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.
Subject:Re: Manual updates From:Caryn Rizell <caryn -at- HPPTC95 -dot- ROSE -dot- HP -dot- COM> Date:Tue, 21 Jun 1994 14:01:00 PDT
Ray,
Before I can answer, I need the following info:
How is the manual bound? Three ring, hard bound, etc?
How often are updates issued? As needed, quarterly, etc?
This makes a difference in what I would recommend.
Thanks
Caryn Rizell
caryn -at- hpptc95 -dot- rose -dot- hp -dot- com
> My wife has asked for advice on handling manual updates.
> She is working on a project that involves updating an 800-page manual
> over a period of several years. Usually changes are slight, often
> affecting only one or two pages in a 30-80 page unit. The audience is
> both current users and new users in a training course.
> It seems wasteful to reissue whole units, both in terms of paper and time
> spent updating figure numbers and references, the index, etc.
> Do you have any suggestions on how to handle this situation?
> Please respond directly to me (rpeters -at- brahms -dot- udel -dot- edu); I will summarize
> comments for the list.
> Thanks for your help.
> Ray Peters (rpeters -at- brahms -dot- udel -dot- edu)
> English
> University of Delaware