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: ? format for notes, cautions, warnings From:Walter Hanig <wdh -at- NETMANAGE -dot- COM> Date:Wed, 5 Nov 1997 13:43:46 -0800
At 12:46 PM 11/5/97 -0700, Miki Magyar wrote:
>
>I've seen a number of different ways to call attention to these notes, but none that really make me happy. I would appreciate any samples you can send me. I think fax is better than email for this case, but you could try a verbal description. Please respond offline, and I'll post a summary to the list if there's enough interest.
>
I prefer symbols to marginal text (warning or note or whatever). There are a number of considerations. First, will symbols in the document be meaningful to the audience? Not all so-called internation symbols are really international. If you use text in combination with a paragraph tag or style, localizing your document will not be made more difficult.
I agree that whatever you do, explain the distinction:
for example,
Notes are fyi; warnings are cautions about risks to the hardware or other systems; and dangers indicating actions that can cause injury or death to humans.
walter
Walter Hanig
NetManage, Inc.
12651 High Bluff Drive
San Diego, CA 92130, USA
