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New summaries are listed in red at the beginning of each section. To help you decide about timeliness of the information, dates have been added to newer entries.

Software Tools Job Hunting STC-Related Topics Contracting & Project Management Document Types & Issues
General Business Issues

Software Tool TopicsBack to Top

Microsoft Word Issues Screen Capture Tools E-mailing HTML AuthorIT
Wiki Evaluations of Help Authoring Tools FrameMaker Resources Picking an ISP
Project Coordination Software

Microsoft Word IssuesBack to Top

TOC Issues Getting Word to Run Faster File Size Issues Field Codes Templates TOC Issues
Inserting Landscape Visio Images

Dealing with TOCsBack to Top

Question:  TOC pages in WORD document are different than actual content of the document, and/or the size of the document is huge. How do I fix this?

Sometimes the TOC will not update properly if I have the Show All/Hide All turned on when I update the TOC. It hasn't happened with enough regularity for me to be totally sure that's the problem, but it's worth a shot. So try turning off the Show All before you update the TOC.

Also, are you doing Select All (Ctrl+A) to grab the entire doc and then doing an update (F9) -- to completely update every field in the doc? (The other option is to set this to happen automatically when you go to print: Tools --> Options --> Print tab --> check Update Fields.) Possibly some fields have not been updated and are throwing off the process. Again, it's a long shot, but might be worth trying, unless you have fields in the doc that you DON'T want updated for some reason.

If you're using any bookmarks, double check that none of them were split by any inserted breaks (section, page). Particularly if you are cross-referencing and placing the bookmarked text elsewhere in the doc. This can add the inserted breaks from the bookmark into the cross-reference points. I've seen this happen and these additional breaks can be difficult to spot.

In Word, page numbering can restart at section breaks, so that might be what's setting things off. I don't use XP, but in older version of Word you need to get into the Format Page Number dialog, which is accessible through the Headers and Footers toolbar.

You can "reassert" styles in Word by reapplying them, (or applying a new style and then re-applying the old style) but it's a bit of a pain if you have a lot of styles. In long Word documents, I do a final pass at the end to fix up the styles. If they are really messed up, I make a hard copy, Save As plain text or RTF to strip as much of the old formatting as possible.

One way to avoid having Word adjust your styles automagically when you don't want it to is to avoid basing the styles you create on Normal. ('cuz Normal ain't really normal :) ). If you base a style on something and then make a change to that original style, Word very *helpfully* carries that change to any styles based on the style you changed.

Getting MS Word to Run FasterBack to Top

  • Turn off fast saves (Tools --> Options --> Click Save tab --> Unclick fast saves)
  • Turn off background saves (Tools --> Options --> Click Save tab --> Unclick background saves).
  • Turn off 'versions' (File --> Version --> Unclick Automatically save a version on close).
  • Accept all review changes and turn off 'Review' (Tools --> Toggle 'Track Changes').
  • Copy doc, except last paragraph mark, and past into new doc.
  • Turn off automatic repagination (must do this in Normal View because Page Layout view automatically repaginates and won't allow you to turn off the pagination). Click Tools --> Options --> click General tab --> remove the check mark from the box for Background Pagination.

Dealing with MS Word File SizeBack to Top

  • Copy the entire document EXCEPT FOR THE LAST paragraph marker and copy it into a new one.
  • Check to be sure you've not enabled Fast Saves (Tools --> Options --> click the Save tab).
  • Make sure Versions -- from the File menu -- is turned off.
  • It might be the build-up of "undo" information. By turning on the review toolbar and clicking on the option to accept all changes, then resaving, that might shrink the file again.
  • Are you using Track Changes? If you are, try doing an Accept All Changes.
  • Turn off "Save Preview Picture" -- that will make the file huge regardless of content. (File --> Properties --> Summary tab).
  • Turn off "Allow Fast Saves" (Tools --> Options --> Save tab).
  • Do a Select All and paste into a new file and then save the file. If the new file is still 33 MB try selecting half the pages and paste into a new file. By doing this repeatedly you can narrow down where the problem is (if it's in one particular spot).
  • As a last desperate measure you could try saving in RTF but you might lose some formatting.

Using Field CodesBack to Top

Question: How do I use MSWord field codes to insert variables into a document (such as for a document name or product name), and also how do I use field codes in autonumbers?

Here are some suggestions:

  • I just found exactly what you are looking for on the Lone Writers new website. You will have to log in with your STC log in. http://www.stcsig.org/lw/wiki/wiki.asp?db=WikiAsp&o=TechResources.
  • If you have time to read, http://word.mvps.org/FAQs/Numbering/index.htm outlines the problem and several options. If you need to process the word fields with WebWorks, think twice about solutions with hidden custom codes.
  • I found an even better solution to the numbering problem – without fields. At last year's Conference in Seattle, Elizabeth Regers and Jerry Franklin did a fantastic presentation called "Do Your MS Word Documents Ever Blow Up? Preventing Corruption in MS Word Documents." Elizabeth has placed some of her materials, including one called "Numbering and Styles", on the Session Materials page at http://www.stc.org/52ndConf/session.materials.asp.
  • You can insert things like the document title pretty easily without macros or special templates. I do this in two ways.
    Method One: DocProperty Field Codes:    This method uses the document properties dialog box to specify all kinds of document information for a file and then a field code to pull that information into your document wherever you want.
    1. Select menu item File -> Properties to open the Doc Properties dialog box.
    2. Select the Summary tab.
    3. Type the title for your document in the Title field and click OK.
    4. In the document, click where you want the document name to appear (header, footer, somewhere in the body).
    5. Select menu item Insert -> Field to open the Field dialog box.
    6. From the Categories list (on the left), select Document Information.
    7. On the right, in the Field Names list, you will see all potential doc information fields that you can insert.
    8. For the doc title, you have two choices:
      1. Select "Title" from the Field Names list and click OK; or
      2. Select "DocProperty" from the Field Names list, click the "Options..." button to open the Options dialog box, scroll to select "Title" from the list, click "Add to Field", and then click OK twice.
    I gave you the two choices on purpose. Option a) is the easier choice for what you want to do now, but option b) lets you see additional choices that you may want someday. You now have a field that will display the contents of the Title field in the Document Properties box. Change the contents of the doc props box Title field, and everywhere that you've inserted the field will automatically change, too.

    Method Two: Style Reference Field Code:    This method uses a field code that will display whatever text to which you've assigned a chosen Style (your choice of Style).

    You need to apply Styles (named and defined formatting) to your text -- this is like Frame's tags, kinda, sorta, mostly. Once you've done that, you can use a Field called StyleRef and place that almost anywhere (header, footer, etc.) to display whatever text you formatted with the specified Style. I use this field code a lot (a LOT!) to insert chapter or section titles into the header or footer. You only insert the field code into the header once, but each time your chapter or section name changes, the field code result changes, too.

    (Here's how Word's Help describes it: "Inserts text that's formatted with the specified style. When inserted in a header or footer, the STYLEREF field prints the first or last text formatted with the specified style on the current page, allowing you to print dictionary-style headers or footers."
    1. Use Styles to format your text.
    2. In the document, click where you want the chapter or section name to appear.
    3. Select menu item Insert > Field to open the Field dialog box.
    4. From the Categories list (on the left), select Links and References.
    5. On the right, in the Field Names list, select StyleRef.
    6. Click the "Options..." button.
    7. On the Field Specific Switches tab, click on things and read their descriptions to give you some ideas of what controls you can select. (If you see something you want, click on "Add to Field.")
    8. On the Styles tab, select a Style for the field to look for in your doc and click "Add to Field" to insert the Style name into your field code.
    9. Click OK twice.
    Play around and see what you think of this one. I'd suggest that you turn on shading for fields (Tools -> Options -> View Tab -> Field Shading = Always). You can always turn it back off again when you're done, but this helps lots to see where you have fields inserted.
  • Also, you should update fields by pressing Ctrl-A followed by F9. Sometimes Word's fields don't immediately update when you make changes and that forces them to do so.
  • You can also right-click on any field (easier to do if you've got the shading turned on) and choose "Toggle Field Codes." This is an excellent way to see the structure and coding behind the field code.

Word Template for Consulting DocumentsBack to Top

Question: We all use different Word templates, so my Heading 1 looks different from everyone else's, and I don't love any of them. In Word, you can make a template your “global template.” I would like to take all of the different templates that we have and apply the standardized template. So, when a consultant needs to write process flow, they can open the process flow template and get started, and it looks like a functional spec created by someone else in our group.

Standardizing Word templates for an organization can be time consuming. I worked with one company on standardizing internal documentation. In addition to my part-time work on the project, a full time manager devoted his time to gathering information about user needs, communicating with management about the process, and then helping people understand how to use the templates once they were created. This was only after a small group of consultants made recommendations about process changes as the company grew. I was fortunate in that I was able to use AuthorIT to take existing Word documents, import them into AuthorIT, work with the content, and then output into squeaky clean Word docs that I could save as .dot files. It might be worth the investment in AuthorIT just to save time...

