RE: Current trends in Authoring Tools?

["Dori Green" <dgreen -at- associatedbrands -dot- com>]

Collin wrote:

Wow Dori...

Not to sound too intense here, but I think you just insulted a whole
host of non-Frame using TW's!

I think the art of Tech Writing has more to do with Skill than the
Tools you use.  Agreed?  Even a butter knife in the hands of MacGyver
could produce amazing results! ;)
********************

No insult intended, just stating the reality in my neck of the woods (and
most of the woods in which I have travelled).  I've used Frame and I'm not
using it on this job.

As the TW I can review a process and mark required changes on forty existing
documents in an afternoon.  I usually also end up sitting at the keyboard to
make those changes and do the nit-picking administrative trivia associated
with recording them.

My boss is just now beginning to grok how much the project might be moved
forward if he provides me with some temporary clerical help for some of this
effort.

We are located in rural upstate New York.  We would almost certainly have to
reach to Buffalo or Rochester to find a trained Frame typist to make those
changes, and he or she would probably require payment higher than my salary
to entice them into the 40-mile commute each way.  Makes it very hard to
convince Management to provide clerical support.

I have elected instead to use Word on this project, and to create "dossiers"
of small documents to assemble larger "process manuals".  We can get a local
Word-using temp for less than $10 per hour (to the agency), and they don't
need more than half a day to provide a talented candidate.

Right tool for the job.  McGuyver finally got one of those 50-in-one pocket
tools and look at him today -- built himself a stargate and he's zipping
around multiple universes.

Dori Green

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Create HTML or Microsoft Word content and convert to Help file formats or 
printed documentation. Features include single source authoring, team authoring,
Web-based technology, and PDF output. http://www.DocToHelp.com/TechwrlList

Now shipping: Help & Manual 4 with RoboHelp(r) import! New editor,
full Unicode support. Create help files, web-based help and PDF in up
to 106 languages with Help & Manual: http://www.helpandmanual.com

---
You are currently subscribed to TECHWR-L as archive -at- infoinfocus -dot- com -dot- 

To unsubscribe send a blank email to 
techwr-l-unsubscribe -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
or visit http://lists.techwr-l.com/mailman/options/techwr-l/archive%40infoinfocus.com


To subscribe, send a blank email to techwr-l-join -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com

Send administrative questions to admin -at- techwr-l -dot- com -dot-  Visit
http://www.techwr-l.com/techwhirl/ for more resources and info.