Re: Recommended software for breaking into technical writing

Subject: Re: Recommended software for breaking into technical writing
From: Walter Crockett <Walter_Crockett -at- NOTES -dot- TERADYNE -dot- COM>
Date: Mon, 16 Aug 1999 13:52:33 -0400

It's pretty funny that in the rush to argue about whether and under what
circumstances technical writing is more or less fulfilling than journalism,
people have forgotten to answer the question at hand: What software do you
recommend?
As a recent immigrant into tech writing from journalism, I recommend the
following software:
1. FrameMaker - I'm working in Interleaf in my current job, but Frame is
more
popular.
2. Word - Even if you don't use it for documentation, your engineers might
want
to read your work in Word. It's too popular to ignore,
3. HomeSite - a real pleasure for creating online documentation and web
pages.
4. Paint Shop Pro - I haven't used it for work because we have a graphic
artist,
but in many ways, including screen captures, it's a cheap and valuable
program.
You can download it for a 30-day free trial that really lasts 60 days.
5. Clip Cache - I wouldn't be without it. Lets you copy an infinite number
of
items and paste them in at leisure. $14.95 shareware.
6. Excel - You'll need to know just enough to create spreadsheets for all
your
changes, etc. Not hard to learn.

Of all the above, the only ones you may need to buy are the cheapest -
Homesite,
Paint Shop Pro (optional) and Clip Cache. Whoever you work for will already
have
chosen their publishing/wordprocessing software and once you learn it,
you'll be
able to learn the competition.

As far as Quark Express goes, it's the newspaper and magazine standard. It's
poorly documented and the support these days is almost non-existent, but if
you're going to be organizing your own newsletters, it's probably worth
using.
Frame is better for books.

PS. Journalist's notes: Engineers aren't any harder to get good information
from
than many kinds of people. If the only people you've ever interviewed are
politicians, then you will find many engineers less forthcoming. But if you
have
experience getting close to people in order to get them to trust and talk to
you
on the record, the tech writing process is no different.

From ??? -at- ??? Sun Jan 00 00:00:00 0000=


Previous by Author: Re: Interviews and Portfolios and References
Next by Author: Clip Cache, for copying and pasting
Previous by Thread: Re: Recommended software for breaking into technical writing
Next by Thread: Re: Recommended software for breaking into technical writing


What this post helpful? Share it with friends and colleagues:


Sponsored Ads