Re: "Notes" column in the manual?!?

[Charles Fisher <decrsc!charles -at- UUNET -dot- UU -dot- NET>]

A lot of our users have also expressed appreciation for the large
amount of white space in our manuals, seeing it as available space
for handwritten notes. At first I took a defensive stance (let me
see your notes so we can include that info in the book!), but it
is a natural tendency to mark things that are important or that
have a special meaning/implication to you. I doubt that the folks
who put together the Chicago Manual of Style would care to see my
dog-eared, flagged, highlighted, and asterisked copy.  But I would
be lost without it.

I'm not sure how well this idea will work, but it might be worth trying.
Maybe you could photocopy the pages and reduce them by about 10-15%. This
might give you the extra space you need without sacrificing readability.
Many copiers have "image shift" features as well, used to give some extra
gutter space for binding. If yours has one, try playing with it. Also,
your DTP package may allow you to print the pages at a reduced size, which
would give a cleaner image than photocopying....

Hope this helps...

--
"If you take hyphens seriously you will surely go mad."
  -John Benbow
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Charles Fisher
Senior Documentation Specialist
Program Manager/President-Elect, STC Washington DC Chapter

Datatel, Inc.                (703) 968-4588 (voice)
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