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.
Subject:Using document conventions from the MS Manual From:Bruce Byfield <bbyfield -at- AXIONET -dot- COM> Date:Tue, 6 Jan 1998 20:16:59 -0500
Katherin King [SMTP:kking -at- BROOKTROUT -dot- COM] wrote:
>Do most TW's follow Microsoft's conventions?
I think most people use it as a starting point, not as Sacred Writ.
On the one hand, the MS Manual of Style can be very useful if you need
the name of a screen object. It also gives good advice; I believe it's
the source of my preference for "drop-down list" rather than "combo box"
in end-user documentation.
On the other hand, some of its suggestions are more idosyncratic, or
seem an attempt to create standardization. Like a dictionary that tries
to be more than descriptive, the MS Manual can safely be ignored in such
cases if you've got a way that's more suitable for the subject.
"Then fareweel ye banks o' Sicily,
Fare ye weel ye valley an' shaw,
There's nae Jock will mourn the kyles o' ye,
Puir bluidie swaddies are weary."
- Hamish Henderson,
"The 51st Division's Farewell to Sicily"