Background--this was a company that weathered the dot com bust well, and continued growing. They realized that they needed to have an identified process and funded the project. Everyone agreed that more process was needed, but the details were sometimes hotly debated.

Another person responded by saying the following: My interpretation of the question is that the department has a number of templates already in place for different types of documents (process flow, etc.) and she wants to create a universal template that will force everyone to use the same styles regardless of document type. The Word MVP site is an excellent place to start learning about templates. She can search for articles about templates at the MVP site--plus, there's a page with additional links to other Word-specific sites: http://word.mvps.org/. The concept of the global template is explained at: http://word.mvps.org/macwordnew/globaltemplatecontent.htm.

Problems with Even Page FootersBack to Top

Question:  A Word document that was being updated for content seemed to have lost its even page footers. The last version I worked on had them and they appeared correctly. I've tried pasting the current content into that old file, but the even page footer seems to disappear when I do that.

The last person to work on it ended up pasting the text from the first even page of the main part of the book into the first even page footer. As a result, the only thing that appears in the even page footer is the top margin of the pasted object, which seems to be why I don't even see the footer text box. I couldn't find any way to delete that text box, but we found that if you set the view to Normal, you see that now huge even page footer, which is outside the page dimensions, which explains why I only see the top margin of the pasted-in page in the footer. Unfortunately, it was pasted as an object, not text, so I can't select it to remove it. I haven't figured out the quickest way to solve this.

  • On a hunch, I had saved the .DOC file as .RTF. I remembered that often you can see and access more stuff in RTF format than in DOC format. I opened the .RTF file and set the view to Normal.
  • I was able to access the troublesome footer and copy the long table that got pasted in it and put it back on the page body.
  • I looked up header/footer problems in an old copy of "Word 97 Annoyances" by Woody Leonhard et al. They recommended deleting all headers/footers first and then making sure all "Link to Previous" settings were cleared.
  • I went to File --> Page Setup --> Page Layout. I set Headers and Footers to Different odd and even and Different first page and applied these settings to the entire document.
  • At the end of each chapter, on the even page, I added an Odd page section break. (The book was numbered continuously from chapter 1 (1, 2, 3, ...).
  • I added my page numbers in the footer, then added the book title to even page headers, starting with chapter 1. I added the chapter title to odd page headers in each chapter, then set each new even page header in subsequent chapters to Link to Previous. (Each ChapNum style is set to have a page break before.)

    • Everything works fine now and the book has stable headers and footers.

    N E W  Inserting a Landscape Visio File into MS WordBack to Top

    Question:  I have several Visio diagrams in landscape format that I want to insert into my MS Word docs. I've checked out the online help and have found that the instructions are rather vague. Does it have to do with creating page breaks in the Word doc so the landscape-formatted page can be inserted between them?   Date:  09/07

    Response Summary:

    1. Create a section break starting a new page at both the beginning and end of the section you want to make landscape.
    2. Go to File > Page Setup and select "Landscape" on the Margins tab in your new section.
    3. Under Preview, select "Apply to this Section" on the drop-down menu. The rest of the document will remain in Portrait format.
    4. Insert your image.
    5. To reformat Headers and Footers in your new section, first deselect "Same as Previous."
    6. Reformat Headers and Footers in the landscape-formatted section. E.g. On the Page Number Format icon select the button for "Continue from previous section" under Page Numbering.
    7. In the section following the landscape image, go to View > Header and Footer.
    8. On the Page Number Format icon select the button for "Continue from previous section" under Page Numbering.
    9. Go to Print Preview a few pages in front of your new section and use the Page Down key to verify your changes.

    Screen Capture ToolsBack to Top

    Question: Is there a free or inexpensive screen capture tool that give high resolution?

    Suggestions Other Than Tools:   To get a higher resolution, you might need to change the screen settings on the computer you're using, since screen capture tools capture at the resolution of the system.

    Tools and Comments:  
    • IrfanView (http://www.irfanview.com) is freeware/donationware. For such a small utility, it packs a lot of really useful features such as format conversions, batch processing, organizational tools, basic image editing, and more.
    • PrintKey-Pro offers a 30-day free trial, and only costs $19.95. I've used the older version, PrintKey 2000, for several years and it works great.
    • WisdomSoft ScreenHunter 4.0 Free does everything I need. There are also Plus and Pro versions of the tool for 19.95 and 29.95, respectively. See http://www.wisdom-soft.com/products/screenhunter.htm.
    • SnagIT is easy, versatile, and inexpensive ($29.95). Updating is easy. They always exhibit at the STC international conference. Their people are helpful and I've often gotten some free training by just standing around and asking questions. Recommended by several people.
    • CaptureIt!, FullShot, and HiJack work well and are not very expensive.
    • Paint Shop Pro works well and my screen shots always look fine. Admittedly, I don't do anything special with the resolution until I place them into my FrameMaker files. There I use the DPI setting to size them the way I need them. They come out great when viewing online or printing from PDF. However, this is a full graphics program and is not inexpensive!
    • Paint is free and already on your computer if you have Microsoft Office. To take a screen shot, use "Alt" plus the "PrtScn/SysReq" button on the upper right portion of your keyboard. (Of if you want an image of the entire screen, use "Ctrl" plus "PrtScn/SysReq".) Paste the image into Paint using "Ctrl-V." Click Yes if prompted to enlarge the image. Save the screenshot as a BMP (default), GIF, or JPEG.

      Drawbacks of Paint, from another user: The advantage with using a screen capture utility is... well, heck, too numerous to mention. You can capture drop down menus, include the cursor, automatically create tear-off's, batch convert to other formats, capture a region, capture a long scrolling page... Believe me, I use Paint on occasion, too. But when taking screen shots for my manuals, again, it's well worth the few dollars spent to buy a tool intended for that purpose. You are also slightly limited in the output formats you get with Paint; only the newer versions save as PNGs. That format offers great quality, and small file size.

    E-mailing HTMLBack to Top

    Question: Every time I try to send an HTML page as an announcement in an e-mail message through Outlook, it becomes an attachment, rather than the actual e-mail. Can someone tell me the trick to sending out these snazzy HTML announcements?

    To send an HTML page as an e-mail announcement in Outlook, in your new e-mail message, choose Insert --> File. Select the HTML file that you want to insert, and then click the arrow on the Insert button to select Insert As Text.

    For sending HTML announcements in e-mail, you can try the following:

    All three are e-mail announcement/newsletter services. Each service manages your subscription list, sends HTML as well as plain text (to folks whose e-mail programs do not support HTML), and gives you reports on who has opened the newsletter and who has not. Pricing varies depending on your needs, but the cost per e-mail can be as low as $.015 (one and a half cents).

    Offering a newsletter to your niche market is a very good marketing tool that helps establish you as an expert in your field and helps drive business to your Web site. Allowing people to subscribe to your newsletter on your Web site makes it more likely that your newsletter will be read and will survive readers' spam filters. The anti-spam laws are strict these days and using a service like Vertical Response can help ensure that your company is managing its marketing communications legally.

    AuthorIT Questions & AnswersBack to Top

    Question:  Do you create print (PDF ready for print) output? If you do, how well does it work? That's the biggest down side I've heard about AIT.

    Answer:    Yes, I do create print output. I have install guides that go to PDF only, and I have user's guides (that combine the online help and install guide into a single book). Yes, I have to output THROUGH Word to get to the PDF. But AIT is very strict about adherence to styles and that, along with the knowledge the AIT devs have of the Word "issues" with creating large manuals, ensures that I have minimal problems once I get the docs into Word.

    Word on the street is that AuthorIT version 5 will contain direct publish to PDF.

    [from another source...] For PDF, you publish to Word (and it's always a 'clean' publication, so the numbers etc. always work!), then create a PDF from the Word doc. I do about 4x 500 page manuals and it takes minutes. In AIT, Word doesn't corrupt like it does when you're authoring in Word because it always creates the Word doc 'from scratch' at publishing time. In v5 (coming...) there is meant to be a direct to PDF option (I think using XSL-FO).

    Question:  What "flavors" of online help and HTML-based output does it create?

    Answer:    HTML Help, HTML-based help, WinHelp, JavaHelp, and Oracle Help.

    [from another source...] WinHelp, CHMs, pure HTML, pure XHTML (both with TOCs and Indexes and optional search), JavaHelp and Oracle Help.

    Question:  I notice that the TOC and index of the User Guide are not links. Can it create links for these?

    Answer:    The TOC can be hyperlinked but the index cannot (this is a limitation of Word).

    Question:  Can you create a two-level index?

    Answer:    Yes, and I do. I can also easily create see also references.

    [from another source...] TOC links are created automaitcally if you have your Word template set up to do this; Word does NOT create links for index entries.

    With regard to a 2-level index - I guess you're referring to main entries and sub-entries... Yes; if you wanted to go to 5 levels, you could (but you'd REALLY have to decide if this would create a usable index!)

    Question:  Is there conditional text?

