Archive for January 2011
How to Inspect the Hidden and Meta Data in Your MS Word 2007 Document Before You Release It
© 2011 Ugur Akinci MS Word 2007 records all kinds of hidden and meta data with your technical document. Before releasing it for general use, it’s always a good idea to inspect and see if there is anything in there that you’d like to clean up. For example, if the document is started by another…
Read More7 Alternatives to Adobe Acrobat for Creating PDF
© 2011 Ugur Akinci Adobe Acrobat is an excellent software for generating PDF copies of technical documents. Once something is converted to PDF, you can view it on any OS platform in the same format. However, Acrobat is not a cheap software. That’s why you might want to have a look at these more affordable and/or open-source…
Read MoreAdobe TCS3 is here with new XML and Social Media features!
© 2011 Ugur Akinci I’m excited to hear that Adobe’s Technical Communication Suite 3 is introduced with exciting built-in DITA/XML and social media/networking features. I understand both FrameMaker 10 and Robohelp 9 are being shipped as we speak. Here is a great intro by Adobe Senior Product Evangelist RJ Jacquez. It looks like this version…
Read MoreHow to Configure the Properties of Your MS Word Document
When you create a new document, it is important to set the correct MS Word properties. If you don’t do this, your document may not be formatted correctly. There are two ways to set the properties of your MS Word document: 1) Right-click on the title bar and select “Properties”. 2) Click on “File” in…
Read MoreTechnical Book Review: "Microsoft Manual of Style for Technical Publications"
I love all kinds of writing but I’m especially passionate about technical communication and screenplay formats. In both genres I do have a good-sized library in my study. The technical communication side of my book collection is probably led by this fundamental volume that I’m known to have taken with me on a vacation or…
Read MoreHow to Create Merged Letters with MS Word’s Mail Merge Wizard
Mail merge is a frequently used Word feature, especially in offices and by small business owners. If you need to send the almost-same letter to a list of people, letters that different only in some fields (like Name, Address, etc.) then you’ll love MS Word 2010’s Mail Merge Wizard. It’s the most painless and foolproof…
Read MoreHow to Align the Punctuation of a MS Word Numbered List
A MS Word numbered list with ten or more steps does not present a pretty sight due to the way the punctuation after the step number shifts. Here is one such “UGLY LIST”: Here is how you can fix this “situation”… (1) Select your numbered list by using your mouse. (2) In the HOME tab,…
Read MoreHow to Insert and Manage MS Word Footnotes and Endnotes
MS Word footnotes and endnotes are important when you’re writing a long technical document with references. MS Word has quite a few features that make inserting “footers” and “enders” a pleasure indeed. First, select the REFERENCES tab on the Ribbon and click the tiny square on the lower-right corner of the FOOTNOTES section to display…
Read MoreHow to Create a Simple Multiple-Choice Quiz in Adobe Captivate
It’s so easy to create all kinds of quizzes that you can grade in Adobe Captivate. Captivate is a software that helps users to create multimedia content and deliver it in a variety of formats. It is designed for the needs of instructional designers, e-learning developers, and trainers. Captivate can be used to create interactive…
Read MoreHow to Align the Punctuation in a FrameMaker Numbered List
A FrameMaker Numbered list looks alright until you reach the TENTH step. Then things usually get ugly due to the way the default PERIOD after the step number shifts right. Here is one such UGLY FrameMaker Numbered list: Here is a method to construct numbered lists that look much better than the one above. We’ll…
Read More