Re: Using "Fences" as File Management Tool?

[Emoto <emoto1 -at- gmail -dot- com>]

Will be very interested in your take on how it compares with Windows Explorer.

Thanks,

Bob

On Wed, Nov 1, 2017 at 10:15 AM, Paul Hanson <twer_lists_all -at- hotmail -dot- com> wrote:
> I get the points about being new, etc, but there's also the other side of the coin where 'existing people' (I didn't say 'old' on purpose <grin>) should also be open to a fresh perspective. It goes both ways.
>
> For example, I worked at a hellhole for a short period of time with a senior department member who insisted on using InDesign with no application of styles - as in manually typing the TOC and the leader dots and the page numbers - for a 150ish page user guide. She would print the entire user guide and manually verify the heading in the body matched the TOC. If there was a discrepancy, she would make changes, reprint, and start over. She bragged about staying past midnight to get the user guide done because of that process. Being the problem-solver type I am, I showed her a small InDesign document with headings and a auto-generated TOC. How many hours could be spent on other tasks if the TOCs were auto-generated? I have no idea because she wasn't even open to a fresh perspective. I believe her exact phrase was styles were "too complicated" to implement. I still shake my head in disagreement. You can't convince me that in an InDesign file it is "too complicated" to apply Headings 1 -4 styles to text that is already manually formatted to look like a heading. I call that ignorance.
>
> FWIW, I downloaded the 30 day trial of Fences and am giving it a test drive. So far, so good. Think of it as creating a folder on your desktop, putting files into that folder and being able to see the files in that folder without double-clicking. You can also make the folders roll up, which has already decluttered my Desktop. That's just my observation after a couple of hours of playing with it.
>
> Paul Hanson
> My blog: http://prhmusic.blogspot.com
> Me Playing Drums: http://prhmusic.blogspot.com/p/videos-of-me-playing-drums.html
> Twitter: @prhmusic
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: techwr-l-bounces+twer_lists_all=hotmail -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com [mailto:techwr-l-bounces+twer_lists_all=hotmail -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com] On Behalf Of Chris Morton
> Sent: Wednesday, November 01, 2017 8:59 AM
> To: techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
> Subject: Re: Using "Fences" as File Management Tool?
>
> Lynne has a point; if your new hire cannot understand basic Windows file management and requires a crutch in order to do her job, how in the world is that person going to comprehend anything more complex?
>
> Further, what happens when everyone gets a system upgrade and the person isn't permitted to use Fences? Or gets on someone else's machine and can't find anything without the crutch?
>
> How about when trying to explain to anyone else where a given file is located, or vice versa?
> <snip>
> On Wed, Nov 1, 2017 at 9:51 AM, Wright, Lynne <Lynne -dot- Wright -at- kronos -dot- com>
> wrote:
>
>> Wanting to use her own file-management tool isn't really a problem,
>> but her attitude is. If she is an absolute tech writing novice but is
>> unwilling to listen to the advice of the person who is trying to train
>> her, she's going to be a complete nightmare.
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: techwr-l-bounces+lynne -dot- wright=kronos -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com [mailto:
>> techwr-l-bounces+lynne -dot- wright=kronos -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com] On Behalf
>> techwr-l-bounces+Of
>> Emoto
>> Sent: Wednesday, November 1, 2017 7:09 AM
>> To: TECHWR-L <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com>
>> Subject: Using "Fences" as File Management Tool?
>>
>> I almost can't believe I am writing this. We hired an internal
>> candidate into a tech writer position. I am trying to mentor/train
>> her.  We'll be dealing with Word documents on Windows machines.
>>
>> I want her to set up a folder structure to manage the files she'll be
>> handling. I suggest Windows Explorer as the "right tool" for doing so.
>> Instead, she wants to keep everything on her desktop and use a
>> software called "Fences" to manage everything.
>>
>> I think this is a really bad idea. Am I wrong?
>>
>> I try to be easygoing and offer "suggestions" rather than dictate
>> things, but am losing patience.
>>
>> Thanks,
>>
>> Bob
> ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
> Visit TechWhirl for the latest on content technology, content strategy and content development | http://techwhirl.com
>
> ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>
> You are currently subscribed to TECHWR-L as emoto1 -at- gmail -dot- com -dot- 
>
> To unsubscribe send a blank email to
> techwr-l-leave -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
>
>
> Send administrative questions to admin -at- techwr-l -dot- com -dot-  Visit
> http://www.techwhirl.com/email-discussion-groups/ for more resources and info.
>
> Looking for articles on Technical Communications?  Head over to our online magazine at http://techwhirl.com
>
> Looking for the archived Techwr-l email discussions?  Search our public email archives @ http://techwr-l.com/archives
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Visit TechWhirl for the latest on content technology, content strategy and content development | http://techwhirl.com

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

You are currently subscribed to TECHWR-L as archive -at- web -dot- techwr-l -dot- com -dot- 

To unsubscribe send a blank email to
techwr-l-leave -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com


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

Looking for articles on Technical Communications?  Head over to our online magazine at http://techwhirl.com

Looking for the archived Techwr-l email discussions?  Search our public email archives @ http://techwr-l.com/archives