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Two other things you might want to try: commenting in word or saving as a
format other than .doc (such as .htm).
You can sell commenting to reviewers by telling them how to display the
buttons in their tool bar in your review email/notice. I found many people
don't know it exists or haven't used it much. Also make sure to tell them
they can then see other people's comments if you either send the document in
serial fashion or have a network location (folder, share, etc.) for them to
access it.
Another option is to save in another format (such as .htm) and upload it to
an internal Web site. That way they are forced to use another method of
feedback, such as email.
-----Original Message-----
From: techwr-l-bounces+sbuckley=onlinewriter -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
[mailto:techwr-l-bounces+sbuckley=onlinewriter -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com] On
Behalf Of Gene Kim-Eng
Sent: Wednesday, December 09, 2009 1:21 PM
To: techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
Subject: Re: Word 2007 headings with outline numbering
In an environment where multiple, non-writer hands will touch a document
before
it is ready to be released (which seems to describe about 75% of my
experience),
I encourage non-writers to enter their input with as little formatting as
possible (ideally, none at all), and to number any steps they want numbered
by
manually typing in numbers. The document then comes back to me for
formatting
and correction before I turn it in for Document Control release. If they
ask me
what I'd prefer they send to me, I often suggest they use Wordpad, or just
bang
out plain text in Notepad. This is my preference even if I intend to
eventually
transfer the content to FrameMaker or some other writer-only tool. I don't
want
non-writers to waste time and energy trying to wrestle with Word formatting
even
if I've prepared locked templates that are as fool-proof as I can make them,
because something about Word formatting always seems to bring out the
biggest
fool in even the smartest non-writer who tries to use it.
Gene Kim-Eng
----- Original Message -----
From: "beelia" <beelia -at- gmail -dot- com>
> But that probably defeats the reason for using it in the first place. As
> Scott mentioned, it will inevitably be passed around because so many
people
> "sort of" know how to use it. It's an obvious and probably necessary
choice
> for collaboration, so it's bound to produce a mess until the "last hand"
> fixes it.
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Are you looking for one documentation tool that does it all? Author,
build, test, and publish your Help files with just one easy-to-use tool.
Try the latest Doc-To-Help 2009 v3 risk-free for 30-days at: http://www.doctohelp.com/
Help & Manual 5: The all-in-one help authoring tool. True single- sourcing --
generate 8 different formats and as many different versions as you need
from just one project. Fast and intuitive. http://www.helpandmanual.com/
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