Re: TECHWR-L Digest - 16 Aug 1993 to 17 Aug 1993

["Focus on 3 things: Quality, Quality, Quality" <raven -at- USABLE -dot- ENET -dot- DEC -dot- COM>]

OSF/Motif Style Guide info:

BEWARE! You may get what you ask for! There is a book entitled "The
OSF/Motif Style Guide" and it is a style guide for the GRAPHICAL USER
INTERFACE. That is, it will tell you what your menus and dialog boxes
should look like. If you want this book, it is available from
Prentice-Hall, ISBN:  0-13-640616-5. You want release 1.2 (or 2.0 if
it is available yet). Now, if you want a Graphical user interface
style guide with LOTS MORE PICTURES that is easier to read, then
order:

The DECWINDOWS COMPANION TO THE OSF/MOTIF STYLE GUIDE
order number AA-PGZ9A-TE (to order, call 1-800-Digital)
(I wrote this book, and often received requests for my "style Guide"
and people were always expecting a "writing style guide."

Now, if you really do want a writing style guide (and it sounds like
you do), I think there is a book called:
THE OSF STYLE GUIDE (note, no Motif in the middle). That should also
be available from Prentice-Hall. If you can't get a hold of that (or
even if you can), you might want to buy "The Digital Style Guide"
because the OSF Style guide was based almost entirely on the Digital
style guide. You can order that by calling 1-800-Digital and asking
for order number EY-J883E-DP. It costs $24.95. You might also want
"The Digital Technical DOcumentation Handbook", also for $24.95, order
number ER-J885E-DP.

I do recommend the Digital Style guide; I've been writing about Motif
applications for 3 years and I've used that as my style guide (and, of
course, so has every other writing group in Digital that is
documenting a Motif user interface.) Best of luck and have fun!
Mary Beth Raven
Digital Equipment Corporation
Nashua,NH