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.
RE: How many levels of indents and heads are reasonable?
Subject:RE: How many levels of indents and heads are reasonable? From:"Tariel, Lauren R" <lt34 -at- saclink -dot- csus -dot- edu> To:"Yves JEAUROND" <jingting -at- rogers -dot- com>, "techwr-l List" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com> Date:Thu, 11 Oct 2007 13:43:58 -0700
It is important to follow applicable standards and to be consistent. The purpose of numbered headings, I think, is to let readers which section a particular heading belongs to. So if an author chooses to number headings, then all of the headings should be numbered. Additionally, if a particular document follows a standard that requires numbering, like IEEE, then that standard should be followed.
Personally, I don't think that there is really any reason why a document should have more than four, or on very rare occasions five, levels of headings. With all of the documents that are available online, there should be an example that illustrates through example why more than five levels of headings are necessary, but I have not found any. The documents that I have found do well with four levels or less. I've never seen a well-constructed document that required 6 or more levels of headings.
Lauren
________________________________
From: techwr-l-bounces+lt34=csus -dot- edu -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com on behalf of Yves JEAUROND
Sent: Thu 10/11/2007 1:27 PM
To: techwr-l List
Subject: Re: How many levels of indents and heads are reasonable?
Last Tier?
To reduce the number of indents, not every topic has to be numbered ( gasp! ). The topics in the last tier (or indent) of your structure can use a "definition style" for short, highly structured expository topics. It creates a ghost of an indent. If they are a bit longer, adding a subhead might even be sufficient. It also informs the reader that there are no more numbered indents.
Create HTML or Microsoft Word content and convert to Help file formats or
printed documentation. Features include support for Windows Vista & 2007
Microsoft Office, team authoring, plus more. http://www.DocToHelp.com/TechwrlList
True single source, conditional content, PDF export, modular help.
Help & Manual is the most powerful authoring tool for technical
documentation. Boost your productivity! http://www.helpandmanual.com
---
You are currently subscribed to TECHWR-L as archive -at- web -dot- techwr-l -dot- com -dot-