    Answer:    I'm not sure what you mean by conditional text. (It's likely that someone didn't update the index before they output to PDF and that's why the page numbers differ?) At any rate, do you mean what's known as variables? You can create a variable and then assign it to each book or topic. For example, I have several different products that I document; I've created variables to handle the product names, product components, version numbers, and so on. Is that what you mean? I can also set topics so that they output to online only, or that they are included in the online help but not the TOC (for example, for a context-sensitive topic on a dialog box, where I'll have a "How To" link for the procedural steps).

    [another person weighs in...] I have also used AuthorIT for several years and have had the same pleasant experience as Sue. You can do conditional text:

    1. Mark the topic to appear in Help only or print only, etc.
    2. OR share text between topics.

    [from another person] You can also conditionalise based on styles. For example, I include screen shots in the print output, but not the online (with a few minor exceptions). For each screen shot, I apply a paragraph style that only publishes in Word output, not in HTML output. Equally, you could set up character styles for text that is ONLY in Word or ONLY in HTML.

    I also love the way AuthorIT uses object templates. This makes changes so easy and quick.

    Of all the HAT tools out there, I think AuthorIT has the greatest potential to provide a good transition to Longhorn Help too. Every other tool I know, besides AuthorIT, starts with one format (Word, .HTML, or rich text) and then switches to a different format for the outputs. Any time a HAT uses that sort of workflow, I think there are inherent problems. AuthorIT is really format-independent and the only HAT that can claim that, IMHO.

    I am not familiar with FrameMaker at all... but sharing text between objects can be accomplished by embedding Topic Objects into other Topic Objects (or not).

    You can choose to have Topic Objects appear in only specified output types (say... only HTML, not Print) - with a simple click of a checkbox, and you can choose to assemble Books using particular topics... or not, depending on the product line requirements.

    Text within a topic can be conditional using variables such as <product_name> <product_version> <product_build> etc. This is a PERFECT example of the use of variables in AuthorIT. And they are super-easy to assign and apply. Variable types include:

    • Text (a string of any characters up to 2000 characters long)
    • List of Values (a list of pre-set character strings, each up to 255 characters long)
    • File Objects (logos, graphics, etc.)
    • System (time, date, current user).

    You can nest variables too... for example, you could include the following variable (which includes nested variables) in your content:

    <AITfull_version> = <AITversion>.<AITsubver>.<AITbuild_no>

    Content could look like: "... the curernt version of Authorit is <AITfull_version>..."

    Output could look like: "... the current version of AuthorIT is 4.1.0473..." (though perhaps only the "build" component changed)

    Question:  What are HTML variables?

    HTML variables are variables that are used in HTML output (including .chm's and within JavaScript). You use a custom HTML template to insert the variable. An example would be to customize a doc set so you have the same basic look, but change the name of each to reflect the product name. You could create an HTML variable for the product name, and assign the variable before you publish.

    [another person weights in on HTML variables...] In addition to what Sue just said, you can also use variables in a custom HTML template to set up feedback loops extracting topic IDs, version numbers, topic titles etc.

    Actually "HTML variables" aren't a different type of variable - they are a standard AIT variable; when used in HTML code (or ASP, JS, or whatever) they have a different syntax from a variable in the main AIT authoring environment.

    [more on conditional text...] Conditional text can be one word or a whole section. You highlight what you want to conditionalize and then select the condition from the dialog box.

    Picking an ISPBack to Top

    Question:  Who do you recommend as an Internet Service Provider, to host a domain name and a web site?   Date:  02/07

    Recommended ISPs included the following:

    WikiBack to Top

    Question:  Has anyone implemented a Wiki? If yes, please answer the following:

    The following sections answer these questions. There is a list of Wiki resources at the end of the summary, and an appendix with a press release from a content engineering organization that offers a Wiki-based web site.

    What is Wiki?

    [Editor's Note: The following information was copied from http://Wiki.org/Wiki.cgi?WhatIsWiki]

    Wiki is, in Ward's original description, "the simplest online database that could possibly work."

    Wiki is a piece of server software that allows users to freely create and edit Web page content using any Web browser. Wiki supports hyperlinks and has a simple text syntax for creating new pages and crosslinks between internal pages on the fly.

    Wiki is unusual among group communication mechanisms in that it allows the organization of contributions to be edited in addition to the content itself.

    Like many simple concepts, "open editing" has some profound and subtle effects on Wiki usage. Allowing everyday users to create and edit any page in a Web site is exciting in that it encourages democratic use of the Web and promotes content composition by nontechnical users.

    What System Requirements Does Wiki Have?

    All respondents said that they're using "old" computers to host the Wiki. Examples included:

    • Pentium III 650MHz, 512MB RAM, 16GB disk (the new server)
    • Pentium II 350MHz, 128MB RAM, 3GB disk (the old server)
    • 386
    • A discarded developer system (probably a low-speed P4 system)

    On the software side, you generally need a basic Web server that can handle CGI scripts. The rest depends on the Wiki that you choose. Some Wikis might need to be installed on a web server that has PHP, MySQL, etc. One respondent is using Linux, Apache and TWiki. The system requirements seem to be more about the database underlying the Wiki than the Wiki itself. The best (and possibly only) place to reliably find out what you need is the installation instructions page for any given Wiki. For example, for instructions on installing MediaWiki, see http://meta.Wikimedia.org/Wiki/Wiki_on_a_stick#Procedure. One person said they run a nightly backup of the pages in each Wiki as a cron job.

    For the Wiki users, they simply need a Web browser.

    What's the Best Wiki?

    General Information:  It really depends on what you're using the Wiki for, how technical your audience/community is, and how "ugly-tolerant" they are towards presentation. Some software is quite excellent technically, but not that pretty. Others make it technically difficult to add material, but look great.

    Each Wiki seems to have it's own quirky markup for formatting and links. It's usually pretty simple but some non-technical users might have problems.

    Wikis may or may not have memory of changes, and may authenticate people or not, with different degrees of authentication. Different choices will be suited for different kinds of collaboration:

    • The very first and "pure" Wikis offer neither memory nor authentication. Anyone can go to a page and change it or even delete its contents. In practice people tend to behave nicely (c2.com explains why) but you still do not know the history of a page or who wrote what. This is probably enough for small teams.
    • The common public Wikis offer "weak" authentication. Typically you may read pages at will, but you will have to "register" to edit pages. However, the process of registering typically amounts to filling in a form with your name, so you could easily have impostors and rogue users. These Wikis may or may not offer memory for pages: c2.com does not, tWiki.org does. This seems to work well for public Wikis, and may work well in a large company.
    • The intranet Wikis provide both memory and strong authentication. They may also provide private pages for a person or a small group of persons. This is important where politics and information control are the norm.

    A respondent thinks that there are a few emerging standards: the term "TEXTILE" and a few others have been thrown around.

    TWiki:  TWiki can be configured to provide all three modes of collaboration listed above, and even others. One supporter of TWiki believes that having both memory and strong authentication was very important for Wikis to succeed at his place of employment. People are authenticated against the official LDAP database. People gain and lose access to the Wiki as soon as IT creates or destroys the same record that gives access to other company servers. As a consequence, there are neither anonymous changes nor rogue users.

    TWiki also provides revision control for pages using RCS. Anyone can contribute to a page, but anyone else can determine who wrote what. This was important to ease the fears of senior SMEs with strong control of information. If they add something to a page, it will carry their authority in a way that anyone can see, separated from the contributions of "mere mortals." Of course, they don't contribute that much, but they will ignore the Wiki until it is too late for them to regain all the control.

    Revision control is also an amazing bonus for teams. The team (all three of them!) has been using Wikis to track daily work since January 2004. On December 31st, they were finishing the year by recalling all their strategic decisions for the year, and trying to figure out how much progress they did in each. And suddenly they realized that their daily logs (obtained almost automatically just by tracking the status) provided precise information about the concrete achievements that they were just recognizing at the meeting.

    Another person chose TWiki because there are lots of plugins and add-ons being developed by the community. And of course the whole system is free but you do "pay" with your time investment. Overall, it's a good tool. Folks who are interested in Wikis might want to check out http://tWiki.org/.

    MediaWiki:  One respondent said that they used MediaWiki, but from other friends in the content management industry, this person has heard a preference for DokuWiki. MediaWiki doesn't do import-export too well yet.

    Another respondent spent a great deal of time editing articles on Wikipedia which runs on MediaWiki. This has one of the cleanest, most comprehensive and easiest Wiki interfaces that this person has encountered.

    DokuWiki:  One respondent has heard that DokuWiki is much superior to MediaWiki for documentation, since it keeps its database in flat XML files.

    How do I Host a Wiki Using My Domain Name?

    There are web hosting servers out there that will host a Wiki and use a person's domain name. Python.org has a hosting page for Wiki friendly hosts:

    http://www.python.org/moin/PythonHosting

    A Google search will also turn up more. If you see a Wiki you like, you can always use www.netcraft.org to find out who their host is and then contact the host.

    One respondent's web host has phpWiki and tikiWiki installs available. If you have Linux hosting for your domain name, they may have similar options.

    What Are the Wiki Implementation Pitfalls?

