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 see a lot of one-step procedures from certain (non-domestic) car
manufacturers. Drives me crazy. I always "de-step" in such cases.
But what's really annoying is when they reference that single step: "See
step 1 under Cigar Lighter Element Installation." Lots of fun chasing
all those down.
-BH
-----Original Message----- From: Sarah Stegall
I'm editing a user guide written by a subcontractor who is (clearly) not
a technical writer. I am consistently finding "procedures" which consist
of only one step, such as:
1. Click Start>MenuOne>SubMenu to open the TargetApp window.
I was trained to never have a procedure consisting of only one step.
This sort of thing is a new experience for me. I'd really rather not
rewrite 50 or so procedures, but how weird would it look to leave all
these one-step procedures in place? Would it seem weird to un-number the
single-step procedures, and leave all the multi-step procedures as they
are (correctly numbered)?
I'd love to hear from anyone else who has encountered this situation.
Thanks.
Gain access to everything you need to create and publish information
through multiple channels. Your choice of authoring (and import) formats
with virtually any output. Try Doc-To-Help free for 30-days. http://www.doctohelp.com/
---
You are currently subscribed to TECHWR-L as
Brian -dot- Henderson -at- mitchell1 -dot- com -dot-
Gain access to everything you need to create and publish information
through multiple channels. Your choice of authoring (and import)
formats with virtually any output. Try Doc-To-Help free for 30-days. http://www.doctohelp.com/
---
You are currently subscribed to TECHWR-L as archive -at- web -dot- techwr-l -dot- com -dot-