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I'll join Chris in tackling the Word resources part of the question. As
he said, the Windows Secrets Lounge is an excellent resource. In fact,
the Windows Secrets Newsletter is, as the name suggests, a trove of
great resources for all things Windows. I would also suggest Dian
Chapman's Word Doc Design group for help on some of the nuts-and-bolts
advanced aspects of Word. She has a Word VBA group, too. Traffic has
dwindled a bit in recent months, but there's good stuff in the archives.
See: http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/Word_DocDesign/. Finally, take a
look at Jack Lyon's web site and newsletter, The Editorium
(http://www.editorium.com/). Jack has developed some excellent tools and
insights to coax more utility out of Word. You might, for instance,
appreciate the post titled "Setting Up Microsoft Word for Use in
Publishing" and the macro that comes with it. Specific to your TOC
question, take a look at: http://www.google.com/#sclient=psy&hl=en&q=Table+of+contents+site%3Aedit
orium.com&aq=f&aqi=g4g-o1&aql=&oq=&gs_rfai=&pbx=1&fp=8d9c50a61d5b9175.
(Interestingly, that search also turns up Jack's rather appreciative
review of MadCap Blaze -- but that's a tangent for another day).
HTH,
Jim
-----Original Message-----
From: techwr-l-bounces+jim -dot- pinkham=voith -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
[mailto:techwr-l-bounces+jim -dot- pinkham=voith -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com] On
Behalf Of Roberta Hennessey
Sent: Tuesday, September 28, 2010 12:01 PM
To: Gene Kim-Eng; techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
Subject: Re: Two Professional Questions
Oh my, I hope I've not been annoying.
My consideration is that the guide I was hired to create is now apt to
be at least two guides, and a future software releases will add a third
book. There are no functional specs here nor program management
milestones.
It appeared Word was going to be the tool of choice before I got here.
Not being a Word superuser, I have found Word does not update the TOCs
very well. I also cannot get Shift + F5 to work with cross references so
users can go back to the point of origin of the cross reference. This
would provide a user with quick, good access to additional information
if they needed it. (Does anyone know of a fix? I see lots of complaints
on web but no solution.)
Part of the comfort factor is true, though I see ease of creating other
versions of the doc a consideration as well.
I think (and I could be very wrong) it would take another contractor far
less time to come in an add 2 new chapters to a guide using Frame than
using Word (and running the risk of the doc getting too big).
Am I wrong? Can anyone suggest where a writer can go for expert
superuser Word help? What alternative tools would people suggest - this
is going to be 2 to 3 guides for an internet application. I think I have
6-9 weeks to complete.
Bobbi
On Tue, Sep 28, 2010 at 12:21 PM, Gene Kim-Eng <techwr -at- genek -dot- com> wrote:
> That was my interpretation as well. Either the company is intrigued
> by Bobbi's FM experience and would like to know whether FM would be an
> improvement over what they have now, or (hopefully not) Bobbi has
> managed to annoy them with comments about how much "better" FM is as a
> tool and they're giving her a chance to put up or you-know-what by
> providing a detailed FM-vs-Word comparison.
>
> I've done single-sourcing with FM and I hated it. I doubt that I'd
> like trying to do it in Word any better. If it's a genuine future
> step, my preference would be to move to a native XML tool.
> Single-sourcing is a significant mindset adjustment compared to
> traditional authoring, and trying to hang on to old, familiar tool
> environments just bogs down the learning process. At least it did for
> me.
>
> Gene Kim-Eng
>
>
>
>
> On Tue, Sep 28, 2010 at 7:26 AM, Combs, Richard
> <richard -dot- combs -at- polycom -dot- com>wrote:
>
> > So, to recap, here's the situation as I understand it: The company
> > has
> been
> > using Word. Bobbi has come in as a contract technical writer, and
> > she's experienced with FM, but has never used Word for such a
project.
> >
> > Why would you say the issue isn't Word vs. FM? Other than your
> > enthusiasm for ID, that is. :-)
> >
> > The issue is Word vs. FM because one is a comfortable fit for the
> > company (no change required) and the other is a comfortable fit for
> > their writer
> (no
> > learning curve or stumbling blocks).
> >
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--
Roberta Hennessey
Technical Writer
(978) 835-4282
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Create and publish documentation through multiple channels with
Doc-To-Help.
Choose your authoring formats and get any output you may need. Try
Doc-To-Help, now with MS SharePoint integration, free for 30-days. http://www.doctohelp.com
LavaCon 2010 in San Diego Sept 29 - Oct 2 is now open for registration.
Use referral code TECHWR-L for $50 off conference tuition!
See program at: http://lavacon.org/
---
You are currently subscribed to TECHWR-L as Jim -dot- Pinkham -at- voith -dot- com -dot-
Create and publish documentation through multiple channels with Doc-To-Help.
Choose your authoring formats and get any output you may need. Try
Doc-To-Help, now with MS SharePoint integration, free for 30-days. http://www.doctohelp.com
LavaCon 2010 in San Diego Sept 29 - Oct 2 is now open for registration.
Use referral code TECHWR-L for $50 off conference tuition!
See program at: http://lavacon.org/
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