Blank Pages and Numbering

[Beth Agnew <bagnew -at- INSYSTEMS -dot- COM>]

I think if the content is well-written, users won't be likely to feel that
something is missing. The last paragraph on the last page of a chapter or
section should sum up or neatly finish what has been said. That's allowed,
and desirable, even in a technical manual.

I like to see pages numbered according to "standard" - odd page numbers on
the right, even page numbers on the left. I also like to start a new chapter
on a right page. This sometimes means that a preceding right page is blank.
I maintain the headers, footers and page numbers on the blank pages, and do
not include any other text on that page.

Another option is to use some symbol or ornament to visually indicate the
end of a section, but it seems like an artificial way to handle what good
writing and construction should do. I don't bother with "Reserved for
future" or other such terms. It calls attention to something that is
irrelevant to the user, and may even give the impression that we didn't
complete our job.

--Beth

Beth Agnew
Senior Technical Writer, InSystems Technologies Inc.
65 Allstate Parkway, Suite 100  Tel: (905) 513-1400 ext. 280
Markham, Ontario, Canada L3R 9X1        Fax: (905) 513-1419
mailto:bagnew -at- insystems -dot- com    Visit us at: http://www.insystems.com

See my friendly face at:
http://www.bayside.net/users/cbsites/techwr-l/a.htm#agnewb