    None of the respondents felt there were any major pitfalls concerning the hardware and software. Wikis themselves are very basic tools. The respondents felt the biggest hurdle was the human factors: gaining acceptance, proper guidelines and use, not getting caught up in the “cool factor”. The main points were:

    • It's a bit "geeky" and people who are not comfortable in geekdom may push back. The hardest part of dealing with one is getting everyone to sign on to using it. Some people prefer email, some people prefer bulletin boards or public messaging forums. Getting everyone to use the Wiki, which is the only way it will be successful, can be a major hurdle. (There are still people around here saying "I hate Wiki's" without actually using it, in spite of the fact that our VP is really pushing its use!)
    • A Wiki is only as good as the people who use it. If it truly is to be used as a collaborative mechanism, people need to use it. Write to it. Edit topics. Subscribe to pages. Most of the interesting stuff happens when you get the right people using those basic tools in interesting ways.
    • It is important to remember that Wiki is NOT about technology. Wiki's allow people to collaborate in new ways. Wiki's excel at capturing consensus (as opposed to discussion). Therefore, don't build a Wiki for the "cool factor". Wikis are a neat bit of software technology, and have a certain coolness to them because they are relatively new to most people. However, there's nothing like the right tool for the job, and if you have static information that does not change, then a Wiki is nothing like the right tool for the job. On the other hand, if you have what I like to call "fast-moving information," the type of material that is subject to quick and frequent change or open discussion, then Wiki is a great way to go.
    • Many Wikis simply provide you with a collaboration platform. It's very open. You have to create a structure by having some agreed upon processes in the team. So, if there's no plan to your Wiki, it can quickly get messy, out of control, and disorganized.
    • Free support may be hard to use. With TWiki for example, a community support knowledge base is there but not always easy to search. You can post new questions but there's no guarantee that anyone will actually answer your question.

    Would You Use Wiki Again?

    Everyone said "yes!" Here are more specific replies:

    • Since the one here at work is still running, I'd say I'd definitely do it again.
    • I am still doing it and reaping the benefits. No doubt about it!
    • I absolutely would do it again, because even though we're using the Wiki "wrong," it still is a great vehicle for the type and breadth of information our Wiki distributes.
    • It's surprising how widespread the adoption has been in our case: support engineers, program managers, even programmers that I thought would be put off by a Web-based tool are actually using the thing! And the way we rolled out was from the bottom up--support engineer got his boss and peers going, and then showed engineering a page where he was collecting numbers on our product's performance, and engineers just jumped in and added/edited them and so on.

    How Do You Use Wiki?

    The specific uses of Wiki vary widely, but they can be summarized in these general points:

    • They are all used internally (although some have plans to go external).
    • They are used to collaborate on issues
    • They are for collections of information that change frequently.

    Respondents provided the specific usage examples below. After the examples, some responses fell into the categories of using a Wiki for requirements gathering, and using a Wiki for documentation.

    Case 1:  We are using TWiki in a collaborative environment of about 50 people. We use it track product requirements, tasks and assignment, test status, meeting notes, and marketing information. This is not our Bug database or our source repository. We use it as a way to put down all the bits and pieces of information that other internal people might need.

    It has worked much better than the original rigid database we tried to set up, because it is so easy for anyone to add content and topics and it does not need to fit a rigid database structure.

    It is working well in a technical environment where people are OK with using some pseudo code and setting up links etc. Some people use it as a reference point without adding content. We implemented it with one small group, and then let people find it and realize what they could do with it. That worked best in our culture of people who like to explore things. I don't know how well it would work with people who would be intimidated by the content creation rules.

    Case 2:  We use it as the "Apps Engineering" (pre- and post-sales support and marketing) intranet. It has become the place to go for everything, such as:

    • Product updates (from "Whole Product Meeting" minutes to document status and links to drafts)
    • Lists of Open Issues
    • "Who the heck is the support engineer on X product?!

    The dream is to make a controlled part of the Wiki available on our external support site as a support database--not much thinking and planning has been done yet.

    One support engineer claims to be working a Wiki-based trouble ticketing system, but I haven't seen anything other than a specification to give me any confidence that it can actually be done.

    Case 3:  Internal use only. Currently, our biggest use of one has to do with engineering communications and updates.

    Case 4:  Several basic ways:

    • Collaborating on maintaining "difficult" information that keeps changing, that is hard to get, or that you cannot write in a document, typically for political reasons. For example, all the BAD spots in 3rd-party products, with workarounds :-) This information nicely complements the official documentation.
    • Replacing email. Altitude had this global email list for technical questions where technical people asked questions related to ongoing projects, such as "has anyone done this before?" With downsizing, many people left, and Altitude was left with lots of personal list archives saying "yes, I did that; I will send you the answer directly," where BOTH people had left the company (!)
    • Team coordination. I currently run my 3-person team over a Wiki (with RELEVANT CONVENTIONS, of course!). Most of the teams at Altitude have adopted or are considering adopting Wikis for the same purpose.
    • A Wiki area has also helped the official product coordination meetings, replacing the Word-based meeting minutes (always late, rarely read) with up-to-date information (often updated during the meetings themselves).

    Case 5:  We have three or four Wikis running, each of which serves as a bulletin board for a particular team or workgroup. The traffic isn't high (in hits per hour), and there isn't lots of data (a few MB at most).

    We've tried out other, more feature-rich Wiki tools. Not worth the hassle, for what we want to do.

    To my mind, knowledge management is at the opposite end of the complexity spectrum from the original (and still vital) conception behind Wiki.

    Case 6:  We built a Wiki as a "golden path tour" of the available information about a particular project initiative on our internal LAN. It's strictly internal, and walks developers through the most salient documentation available.

    Using a Wiki for Requirements Gathering:  You might institute a Wiki and make it available to the analysts. That way, everyone could contribute and avoid needless duplication. DokuWiki seems designed for this kind of situation.

    Using a Wiki for Documentation: There were a few enthusiastic supporters of using a Wiki for documentation:

    • Wikis are great real-time documentation tools. I started using intranet Wikis for contract documentation development projects in 1999. Software engineers take to them eagerly, and even managers chimed in with suggestions. The projects were multi-national, which used to create review, revision, and translation bottlenecks. But the Wikis allowed us to get instant review and approval for milestones and changes, no matter where the reviewers were. They are definitely the bee's knees for collaborative documentation efforts.

      Disclaimer: I am so enamored of Wikis that I developed an editing and documentation production tool, WikiWriter at http://hytext.com/ww , to bring internet-compatible Wiki production methods to standalone (no server required) and offline projects.
    • I use a Wiki to develop all my technical documentation. I happen to use TWiki, which is quite popular in collaborative business environments. Here are some strong points and benefits to using a Wiki:
      • I access my documentation pages in the Wiki via my web browser. Depending on the day and my appointments, I may be working in my office on my PC, or in a random location on campus, documenting with my laptop. It doesn't matter where I am because most of the university buildings here have wireless access. (I'm at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign). Coffee shops here also have free wireless access.
      • I have a revision history. I can go back and view the first version or any version in between.
      • Since I develop requirements definitions, our Wiki is great because my peers can review the requirements documentation at any time, and comment on it. I work with a small team of four software developers, one project lead / business analyst, and a project manager.
    • One respondent who hasn't actually used a Wiki for documentation, passed along this information:
      • I was intrigued this evening to run across an article involving the use of OpenOffice Writer with a Wiki designed specifically for documentation. The article is at http://applications.linux.com/applications/05/01/10/232235.shtml?tid=49&tid=13.
      • DokuWiki is at http://Wiki.splitbrain.org/Wiki:dokuWiki.
      • Since the Wiki includes the ability to restrict those who can add, edit or delete to specified users and since it recognizes XHTML, CSS, and various other standards, I think it might be an interesting approach for those activities that want to have their documentation on the Web. Further, it supports printing, and therefore, it should support fairly simple .pdf creation as well. I thought this might be worth looking into, especially for smaller groups and for Web-based products.

    Have You Integrated Wiki into Other Applications?

    Respondents who have integrated their Wikis with other systems have done the following:

    • Besides Wiki areas (for collaboration) I offer plain file areas (for publishing) and recently a blog area for announcements.
    • Some of our servlet-based web applications access information in the Wiki (treating the content as XHTML after passing it through htmltidy), but the access is by simple HTTP request.
    • We leverage the linking features to integrate the Wiki with all kinds of other materials, repositories, even knowledge management systems.

    Before Implementing:  Respondents ranged from "you don't need to know anything before implementing a Wiki" to the following advice:

    • Voice of Experience #1:  The original Wiki (http://c2.com) has LOTS of information on Wiki deployment (don't let the 80's appearance stop you from reading). This respondent started using a Wiki for the team in June 2002, and it was not before January 2004 that it was redeployed experimentally in the company as a solution to the email archive issue.
    • Voice of Experience #2:  Start using a Wiki (any Wiki will do to start). Understand the strong and weak points of the tool. Learn when to use it and when NOT to use it. Choose your tool carefully. Wiki syntax is NOT PORTABLE. If you later need to migrate to a "better" Wiki, you will have to migrate all the contents. Also, you must choose between:
      • Simple (trivial to install and understand, but limited)
      • Complex (not so trivial to install; it is difficult compare complex Wikis to each other and understand their limitations).
      KISS (keep it simple and stupid). Avoid the need to create beautiful pages. It's about keeping the information organized and EASY TO EDIT. Beautiful HTML pages are IMPOSSIBLE to edit by most people, including very technical people that somehow never found the time to learn HTML. Wiki syntax rules!

