Re: MS Word 2003 - Working without a template

["Mike Starr" <mikestarr-techwr-l -at- writestarr -dot- com>]

A couple points...

A good template will save you an enormous amount of time and effort. I would 
never work without one.

I do contract work... usually as the only technical writer on short-term 
assignments. Whenever I walk into a new shop, I create a new template. I can 
create a good, solid template with paragraph styles to handle most needs in 
an afternoon. That also includes a custom toolbar with buttons for the 
application of styles as well as for macros to do formatting tweaks for 
imported text.

Once you have a basic, solid template in place, it's all maintenance. In a 
group of technical writers, the only thing you need to do is control the 
modification/creation of styles. The easiest way to do that is to allow only 
one person to actually modify the template. If someone else identifies a 
need for a new paragraph or character style, a brief conversation with the 
template czar should be enough to give it either thumbs-up or thumbs down 
and if the response is thumbs down, a decision on how to handle the 
situation that engendered the request for the new style.

Mike
--
Mike Starr                            WriteStarr Information Services
Technical Writer   -   Online Help Developer   -    Website developer
Graphic Designer    -    Desktop Publisher   -       MS Office Expert
Phone: (262) 694-1028 - Tollfree: (877) 892-1028 - Fax:(262) 697-6334
Email: mike -at- writestarr -dot- com      -      Web: http://www.writestarr.com 

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