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 don't have an answer for Greg's question, but I do have another question.
What style guides are people using for their documentation? The style guides
I've
often seen recommended on this list are GUI style guides, not documentation
style guides.
I realize that I can glean GUI style guides for documentation terms and
definitions, but are there any computer documentation style guides? I am
familiar with Apple's and Microsoft's documetation style guides. Apple's is
too platform specific for my needs, and Microsoft's is not available for
purchase (as far as I know). I've heard that DEC just released a
documetation style guide for purchase.
Any comments or recommendations anyone? Please send comments/flames to me
personally?
Thanks,
Stephen Schiller
smschill -at- softart -dot- com
>Techwhirlers;
>Some time ago I clipped this chunk of info from someone's forward to the
>list. Does anyone know the name and e-mail of the original compiler?
>Thanks, Greg
>Gregory Keith
>Documentation Specialist
>Delrina Canada
>gkeith -at- delrina -dot- com
>__________________________________________
>PLATFORM-SPECIFIC STYLE GUIDES
>1. Apple Computer, Inc. Macintosh Human Interface Guidelines. Reading, MA:
>Addison-Wesley Publishing Co., 1992. ISBN 0-201-62216-5. There is an
>interactive animated companion CD-ROM to these Mac guidelines called "Making
>it Macintosh", Addison-Wesley, 1993. ISBN 0-201-62626-8.
>2. Commodore-Amiga, Inc. Amiga User Interface Style Guide. Reading, Mass.:
>Addison-Wesley, 1991. ISBN 0-201-57757-7.
>3. GO Corporation. PenPoint User Interface Design Reference. Reading, MA:
>Addison-Wesley, 1992. ISBN 0-201-60858-8.
>4. Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Sunsoft Inc. & USL. Common Desktop Environment:
>Functional Specification (Preliminary Draft). X/Open Company Ltd., 1993.
> ISBN 1-85912-001-6. Available via ftp from ftp
>XOPEN.CO.UK/pub/cdespec1/cde1_ps.Z
>5. IBM. Object-Oriented Interface Design: IBM Common User Access
>Guidelines. Carmel, Indiana: Que, 1992. ISBN 1-56529-170-0.
>6. James Martin, Kathleen Kavanagh Chapman & Joe Leben. Systems Application
>Architecture: Common User Access. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall,
>1991. ISBN 0-13-785023-9.
>7. Microsoft Corporation. The GUI Guide: International Terminology for the
>Windows Interface. Redmond, WA: Microsoft Press, 1993. ISBN 1-55615-538-7.
>8. Microsoft Corporation. The Windows Interface: An Application Design
>Guide. Redmond, WA: Microsoft Press, 1992. ISBN 1-55615-384-8.
>9. Open Software Foundation. OSF/Motif Style Guide. Englewood Cliffs, NJ:
>Prentice Hall, 1993. ISBN 0-13-643123-2.
>10. NeXT Computer, Inc. NeXTSTEP User Interface Guidelines (Release 3).
>Reading, Mass.: Addison-Wesley Publishing, 1992. ISBN 0-201-63250-0.
>11. Sun Microsystems, Inc. OPEN LOOK Graphical User Interface Application
>Style Guidelines. Reading, Mass.: Addison-Wesley, 1989. ISBN
>0-201-52364-7.
>12. Sun Microsystems, Inc. OPEN LOOK Graphical User Interface Functional
>Specification. Reading, Mass.: Addison-Wesley, 1989. ISBN 0-201-52365-5.