      However, make some effort to organize the raw information (which just happens to be a strong point for technical writers).

      THE REAL WORK IS ABOUT PEOPLE. You (the Wiki designer/evangelist/champion/whatever) are not advocating a tool. You are advocating a new way to work. Keep that in mind when people start resisting Wikis; often their resistance is not about Wikis at all.
    • Voice of Experience 3:  It helps to have someone on hand who can tweak the (relatively simple) Wiki CGI scripts to tailor them to your needs.
    • Voice of Experience 4:  This person would have liked to know how to do a lot of things like links, bookmarks, anchors, and categories, and just how bad the search function is.

    Wiki Resources

    Evaluations of Help Authoring ToolsBack to Top

    Question:  What do you think of the various help authoring tools, such as AuthorIT, RoboHelp, and WebWorks?

    I've quoted many of the highlights below, grouped by the software. One additional program was suggested which sounded very interesting: HelpScribble (http://www.helpscribble.com/.

    RoboHelp

    "Just awful... now looking at WebWorks."

    "Definitely almost dead... Generally slow and unreliable."

    "I'm happy with it although I can only use the HTML part of the program."

    "I gather that it is rising like the Phoenix... I never liked its print output. It outputs only to Word and always required lots of tweaking..."

    WebWorks

    "not impressed... bad design."

    "Utterly and completely user-unfriendly."

    "the code is a bloody mess"

    "Tech support is probably one of the worst..."

    "Generally slow and unreliable."

    "I use this all the time... It works very well to convert content from Word or Frame..."

    AuthorIT

    "[we're] moving to AuthorIT from RoboHelp and Webworks... because of AuthorIT's single-source capabilities."

    "It has its own authoring environment, so you don't need to author in Word. It's print goes only to Word, though."

    Flare

    "I've played with it and think it could be quite a nice tool. Right now, it supports only Word 2003, but it also has its own authoring environment. It is supposed to support Frame by this fall (maybe sooner)."

    "My corporate senior technical writer friend SUPER supports Flare."

    HelpScribble

    "great product... the client loves it."

    More Information

    FrameMaker ResourcesBack to Top

    Question:  I'd like to learn FrameMaker - what's the best approach?

    Free Online Tutorials:

    Onsite Training Courses:

    Learning Books/Self-Study Material:

    • Classroom in a Book
    • The Complete Reference FrameMaker 7 by Sarah O'Keefe and Sheila Loring
    • Unstructured FrameMaker: Accelerated Introduction by Sarah O'Keefe
    • Masters Series FrameMaker 6 by Thomas Neuburger (www.TwelfthNight.com)

    Website/Group Resources:

    N E W  Project Coordination SoftwareBack to Top

    Question:  I am working to get a position on a project developing a web-based instructional program. In addition to writing and editing content, I would be responsible for organizing the project and coordinating the other team members. I was wondering if anyone knew of any web-based software that would allow communication among multiple team members (SME's, writers, programmers, and more) located across the country. Ideally, the system would facilitate communication between all members, help schedule and track project benchmarks and deadlines, allow for access and revision to documents by multiple users, track revisions, and more (TBD as the scope and structure of the project are worked out).

    Does anyone know of a tool like this? Also, do you have any suggestions for how to organize and run a project of this size? Most of my experience has been on smaller scale projects, so I would appreciate any advice from those who have been there.   Date:  09/07

    Response Summary:

    Books:
    • "Managing Virtual Teams: Getting the Most from Wikis, Blogs, and Other Collaborative Tools". www.wordware.com/wiki/
      (This book provides some checklists for determining which tools will work best for your particular needs for virtual project coordination and tracking. Before picking a set of tools, do a needs and gap analysis, so that you have a clear idea of what features and functionality that you really need. Some of the collaboration suites include Basecamp, Drupal, eGroupware, MS Sharepoint...)
    Software:
    • http://www.basecamphq.com/
      I use Basecamp as a collaborative tool. It's not full-fledged project management software, so if you need more than basic task/milestone management it won't be suitable. But it provides an easy way for my widely-scattered team to communicate.
    • http://www.zoho.com/
      Zoho has a free suite of tools that might work for you.
    • http://wiki.splitbrain.org/wiki:dokuwiki
      You might want to look into implementing a wiki. There are many of them out there to choose from. The team I work with are using DokuWiki to collaborate because it is free, does not use a database, and is very easy to set up and start using. There was an excellent summary about wikis on the CIC SIG list about a year and a half ago, which is what got me started.
    • www.authorit.com
      AuthorIT has a number of products that fit the bill. Excellent, single-source, content re-use, version control, etc.

    Job Hunting TopicsBack to Top

    What Are Employers Looking For? Technical Editing Jobs Technical Writing & Web Development
    Job Availability Off-Shoring

    What Are Employers Looking For?Back to Top

    Question:   I've been asked to give an informal presentation to a TC seminar at Cincinnati State Community and Technical College re TC job availability and what employers are looking for.

    Even though we are independents, I know we keep an eye on things, if only because potential clients can use our services while they are looking for employees to handle TC duties.

    Would you mind providing me with some information about how you see the TC market changing or operating currently? What do you see employers looking for, e.g, I know we need to be more than "one trick ponies" -- although that really isn't any different from my experience over the past 30 years (Yikes--it's been that long!)

    I'd like to be able to give these students some information from beyond the boundary of I-275 (the outer highway belt around southwestern Ohio).

    Bay Area, California:  This year seems much better than the last couple. I've been hearing about more jobs through networking contacts, much in the way I used to. (For several years the "do you have any time or know someone who..." word-of-mouth referrals had become few and far between. There still aren't as many as there used to be, but there are more than 2001-2002.)

    Most of the projects I hear about are fairly technical, for administrator or IT audiences. Companies seem to be looking for experience dealing with technical information that is similar to, if not exactly matching, their domain. That said, I've had two clients in the last year that hired me for my expertise in designing and developing documentation, and didn't care at all if I knew the domain. (While that used to be the case fairly frequently, it wasn't for awhile.)

    Single-sourcing is often a need, in one form or another. Most often, it is either the need to have two or more flavors of a book, or the need to create both PDF and HTML versions. It helps that I know multiple tools, as different clients are using different products.

    An upcoming project will develop MS HTML Help, with that as the primary deliverable -- also a type of project that I used to get, but haven't in awhile.

    In terms of additional skills -- I've been focusing on usability for quite some time now, and more recently accessibility. Documentation clients appreciate that, and I often get to integrate some UI and usability work into my documentation projects. When there is a limited budget, making sure the documentation that's created is what meets user needs becomes even more important, so focusing on understanding who the users are and what they need is key. I also do projects that primarily focus on UI and usability. That work ranges from writing UI style guides to reviewing the UI for usability and providing feedback, to helping develop the product UI and interaction in a user-centered development environment.

    It still helps to be able to hit the ground running, get up to speed quickly, and create deliverables in fairly short timeframe. A typical project is anywhere between 6 weeks and 3 months from start to finish.

    Clients are also very appreciative of the ability to plan, and to look at the big picture, as well as short-term needs. For schedules that don't really allow enough time for what is needed, I work with the client to define optimal documentation, and then to decide what should be created "this time," putting in place the groundwork to develop more later, as time and budget permits.

    I don't think most of this is anything new. I think the piece that's the most different from 10 years ago is the need for single sourcing in one form or another. With fewer resources, it's more important than ever to get multiple books or outputs from one set of files, and one person! Learning how to do that well is a great skill to cultivate. It's a lot more than just knowing the tools.

    Boston:  Well, the situation here in Boston hasn't improved much. There was a marginal up-tick. And some would still tell you that a good TC can always get a job, but I am not convinced. Too many of my good writer friends are retiring or turning in their keyboards for other, non-technical jobs.

    There are still opportunities, but fewer and fewer of them are with high-tech companies. In our area, financial services companies, biotech companies, and others are the ones where there is growth. This presents a problem for a person who identifies himself as a TC, because these non-tech companies aren't looking for TCs and if you try to sell them TC skills, they act like you are talking a foreign language. "Writer" or "editor" are titles this group understands. And there will always be a need for good writers and editors.

    For some of us, the solution is to retool as Information Architects, but I am guessing that that won't be more than about 10% of us, because it is different in many, many ways from traditional TC. The focus here is on design and not content, which is the primary focus for most TCs, and design work is higher up the food chain. The scope of this work is much larger, with more people involved, than a typical writing project with one or a few writers and a few engineers. And IA requires a more broadly based business background than most TCs have.

