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Subject:Re: To single source or not? From:John Posada <jposada01 -at- yahoo -dot- com> To:teknicol -at- inter -dot- net -dot- il, TECHWR-L <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com> Date:Mon, 2 Oct 2000 10:05:19 -0700 (PDT)
> 1. Was I wrong to suggest single sourcing? Is it generally not an
> acceptable solution?
Single sourcing is right as long as you can maintain control of the
output to accomodate the various delivery formats. For example...if
they object to screens in the help or web, why not create a Help
Conditional or Web condition and have the graphics remove when
selecting that style.
> 2. What does one do about different types of documents needing
> different styles of writing?
If the different style is justified, then ya gotta figure out a way.
You don't disregard the requyirements of the delivery method because
it is easier that way.
> 3. Do professionally designed help files contain screencaptures?
Mine do, but I use hotspots extensively to take away some of the
effort needed by development in the application. They create a
context ID from the the application screen to the help page, and I
take over the element popups in the help rather than requiring each
screen element to have a MapID.
Now you know why single sourcing is not easy and not everyone is able
to accomplish it.
=====
John Posada
Technical Writer mailto:john -at- tdandw -dot- com
732-259-2874
"Hammers, Screwdrivers and Scissors"
An "I Can Do It" Book
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