years - how he had his
capture profiles configured so that capturing from the screen was
incredibly simple, how he'd used it to grab images for all of his
documentation - plus edit it
in the same program.
"Yeah," Mark said, missing his sarcasm. "It's the best screen capture
software on the market. It's so easy to use, plus it makes me work so
much faster. I just grab EXACTLY what I want, edit it right in the
preview window, and save it, print it, e-mail it - send it wherever I
need to go! Nothing compares to it," Mark finished.
Dan was bursting with pride for his software and his intern. He took
a breath to tell Mark that he'd been using it forever, when Mark
interjected.
"And Dan," he confided, "we all need all the help we can get to be
fast ... especially at your age," he said pointedly.
Dan said calmly, "Mark, SnagIt and I are old friends. In fact, I bet
I can show you a thing or two."
"Really?" Mark said incredulously. "I thought this was brand new!"
"It just LOOKS brand new," Dan said. "It's time-tested and aged
perfectly - like a fine bottle of wine. Except ... this wine gets
updated all the time," he added.
The two generations of writers joined together at the computer screen,
reveling in the ageless software that is SnagIt.
~~~~~~~~~
Get the screen capture software that meets all your needs! A new
version is just $39.95, an upgrade is $19.95.
TRAINING: LEARN WHAT STRUCTURED FRAMEMAKER CAN REALLY DO WITH XML!
"FrameMaker and XML"
Special Workshop scheduled only in Pittsburgh PA
September 29-30, 2004
9:00a.m. to 4:30p.m.
$650 for the two-day, hands-on workshop!!
Held in Canonsburg PA (approximately 25 minutes from PIT airport)
This customized workshop is an accellerated and shortened workshop
designed for presentation in Pittsburgh. Students will work in
FrameMaker and other applications, turning XML into documents and
documents into XML. This workshop shows you how the XML "round trip"
really works!
The components of FrameMaker structured applications will be explored.
Students will work in EDDs/DTDs and learn what it takes to move to
structured document publishing. During the training, students will take
a stab at document analysis and producing a structure from scratch.
We'll also investigate implementations of existing "structures" like
ATA, DocBook, and DITA.
Email mailto:info -at- travelthepath -dot- com and request the PDF overview of this
workshop.
This is the final call for attendees for this upcoming Pittsburgh
workshops. We are looking for a few more students to round out the
group.
Training brought to you by:
Bright Path Solutions
PO Box 14265
Research Triangle Park NC 27709-4265 http://www.travelthepath.com
REDWOOD CITY, CA (SF area): [10% early registration discount ends Sept 10]
Using FrameMaker (hands-on), Oct 11-12;
Structured FrameMaker : Authoring (hands-on), Oct 13;
Structured FrameMaker : Developing EDDs (hands-on), Oct 14-15;
Technical Indexing with FrameMaker, Oct 16
NEWARK, NJ: [10% early registration discount ends Sept 17]
FrameMaker Template Design, Oct 18-19;
Single Sourcing with FM, Oct 20; FM-to-PDF Adv. Tech., Oct 21-22
DALLAS, TX: [10% early registration discount ends Oct 29]
FrameMaker to-PDF Advanced Techniques, Nov 29-30;
Single Sourcing with FM, Dec 1; FrameMaker Template Design, Dec 2-3;
Technical Indexing with FrameMaker, Dec 4
PHOENIX, AZ: [10% early registration discount ends Nov 5]
FrameMaker Template Design, Dec 6-7;
Single Sourcing with FM, Dec 8; FM-to-PDF Adv. Tech., Dec 9-10
ANNOUNCE: WebWorks ePublishing Webinars: The Fast Track to
Advanced Skills
WebWorks Services has made accelerating your learning curve easy
and convenient with live 90-minute online training sessions. Here
are our upcoming Webinar topics for September:
* Getting Started with FrameMaker Structured Documents
September 13, 11 a.m. PDT (2 p.m. EDT)
* Delivering 508-Compliant Content with WebWorks Publisher
September 1, 11 a.m. PDT (2 p.m. EDT)
September 14, 10 a.m. PDT (1 p.m. EDT)
September 21, 11 a.m. PDT (2 p.m. EDT)
* Delivering Context-Sensitivity with WebWorks Publisher
September 9, 10 a.m. PDT (1 p.m. EDT)
* WebWorks Publisher Functions: Advancing Beyond the Basics
September 29, 10 a.m. PDT (1 p.m. EDT)
These interactive classes are conducted via WebEx, so you can get
the most out of your investment in WebWorks Publisher -- without
leaving your desk. To sign up or for more information, visit us
at www.webworks.com/techwr-l/webinars or call WebWorks Services at
512-719-3399 ext.503.
IMPORTANT: An open letter to the TECHWR-L community
After a great deal of time and thought, we have decided that
we need to disengage from daily involvement with TECHWR-L. Over the
past year or so, we've made some substantial changes in our lives,
and we no longer have the time or energy to do TECHWR-L justice.
Eric, after 13 years in the tech writing industry, made the leap
from senior tech writer to software engineering manager at a large
technology company. Deborah, after nearly 12 years as a tech writer,
is now employed in and studying early childhood education--a path
she's passionate about.
For both of us, staying on top of the daily requirements of TECHWR-L
is barely managable, and the content and site development that we'd
like to pursue just doesn't ever get to the top of the priority list.
What's next? Good question. We're open to constructive
suggestions and ideas. We've considered transferring the site
to a volunteer to run it, but have concluded that this isn't a
viable option for several reasons. First, managing one or more
volunteers effectively requires at least as much time and energy
as running the site directly does. Second, we have a substantial
stake in TECHWR-L, and we need to ensure that our investment and
that of the community is preserved and maintained appropriately.
Our experience with volunteer labor--both as volunteers and as
coordinators of volunteers--demonstrates that the long term
committment of time and energy needed to move TECHWR-L forward
isn't a reasonable expectation of a volunteer.
We've spoken with many of the key TECHWR-L sponsors and
advertisers, but for a variety of reasons, they're not in
a position to take on a project like TECHWR-L.
What's left? The person (or people) who take on TECHWR-L should
have a stake in its success--"skin in the game," as it were.
That could come in the form of an outright purchase, or some
kind of a partnership with us or with other investors. What
might that look like? We don't know; we want to work with anyone
who is seriously interested to come up with a solution that allows
TECHWR-L to move to the next level, under someone else's guidance.
We welcome constructive comments, suggestions, or serious
inquiries.
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In an effort to provide a free service that allows you to post
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The TECHWR-L Daily Summary Mailing, a separate mailing list
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the Calendar, can further help get your
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These resources are available at no cost to anyone, posters
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For jobs, announcements, and events that you specifically
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in the TECHWR-L Premium Daily Announcement, please contact Eric
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