RE: How evil is copy-and-paste?

["Downing, David" <DavidDowning -at- Users -dot- com>]

Well, there is one thing I can say in favor of copy and paste.  If you
use cross-references, the reader has to jump back and forth.

One mistake to watch out for is copying and pasting material that has to
be adapted slightly for the second instance.  For example, the procedure
is the same, but the button manes, etc. differ.  I've been known to
paste in the material and overlook some of those changes, which is
rather embarrassing at tech review time.

-----Original Message-----
From: Craig Hadden [mailto:craig_john_hadden -at- yahoo -dot- com -dot- au] 
Sent: Wednesday, May 18, 2005 2:16 AM
Subject: How evil is copy-and-paste?

Recently I updated a user guide in which the original
author thought it was a really smart idea to use
copy-and-paste to duplicate a _lot_ of content
(instead of using cross-references, would you
believe). Then today I read a 10-sentence software
change-request in which literally _half_ of the
sentences each began with the same 21 words! ("The
amount of any Deduction processed through payroll with
a Type X should be added to the figure in the...")

That's a quick (and dirty) way to produce heaps of
"documentation". But it makes an awful experience for
readers, I reckon. (Not to mention making
documentation maintenance a nightmare.)

I'm beginning to think of various rules of thumb about
copy-and-paste, such as:
*	Paste no more than 3 words at a time.
*	If you paste the same item more than, say, twice,
think again about what you're doing.

I'm not suggesting these should be hard-and-fast
rules, just "guidelines". (Picture the way Geoffrey
Rush and Johnny Depp said the word in Pirates of the
Caribbean, with finger-quotes and an "arrr, Jim-lad"
accent.) As Geoff Hart put it so eloquently, "the
thing to remember about "rules of thumb" is that
thumbs bend when necessary".

Does anybody else have any suggestions for rules of
thumb about (avoiding) duplicating content?

Thanks,
Craig 

===== My e-mail address is:
===== craigh(at)attachesoftware(dot)com
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