    Yes, we are seeing outsourcing, so there probably will be a need for people here in the U.S. to project manage outsourced work, but I don't know that I would look at that as a long-term career option, because the companies and people on the other end will come up to speed in 2-3 years and won't be interested in being project managed from a distance.

    Finally, what we are not seeing is the next new thing. For me, it was computers, then the web. So what's next? No one seems to know. There was a lot of thinking that biotech was going to blossom, but we're not seeing it. Besides, who needs a user's guide for a new gene? The latest bubble in the high-tech world around here has been in nano-technology. And there may be some real work there, eventually. My guess is that we are at least 3-5 years away from seeing that rose bloom.

    Cincinnati:  There are jobs out there. I think people have to be willing to spend some time researching companies and also need to realize that most good technical communication jobs aren't usually posted in newspapers and/or on job web sites. I honestly believe that networking, especially in small markets like ours, is the way to find out what's going on and who may be hiring/planning on hiring in the near future.

    This may ramble a bit, but here I go... Seapine recently decided to hire another writer. As I mentioned to you last week, I was first surprised by the lack of quality resumes. We only received a handful of resumes that didn't have typos, format inconsistencies, or misspellings. Even if you don't have much experience, the least I expect is a perfect resume. Even if it takes hours and hours to get it to perfect - that is time well spent. Why should I interview, much less hire, someone who can't even proof his or her own resume? I was also surprised that most resumes didn't include cover letters. Although we didn't specify one, a well-written cover letter can be a great introduction and help me understand how your skills set may apply to what I'm looking for.

    Next, I was definitely surprised (shocked) by the newer writers' (recent grad/one person with about three years experience) lack of interviewing skills/portfolios/preparation about Seapine. I know that interviewing isn't easy but if you really want a job it's something you need to learn how to do successfully. What happened to preparing for an interview? Even if the interviewee doesn't understand everything that Seapine's software does, I would at least expect them to come in with some basic understanding of what we offer. One interviewee thought we wrote custom reports for users. Nothing about bug tracking or source control or automated testing - just custom reports.

    In addition, I was expecting writing samples to actually be in some type of portfolio with a brief explanation of each sample. My portfolio is a three ring binder, nothing fancy. But it's organized by writing type and should give a potential employer an idea of what I've accomplished. Two of our interviewees literally handed me a stack of papers, some of which were wrinkled. Even if you're looking for your first technical communication job you should be able to start putting together a portfolio. We were open to everything -- school assignments, volunteer writing, etc.

    Now, on to interviewing. One thing we were looking for is someone who would ask questions - hoping that person will ask questions when they're documenting a feature, working on a knowledgebase article, or just wondering why a developer used Yes/No instead of OK/Cancel on a dialog. We purposefully didn't give an overview of tech comm at Seapine and how we do what we do. I wanted people to ask about tools, deliverables, processes, a day in the life, deadlines, expectations, training, etc. That only happened with one interviewee. The other two people only answered questions and didn't ask anything. If you followed up with either of those people and asked how I do what I do they couldn't even begin to answer. If you want to be a successful technical communication professional, you have to learn to ask questions and (I believe) have a desire to learn about new things. It doesn't matter what you're writing about, if you're designing web sites, etc. - there should always be the desire to learn about your audience, what you're writing about, etc.

    By the way, technical communication isn't about sitting in a cube writing all day long. There are days I may spend the majority of my time writing, but that's generally not the case. I spend the majority of my time reading design documents, writing up UI-related bugs for the developers, playing with the software, then finally writing. In the 4+ years I've been at Seapine, and the ten or so years I've been a technical writer, I've never spent the day without interacting with at least one other person (unless I go to work on a Saturday just to get work done, ha ha). Verbal communication skills are just as important as written communication skills.

    Last thing, if you're interested in the job, tell me at the end of the interview AND send a thank you note. People don't realize how thank you notes and well-written cover letters set them apart from the pack.

    Baltimore/DC:  There are lots of opportunities in the Baltimore/Washington, DC area, but the rates aren't what they used to be, even 6 months ago. Six months ago the rates seemed to be recovering, but the market was slow. Now the market is better, but the rates are less. Some of this could probably be attributed to being an election year, as a well as to the economy. When you live as close as I do to DC, the national news is your local news, those events affect the market more than you would expect.

    From my perspective, there is a new, enlarging world out here for communicators venturing outside of information technology, particularly those prepared to manage communication and documentation projects; develop training and marketing materials; manage, coordinate, and produce major proposals; coach presenters and help small businesses "get organized"; analyze material for audience appeal; etc.

    I agree with Judith, especially about marketing. I'm getting that work pretty easily. It's also expanding beyond marketing copy--I'm getting involved in business naming, developing tag lines, and other branding work. It's more stressful in some ways than instructional or tech writing, but it's also more fun, and the projects are short enough that they end before I get burned out.

    Cleveland:  What we look for at RADCom, is someone who has:

    • Business Sense
    • Professional appearance and demeanor
    • Common sense
    • Excellent writing ability
    • Ability to interview SMEs and gather information on the SME's terms
    • Ability to learn quickly
    • Knowledge of human factors issues and how to integrate it into their deliverables
    • Knowledge of instructional design principles and how to integrate them into their deliverables

    What we do NOT want:

    • Someone who is only good at writing
    • Anyone who is introverted
    • Someone who is so proud of being a great writer that it gets in the way of their job performance. (!)
    • Someone who is technologically inept.

    Rochester NY:  This can vary so much from person to person, but I've been seeing much more growth this year than over the last few years. Here are the main trends I've personally experienced:

    • All of my work is coming from small to mid-sized companies rather than the big corporations.
    • Most of my work is now in documenting procedures and not writing software manuals.
    • I used to write s/w user guides almost exclusively, especially for mega-corps, so my work now is quite different.

    San Diego:&bnsp; I think you're going to get a variety of answers, depending on where in the country folks are located. For example, I know that the job market (no matter how you work) has still not recovered in northern California, but here in southern California things haven't changed all that much.

    That said, I'm still seeing a bigger emphasis on the types of tools used, rather than the technologies. I wish this would change, since it's ever so much easier to learn how to use, say RoboHelp, than it is to learn how to create a usable online help system.

    I've always been more than a one-trick pony, as I have a lot of marketing background. I've also done quite a bit of training stuff (in fact, just got a new contract yesterday to create training materials for a Web-based application).

    In the online documentation world, I'm seeing more and more people heading towards Web-based applications, and less and less still creating the older WinHelp. I'm seeing less and less emphasis on printed manuals, but still a requirement for PDF. More and more emphasis is heading towards single sourcing and CMS. HTML is giving way to XML.

    Of course, all of this varies depending on the industry (I primarily work within the software industry). Here in San Diego, we still have a lot of biomed and hardware companies, and those companies demand FrameMaker experts (ugh! :) ) and less emphasis on help authoring. The primary tool here in San Diego is RoboHelp, although I've recently switched MY primary tool to AuthorIT (for it's single-sourcing and CMS aspects).

    St Louis, MO:  The job situation for technical communicators in the St. Louis, Missouri area is bleak. Few companies are hiring either full time employees or contracting with us independents.

    Some chapters may have job opportunity listings that are open to the public (not password protected or restricted to members only). Students could search the chapters for information in various regions

    Dayton, OH:  I have always focused on finding someone with (a) proven writing ability (not just school-related, and not just co-op or intern stuff) and (b) proven technical ability. By that I mean proof that the person can learn and use some technical skill--maybe a programming skill, network architecture, database design, web design, or even something like geology or agricultural science. Too many writing candidates are really technical lightweights. I can improve writing skill, but I can't instill a technical mindset where there is none. Software skill simply isn't enough to show technical acumen.

    I expect people to know their own limitations (not the cliche "I'm a perfectionist"). In other words, I expect them to know what they don't know and admit it.

    I expect a mini-barrage of questions about the work environment, type of workload, and so on. On the flip side, I expect them to show knowledge of my company - beyond what they'll find in our website.

    If they don't have any questions for me, or if they ask only about self-serving things (benefits, vacation), they're almost certainly out.

    I expect a professionally written (and edited) cover letter and resume. The cover letter needs to follow a standard letter format -- to a tee.

    If I ask them questions about their writing samples, they better be able to answer them intelligently--showing me that they learned from the technical content they wrote about.

    If I ask about some of the basics of tech writing (audience analysis, parallel structure, information mapping, online help), they need to answer intelligently.

    Technical Editing JobsBack to Top

    Question:   A friend is translating Dutch/English documents and often finds problems in the English text (e.g., inconsistent or vague word usage). Is there a market for technical editors? Is there another name for the job position? If there is such a market, what does the job entail? Any suggestions I could pass along?

    Here is how several people responded:

    Response 1:

    Yes, there is a market for technical editors. I just got home from such a project as a senior technical editor for "a global software security" corporation. The duties were to snag all the problems you mention, and enforce a corporate style to munge the output of 70 writers scattered all around the world (really: New Zealand, Tahiti, etc.), the majority of which belonged to one of several small companies that had just been sold out from under them and did NOT want to change.

