Re: The Tools Tech Writers Use

["Hutchings, Christa" <cwhutchings -at- HOMEWIRELESS -dot- COM>]

Andriene -

This topic was discussed in some detail last week. Steve Pendleton was
kind enough to post the following, which I think is a pretty good
summary of available tools. (Steve, hope you don't mind me re-posting it
now.)

You might can find more on the topic by searching the archives - I
believe the subject was "Technical Manual Production."

Chris Welch-Hutchings
Senior Technical Writer
Home Wireless Networks, Inc.
mailto:cwhutchings -at- homewireless -dot- com



> FrameMaker is the standard for producing long, structured documents.
> It was designed specifically to fit the needs of working technical
> writers
> and offers the kind of text, layout, and typesetting control required
> to
> produce professional-quality documents in a workgroup environment.
> For producing hypertext documents, it is a superior front end to
> Acrobat,
> also sold by Adobe. It can generate HTML, but it is not a substitute
> for a general-purpose HTML editor.
>
> Word is unavoidable because it is universal in business contexts.
> Technical writers often rewrite or maintain documents that circulate
> outside the tech pubs context, and most of those documents are Word
> documents. Another Word niche is RTF-based WinHelp, where
> MSW is the standard front end for the help compiler. So, most working
> writers run Word all the time--and many of us absolutely hate it.
> Whatever its merits as a general office tool, Word was not designed
> as a professional book production tool and is likely to frustrate
> anyone
> trying to use it for that task.
>
> PageMaker and its kin are page layout tools best suited for short,
> unique documents like ads and brochures. If you're running an ad
> agency
> and need exquisite control over type and layout, then PageMaker is
> a good choice. But if you're writing bread-and-butter books, then
> Frame skills are an important part of a saleable resume.
>
> Shops that no longer produce much hardcopy documentation are
> a special case. After you eliminate most of your paper deliverables,
> you start to strain the limits of print-oriented products like Frame.
> As mentioned, Frame is a great tool for PDF but an awkward one for
> HTML, and Word is a miserable-but-standard tool for WinHelp. For
> Html-based WinHelp, there's no standard yet, but the source files
> are Ascii, so you can use a whole suite of commercial and homebrew
> tools.

-----Original Message-----
From: Andriene elizabeth Ferguson-addei
[mailto:aefergus -at- LEARN -dot- SENECAC -dot- ON -dot- CA]
Sent: Thursday, July 30, 1998 7:23 PM
To: TECHWR-L -at- LISTSERV -dot- OKSTATE -dot- EDU
Subject: The Tools Tech Writers Use


I am conducting some research on the tools technical writers use in
preparing documentation (hard copy,online). I am interested in your
opinions on how organizations decide what tools(i.e. Ms Word,
Framemaker,
Robohelp) should be used to prepare documentation and what role, if any
do
tech writers play in these corporate decisions.  Why, for instance, does
MS Word seem to be a standard tool despite its limitations ? Is it
because
of its popularity (or that of Bill Gates) or its ease of use ?

I am also intersted in knowing the popular tools amongst technical
writers
(i.e. if you had your choice, what would it be) and the techniques used
to
stay abreast of new technology.

I look forward to hearing from you..................

Andriene Ferguson
aefergus -at- learn -dot- senecac -dot- on -dot- ca


~~~