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.
I never use If / Then constructs in tables since it won't work with the
grammar in SE Asian and other languages, to which we translate many of
our manuals.
Repurposing is not a problem either (the manuals are written in native
XML), but you may still be right that a numbered list is better than a
table.
Numbered procedural tables vs. numbered procedural lists is one of the
things I am very indecisive about.
Best regards,
Mats Broberg
Technical Documentation Manager
www.flirthermography.com
________________________________
From: Yves Barbion [mailto:YBarbion -at- uni-learning -dot- com]
Sent: den 6 september 2005 13:11
To: Broberg, Mats; TECHWR-L
Subject: RE: Procedural layots
Hi Mats,
yes, you may be right in saying that tables separate the
information better for the reader, I don't know. You could do a test and
present some unbiased readers with the same procedure presented in a
numbered list and in a table and ask their opinion.
Of course, being a writer, I'm biased and, at least in my
experience, a numbered list works better because it's easier to write
and publish, especially when decisions need to be made in a procedure.
Instead of using complex embedded If/Then tables, you could just as well
use a "do one of the following" construction. Example:
1. Do this.
2. Do that.
3. Do one of the following:
* If you see condition A, do A+
* If you see condition B, do B+
4. Do this again.
This is a lot easier to write and publish than an If/Then table,
especially if you use graphics in your procedure as well.
Also, tables in general are more difficult to "repurpose". Just
try to change a single-column layout to a multiple-column layout of your
document and see how the tables behave. Or, change your page size from
A4 to, say, 170 x 220 mm. And, as we all want to do single-sourcing,
convert your document to PDF and some HTML-based online help format. See
how the tables behave in both media.
Now Shipping -- WebWorks ePublisher Pro for Word! Easily create online
Help. And online anything else. Redesigned interface with a new
project-based workflow. Try it today! http://www.webworks.com/techwr-l
Doc-To-Help 2005 converts RoboHelp files with one click. Author with Word or any HTML editor. Visit our site to see a conversion demo movie and learn more. http://www.componentone.com/TECHWRL/DocToHelp2005
---
You are currently subscribed to techwr-l as:
archiver -at- techwr-l -dot- com
To unsubscribe send a blank email to leave-techwr-l-obscured -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
Send administrative questions to lisa -at- techwr-l -dot- com -dot- Visit http://www.techwr-l.com/techwhirl/ for more resources and info.