    In general, the sentences must be set up for translation, with certain wording (secret) and punctuation conventions, but with one other stipulation: all these paragraphs are to be able to live on their own, like Help "topics." That's not easy. Furthermore, they are to be popped in and out of a database and edited in "word processor" software in XML. Translation costs are key because each word costs 25 cents, and the stuff is translated into 23 languages. Ireland seems to have a lot of translators.

    There is a company in Troy, Michigan called Iterotext. I have a blurb from the upcoming STC local meeting, where a representative will speak, or you can visit http://www.iterotext.com/. The blurb has a good summary of the theory, in case you or anyone else would like it. It really is interesting.

    At one point, I interviewed at Volkswagen. They had translators, but they weren't car people, so they'd come up with things like "carburetor-rope-pull" for choke cable.

    Response 2:

    I've been doing technical editing for many years. Some large companies employ full-time tech editors; large and small companies (the ones that understand the value technical editors can provide) also hire contractors/contractors/freelancers.

    The work can take a number of forms, from basic copyediting of a technical document to partnering with the writer on developing the documentation suite for a product and being involved with user testing of the documents. Fact checking in a formal sense isn't usually involved, at least in the jobs I've had, but editors use our knowledge of a product line to query material that seems wrong or incomplete and work with the writer to get the latest information from the development team.

    STC has a Technical Editing SIG here: http://www.stcsig.org/te/

    Response 3:

    I have been an independent consultant for a couple of years. I do both technical writing and technical editing, but more of the latter. I focus on materials for international audiences, but I think of that as a reflection of my interests, rather than the demand in the market. I suppose it is a happy coincidence of the two.

    One of my ongoing contracts is to do "globalization editing" for a large software company. My job is to make the English as clear and concise as possible. There are several reasons for this:

    • Increased accuracy in localization/translation
    • Lower costs for localization/translation
    • Increased usefulness for non-native speakers (and, for that matter, native speakers)

    As globalization editors, we also look for anything that would be hard to understand or likely be offensive in a cross-cultural setting.

    One can make the case that paying a technical editor is cheaper than translating wordy, inaccurate materials in many languages -- especially if it is necessary to make changes in the translations. Also, simplifying the wording usually reduces word count and therefore costs. In short, there's an economic case for the value of technical editing. I'm not sure how many companies could justify a full-time editor, but that should make consulting all the more viable.

    Response 4:

    You could bolster that case if your company/client was doing highly regulated work. At Bechtel, we built a nuclear plant, and the NRC was all over it looking for problems of any kind. As a result, there was a team of 4 editors that handled every project document from memo to 47-volume report. We assumed that these could be analyzed at any time, so even a hint of ambiguity was reworked.

    Response 5:

    I just heard about a technical communications quality assurance product that a company I work for is using. It is called "acrocheck". It is made by a company called acrolinx. It appears to address just the problems you're raising. According to their website it checks style, terminology consistency, grammar and spelling and integrates in Word, Framemaker, XmetaL, Arbortext Epic and TRADOS. Does anyone have experience with it?

    Response 6:

    I believe it (acrocheck) also integrates with AuthorIT but I haven't used it. However, it has a hefty price tag so for me as a lone writer it's off the agenda.

    I use a piece of software - StyleWriter - that integrates with Word. It costs about $160 USD. You can get it an evaluation version from http://www.editorsoftware.com, or, if you want to go through me, I get a small affiliate fee if you download then later buy via my site http://www.cybertext.com.au/editorsoftware/affiliate_index.html.

    Response 7:

    I'd like to second the suggestion for StyleWriter. I purchased a license shortly after reading a review in Intercom, and it was well worth the price. Like SnagIt, the cost is small, and it doesn't do too much -- but what it does, it does very, very well.

    I'm not affiliated with them, but I am definitely a happy user.

    Response 8:

    There is a lot of work available for technical editors (as others have stated). Another area your friend may not have considered is linguistic usability reviews (different from an in-country technical review where you see both languages; in this case I only see the English translation and have to figure out what it means; sorta like reading a VCR manual that was translated into English). I've done several (mostly for Asian companies). These reviews help companies evaluate the quality of the translations and to ensure that the translation is technically, linguistically, and syntactically accurate.

    Your friend may be interested in joining the International Tech Com SIG (http://www.stcsig.org/itc/). The list is getting almost as active as this one, and is a great resource for technical communicators, translators, and localization vendors (I'm the current manager).

    Response 9:

    Take a look at Jean Hollis Weber's site: www.jeanweber.com -- it's pretty much all about tech editing!

    Technical Writing & Web DevelopmentBack to Top

    Question:   Are there many jobs out there that combine web development and technical writing? Also, I'm considering enrolling in a Web Development certificate program but I'm not sure how much it will increase my value as a tech com professional.

    Responses: I've seen a few jobs out there that combine the two, but they are heavy on the database side...this sounds like a medium to large organization implementing and/or maintaining a content management system (including the software education and ongoing support)...

    To decide about the clas, I would ask to speak to graduates of the certificate program. I say go for the course. Broaden your skill set and you will not be sorry. Whatever you do, don't do it for job hits on Monster (or wherever). Do what you love, do it well, and the jobs will come. "They" need us even if they don't know it.

    As a tech writer who moved entirely into web development in 2000, I saw web development as a different way to deliver the content I was already developing. I prefer the web stuff to writing; I now expect my clients to supply me with web-ready material or hire a writer/editor to help them create it.

    In pure technical writing terms, I've seen jobs posted where there is a preference for the writer to have web scripting or programming experience for developer-facing guides. The career transition choice or option to freelance as a website designer broadens your marketability. Also just for technical writing, I think that the more scripting and programming you understand and can do, the more credibility you can have with certain decision makers about your ability to learn and communicate about technical concepts.

    Job AvailabilityBack to Top

    Question:   Are you seeing a lot of openings for full-time, "permanent" jobs? Are you finding a lot of opportunities for contract work?    Date: 01/07

    Responses: Overall, most of us are seeing opportunities out there.

    Individual responses relating to full-time work include the following:

    • More and more lately. Things have really picked up in the last 6 months or so.
    • Some. The demand is the highest I have seen in several years.
    • I'll say 50/50 permanent/contract based on the job boards coming through my inbox (BWA, STC, referral work--all contract btw, and Andrew Hudson's PR job list--includes writing gigs and perm jobs for business and marketing communications.

    Individual responses relating to contract work include the following:

    • Yes, I’m turning down work every month. At decent-to-good rates, too.
    • Yes indeed. My business opportunities have really taken off in the last 3 months or so, to the point where I have started to hire subcontractors (rather than work as a subcontractor, which is where I was last spring).
    • I have never worked so hard in all my life--'06 was my best year ever. All my work has been repeat business up until the first week of '07 where I got two new clients from referrals and a gig I had to turn down (dang!) because my schedule was too full.
      • \

    Off-ShoringBack to Top

    Question:   Have you seen much work moving out of North America to other countries?   Date: 01/07

    Responses: Overall, certainly not everyone sees jobs moving out of North America.

    Individual responses relating to off-shoring include the following:

    • Not nearly as much in the past 12 months as I've seen in the previous three-four years.
    • Not from here, unless the position can't be staffed. The job market in Alberta is hot, hot, hot: billions of dollars in oil sands development is scheduled for the next 10-12 years. Firms can't find the skilled workers they need fast enough.
    • I haven't heard anything one way or the other. Several permanent positions have been posted that require extensive experience in various fields/software and request "deadline-oriented" and "dedicated" people. These descriptions often translate to "tight deadlines" and "unpaid overtime" in my dictionary. I seem to be finding opportunities for contract work. I have not seen much usability work moving "offshore" but I know others who have firsthand experienced with this.
    • After being downsized last year, I noticed that contract work and off shoring had taken its toll on the tech writing field. Salaries are also way down and at age 45, I am considered a senior citizen at my company.
    • I see that pure technical writing is going overseas. We do not hire more writers when someone leaves; we just send their work to India (which is not necessarily a good thing). I used to work on one product and now I handle 10 and have a support team in India helping with the process of getting the documentation into the build. This method seems to work well, I write and they do all the other work. But I have now taken 10 jobs and rolled them into one. Business focus: Business, marketing, and technical communications (NOT software or hardware user documentation) for people who teach, sell, or inform: white papers, classroom and handbook instruction, survey and business case study reports, and web copy. Geographic area: Denver and environs.
    • No, not any. Because of the nature of my work, I don't think it is suitable for export. I live in Florence, South Carolina. I've been in technical communication since 1998. There is only one company in town that employs technical writers, and the pay is so low they can't keep anyone. Last year, I had a contract in the Research Triangle-Raleigh-Durham, NC, area, which meant I had to live away from home during the week. I can also drive to Columbia, SC, which is an hour or hour-and-a-half away, one way, depending on where the job is in Columbia. Currently I have a contract in Columbia. I see very few jobs advertised for full-time, "permanent" positions. There are sometimes several contract positions, sometimes none at all, in Columbia--it seems to be rather cyclical. I have no direct experience with work moving out of North America, but I have friends and colleagues who do. You didn't ask, but let me add that telecommuting positions appear to be as rare as fur on fish; I have never found a situation where it was supported, and only one where it was even considered.
    • Through my work with the local St. Catharines - Thorold Chamber of Commerce that represents 1,000 local businesses, I am pleased to find that there are some technical writing jobs here in the Niagara Region. This is an agricultural and tourism area, so even though high-tech is not big, there is still some demand for it. As well, I am seeing that there are plenty of permanent and contract jobs advertised in the STC Toronto Job Bank. I haven't noticed that jobs are going overseas, but do not think I am connected with the larger firms where that might be happening.

