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: WinHelp structure comes first? From:Marcia Coulter <notjust -at- IX -dot- NETCOM -dot- COM> Date:Wed, 10 Jan 1996 11:38:57 -0800
Tim Altom <taltom -at- IQUEST -dot- NET> wrote:
>I'm open to other arguments, though, and I'd be interested to know if
>anybody has reconciled these two views. In my mind, there are infinite
>gray zones between them, because an architectural approach is never
>100%. But I try to push it as high as I can. Anybody got a good case
>or anecdote for doing an accretion WinHelp project?
Whether it's print or WinHelp, I have to vote for the architectural
approach. In addition to the planning issues, I *always* give my
clients a list of topics with proposed crosslinks. If it *is* WinHelp,
I'll even create the shell for the help file (topics with links, but no
content).
That way, they have the opportunity to vote yea, nay, or "qualified
yea" early in the project. It seems like a critical step toward "open
communication".
Marcia Coulter
notjust -at- ix -dot- netcom -dot- com
