Re: Important software for T. W.s

[David Neeley <dbneeley -at- gmail -dot- com>]

The "order of importance" depends upon the requirements of the
position you are in.

That said, last I heard about 60% or so of tech doc departments were
using FrameMaker as primary authoring application...although I believe
the momentum lies in moving to XML--which can be done in a variety of
applications.

As Bruce said, knowing the underlying methodology is
important--although I would agree that the difference in practice
between Word and OpenOffice.org is fairly minor, the difference
between either of them and Frame is somewhat more substantial.

However, I also fully agree with Dick that by far the most important
attributes have little to do with software selection. Clear thinking
and writing should top everyone's list.

As an example, I took an assignment in which there were some legacy
docs done in Interleaf Publisher. Although I had not worked with it
previously, I found a book in a used book store and read it over a
weekend...and was sufficiently productive the next week to be editing
these existing docs. Obviously, I was by no means an Interleaf
expert--but that is an increasingly rare commodity today. What is
significant is being able to get "up to speed" with anything you are
thrown in a reasonably short time.

In most tech doc departments I've seen, usually there are one or two
who are looked upon as the "tools guys" ... the folks who are more
knowledgeable about the software and hardware than the others might
care to be. They are often called upon to explain things to those who
are new to a particular tool. However, this is also very often a
rather thankless designation, rarely regarded in my experience as
being nearly of the significance of a very talented analyst and
writer.

Regarding authoring tools...I think there are some general tips that
may help regardless of which ones you may have to use:

1. Learn about the use of styles and any templates you will use. Avoid
like the plague the use of "style overrides" of any kind--they make
documents infinitely harder to keep up to date--or even to make
changes in during a rush prior to a new release.

2. Study your department's workflow--and whether it might be best to
write your material as straight text, to be formatted in a single
pass. Some people find this is conducive to better writing, as you are
not focused on the "font fondling" of which so many on this list
complain! This also contributes to the best application of styles and
templates (see above).

3. Get--or make--a copy of the keyboard shortcuts for your
application. Mount them at a convenient place near your monitor--and
make it a point to learn the most significant ones. You'll find your
work continuing to speed up throughout this process.

4. Locate any mail lists or online discussion groups regarding the
tools you will use. If, for instance, you will be working in Frame,
consider joining the FrameUsers' list as one example. You will benefit
both from having additional resources for answering questions you run
into, but also from reading the questions and advice of others, you'll
learn plenty of good tips and ideas that you will use surprisingly
often.

5. In any new assignment, make sure you understand where all documents
you will need are to be found--that you have appropriate access and
permissions, and that your working environment is as free as possible
of spyware, virus infestations, trojans, etc. You may be amazed at
what you might find in a machine you inherit!

6. Determine if your department has a department or corporate style
guide, and what other guides they may hold as authoritative for their
projects (Chicago, Microsoft, Sun, etc.). Be sure you have copies of
the relevant ones conveniently at hand...and consider working through
the local guide, if any, as among your first "light reading'
assignments during nights and weekends.

When I take a new assignment, these are among the first steps I take
in settling in...and I save a great deal of time and frustration in
the process.

David


On Sun, 5 Dec 2004 16:35:01 -0500, Jess P <jporter32 -at- cox -dot- net> wrote:
> 
>   IN order of importance, what are the most Importent software
> applications to know as a .T. W.?
> 
> TIA,
> 
> Jess

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