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.
I use the Microsoft's Style Guide for Technical Publications (version 1),
but only for the following conditions:
1. When the product I'm documenting *must* run on windows.
2. When I need to use windows-specific terminology regarding:
a. their interface (windows, panes, screens. Radio-buttons, check boxes,
drop down menus, etc)
b. Their methodology (it's not a warm-boot, it's a restart. It's not a
cold-boot it's a shut down and then turn the computer on again.
Otherwise, it's a nice book - but incomplete.
IMHO a "style guide" should really contain several references. The Chicago
Manual of Style is great, but sometimes I want other examples or situations
than exactly what appears within that weighty tome. And occasionally, I
really disagree with it.
I refer to three books (in this order)
The Chicago Manual of Style
Practical English Usage (Swan, Oxford University Press ISBN 0-19-431197-x)
A Style Guide for the Computer Industry (Read Me First, Sun Technical
Publications. ISBN 0-13-455347-0)
Hope this helps.
-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
Rebecca Downey Senior Technical Writer
ITG:NBM Matrox Electronic System
1055 St Regis, Dorval, Quebec, H9P 2T4
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Check out RoboDemo for tutorials! It makes creating full-motion software
demonstrations and other onscreen support materials easy and intuitive.
Need RoboHelp? Save $100 on RoboHelp Office in May with our mail-in rebate.
Go to http://www.ehelp.com/techwr-l
Your monthly sponsorship message here reaches more than
5000 technical writers, providing 2,500,000+ monthly impressions.
Contact Eric (ejray -at- raycomm -dot- com) for details and availability.
---
You are currently subscribed to techwr-l as: archive -at- raycomm -dot- com
To unsubscribe send a blank email to leave-techwr-l-obscured -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com
Send administrative questions to ejray -at- raycomm -dot- com -dot- Visit http://www.raycomm.com/techwhirl/ for more resources and info.
