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:TOOLS: Need opinions (long) From:"Branchaud, Paul" <pbranchaud -at- UTSOFT -dot- COM> Date:Wed, 19 Nov 1997 17:52:10 -0500
I am bowing to my learned and more experienced cohorts in the world of
technical writing for this particular issue.
When I began my new post, I was given the task of evaluating our
publishing needs and recommending the tools we should use. Basically, I
was a kid let loose in a Technical Writer's candy store. ;-) The time
has come for my final report. I have narrowed my list to some of the
most popular (and standard) tools used in the "industry". Before I show
you my "wish list", I will explain our documentation needs and the tasks
that await me.
The product documentation is meant to be delivered primarily in
electronic format with extensive hyperlinks and searchable index(.PDF
seems to best fit our needs), but print documents will eventually be
made available as well. Our documents contain a healthy mix of bitmap
images (screen shots) and vector drawings (system diagrams) intertwined
with the text. In a later release, we will be offering online help
(Winhelp or HTML, we haven't decided yet). We will also use the tools to
create marketing documents and other multimedia material (demo CD-ROMs).
I will also be responsible for maintaining the corporate web page (and
perhaps an Intranet if it ever develops). We have no formal style
guidelines at the moment and our primary authoring tool for the ~1000
page document set is MS Word. The documentation I will be working on is
being created from scratch, so there is no porting from MS to the
selected tools. Finally, our archiving system is almost non-existent. In
fact, it kind of sucks. We have semi-regular tape backups, but nothing
that can quickly be accessed or used to transfer large amounts of
information to a client (or print shop).
My shopping list is as follows:
Frame 5.5 (for authoring and page layout)
PhotoShop 4 (for creating bitmaps)
Illustrator 7 (for creating vector drawings)
PaintShop Pro (for quick bitmap touchups)
SnagIt (for captures--static and video)
ZipPlus drive (compatible with SCSI and parallel ports, unlike regular
Zip drives)
HomeSite (for editing HTML files)
Advanced FrameMaker training course
Putting aside the cost factor, does anyone have any comments on my
choices? Have I forgotten anything, given our documentation needs and
the many hats I am about to place upon my noggin? Have I selected
products that are wholly inadequate (or unnecessary) for the task at
hand?
As always, your input (based on your own sales pitches and experiences
with listed products) is welcome with giddy anticipation.
Cheers,
Paul
----------------
Paul Branchaud Technical Writer
pbranchaud -at- utsoft -dot- com UtiliSoft Inc.
(514) 747-1400 Ext. 211 555, Dr. Frederik-Philips, Suite 210
ICQ: 4161320 Saint-Laurent, QC Canada H4M 2X4
"Out of my mind. Back in five minutes..."
