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Subject:Re: The words "in addition" From:Helen Cygnarowicz <helen -at- TIW -dot- COM> Date:Tue, 20 Jul 1999 14:17:01 -0700
I have on occasion used sidebars as the vehicle for presentation of "in
addition" information. For procedures, though, I have gotten into the habit
of doing procedural steps that have more than one method of approach (to
accomplish the step) as follows:
1. Do such and such and so and so.
Bullet - Use this method, or
Bullet - Use this method, or
Bullet - Use this method.
I adapted this style from a group of paragraphs used in a FrameMaker
template available in Tempac 3, called Book Style 7. It allows me to get the
procedural step down in simple terms for those who are very familiar with
the product. The bullets allow newbies or those not so familiar with the
product or methods to pick a method to accomplish the procedural step.
This allows me to document all the ways to do something without having to
offer extensive explanations in the Before You Begin information, and
without having to say something like "There are lots of way to do things and
I have arbitrarily chosen to tell you to do them in one specific way. Other
ways are up to you to discover." I think it makes my documentation useful
and usable, because it covers most levels of user expertise.
Helen Cygnarowicz, Manager
Information Development Group
VERTEX SATCOM SYSTEMS, INC.
2211 Lawson Lane
Santa Clara CA 95054
408-654-5600 x4215
408-654-5613/14 fax
helen -at- tiw -dot- com