    STC-Related TopicsBack to Top

    Annual Conference Benefits Meeting Topics Networking Organizations

    Annual Conference BenefitsBack to Top

    Question:  What are the benefits/ROI of attending the annual STC conference?

    Here is a list of the benefits people mentioned:

    • $545 is inexpensive
    • it's tax deductible
    • 5 to 10 times return on expenses, but only after several years
    • networking
    • vacation
    • investment in self
    • skill sessions
    • trends
    • professional growth
    • sense of community
    • friendship
    • face-to-face communication
    • exhibit hall booths staffed by decision-makers in the industry
    • great exposure for presenters
    • good first speaking engagement
    • presentations force you to analyze their work more
    • find speakers for local chapter
    • national exposure at society level
    • chapter role training

    And the drawbacks:

    • sessions are too brief to provide useful information
    • vendors are less than stellar
    • speakers do not get any price breaks
    • rare to get an immediate contract
    • without spending a long time, you do not get any work from conferences and volunteering
    • as a speaker, hard to make anyone happy

    Useful Advice for Attending the Conference:

    • Go this year; if you don't make it back over the year, don't go back next year.
    • Go with the goal of recouping the cost of the conference, and not more; identify attendees and vendors who can use your services
    • Write down 3 to 5 things to accomplish, and put it in the badge holder to remind yourself of goals.
    • Write down how you met and a tidbit about each person on the back of the business card, then follow up by email within a week.
    • Networking doesn't just work when you need work—it's an all the time thing. It comes back 3-fold, but over time.
    • Get hotel/airfare combination prices.
    • If you belong to a casino's player's club, call for your player's rate (mine was $30/night). Only useful for the Las Vegas conference.

    Meeting TopicsBack to Top

    Not surprisingly, CICers and lone writers (LWers) differed in the topics they’d like to hear about or have found useful in SIG or chapter meetings. There were a couple of areas that overlapped, namely marketing and networking.

    Meeting formats also generated some really good responses. Most people in both groups were very positive about their experiences with informal meetings where they could network, share ideas and problems, and review each other’s work.

    CIC RESPONSES

    • CICers were primarily interested in marketing, selling themselves and their services, opportunities to network, contracts and rates, and running a business.
    • Almost everyone who responded made some reference to marketing: marketing tools (like brochures), how to find clients, selling yourself, and marketing techniques.
    • The second most popular meeting idea was contracts and setting rates.
    • Meetings where SIG members can informally network – such as lunch and dinner meetings and/or round table discussions – was a very common meeting idea and most people seemed to think it is an extremely productive format.
    • Other ideas included print production and using print brokers, time management, motivational subjects, communicating/understanding clients, and tools education (software, web page development).
    • One idea that came from the CICers was to hold an *affordable* seminar or conference focusing on running a consulting business: contracts, rates, taxes, insurance, accounting, etc. It could be done on the regional level to make it more accessible to people. Anyone who’s interested can contact Linda Gallagher.

    LW RESPONSES

    • LWers were interested in tools, support and information from peers (via networking opportunities), and marketing. I also included some information from a recent thread on the LW SIG mailing list regarding transformation where several members discussed networking and chapter meetings.
    • Tool information/tips/training was mentioned a few times. And looking at past mailing list threads, it is definitely a topic of interest to LWers.
    • Marketing ideas for LWers covered both internal marketing ( a couple of people mentioned covering how to prove value to your fellow workers/boss/company) and job-related marketing (portfolio, resume).
    • LWers want opportunities to network more with their peers. For many LWers, SIG-level meetings are more appealing for networking and sharing information because it’s a group of peers who have the same interests/needs/perspectives. Several LWers discussed feeling out of place at chapter meetings but have felt more comfortable at SIG-level meetings or think that they would fell more comfortable with them more than chapter-level meetings.

    Networking OrganizationsBack to Top

    Question: Where do you go to network besides STC?

    Responses (in alphabetical order)

    • Advertising Federation
    • AIIM (The ECM Institution)
    • American Academy for the Advancement of Science
    • American Industrial Hygiene Association
    • American Marketing Association
    • American Public Health Association
    • American Society for Training and Development
    • American Society for Training Developers
    • AMWA (American Medical Writers)
    • ASIS (American Society for Information Science)
    • Association of Proposal Management Professionals
    • ATA
    • Board of Trade (BC)
    • British Computer Society (BCS), www.bcs.org
    • Chambers of Commerce
    • Clientside News
    • CM Pros (Content Management Professionals)
    • DIA (Drug Information Assoc)
    • EContent Institute (Canada only)
    • Framemaker Forum
    • Framemaker-dita Yahoo! group
    • 4-H
    • HATT
    • High Tech Communicators' Exchange (HTCE)
    • IAI (Information Architecture Institute)
    • IEEE Professional Communication Society
    • Institute of Directors (www.iod.com)
    • International Association of Business Communicators
    • ISPI
    • Kickstand.org
    • Knowledge Management Community of Practice
    • Localization Fusion Society
    • National Association of Female Executives (NAFE)
    • National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO)
    • Professional Contractors Group (PCG), www.pcg.org.uk
    • Professional mailing lists, such as TECHWR-L, HATT, WWP
    • Project Management Institute
    • Public Relations Society of America
    • SIGDOC
    • SCORE (assn of retired executives who provide counseling to small businesses)
    • Society of Indexers (SI), www.indexers.org.uk
    • TechVibes
    • Teko
    • UK's Institute of Scientific & Technical Communicators (ISTC)
    • Vancouver User Experience (VanUE)
    • Unitarian Universalist Association
    • UPA
    • VanX (XML developers)
    • Winwriters
    • Wired Woman
    • Women in Computer Technology (NWCT)
    • WWP list

    Contracting & Project Management TopicsBack to Top

    Keeping Busy On-Site Confidentiality Agreements Minimizing Client Changes Estimating Project Management
    Health Insurance The State of Salaries Outsourcing Handwritten Notes
    Concurrent Clients On-site vs Off-site Work Daily Status Reports Charging for Travel Time and Commuting
    Content Creation & Workflow Milestone Payment Structure Online Backup Services Subcontracting as a Pass-Through Convenience for a Client
    Changing Scopes & Difficult Clients When a Client Wants to Buy Out a Subcontractor Hourly Rates & Discounts Project Management Resources
    Subcontracting versus Referral Subcontracting Agreements Subcontracting Rates Crash Course on Being a Contractor

    Keeping Busy On-SiteBack to Top

    Question:   What can do I when I'm required to be on-site but have no project work to do?

    Here's a brief summary of the suggestions (in LEAST to MOST desirable order):

    • ask the boss if I can cut back on my hours
    • come in early, tend to personal business, then do a little work and leave early
    • ask the boss for more work (including in other areas of the company)
    • use the 'extra' time to practice writing essays, poetry, and fiction
    • use the 'extra' time to catch up on the STC journals
    • use the 'extra' time to take an online course, learn new tools
    • use the 'extra' time to learn more about the client and its business
    • look for ways to improve the project documentation (e.g., add an index or glossary)
    • sit back and enjoy it (read the funny pages online, laugh all way to the bank!)

    Another, more detailed response:

    When I first experienced "down time" on this job, I went to my boss and just flat out asked her how she wants to handle this. I've already asked them what else I can do, and there is nothing. The big difference is that I work from home many days per week unless meetings, etc. demand that I'm on-site. Therefore, I spend "down-time" at home and I can always find things to do. It seems especially weird to just bill those hours when I'm tending to my tomatoes.

    My boss thanked me for my honesty, and told me that they don't want me to find another job, so they're willing to pay me whether I'm working or not as long as I'm available. So, I check my e-mail frequently from home and check in to see if there is work. The project really seems to ebb and flow. They extended my contract for a few months, but during long periods of down tim--, even though it seems like a blessing--, I feel uneasy at times wondering if they'll end my contract early.

    In short: My advice if you can't work from home is to enjoy the down time and do other stuff, and when you get bored enough, just be honest with your boss and try to work something out. It alleviated a lot of stress for me.

    Confidentiality AgreementsBack to Top

    Question:   Are companies ever concerned about the confidentiality of contractors? Do companies prefer to hire employees to further protect their confidential and proprietary information?

    No, it is standard practice for companies large and small to hire contractors. Most companies will ask you to sign a nondisclosure agreement (NDA) before disclosing any company information. You should read the NDA thoroughly and ask questions about anything that isnąt clear.

    A company may ask you to sign an NDA before you can even talk about putting a quote or proposal together for them, and sometimes it's once you