Posts by Ugur Akinci
How to Create a Reusable Snippet in a SmartDocs MS Word Technical Document
A reusable snippet in SmartDocs is any reusable block of text and media. Think of a snippet as a “library item” that you can use any time you like by inserting it at where your cursor is. When you have a text saved as a snippet you do not have to write it anymore. It saves time and energy and…
Read MoreEmbedding vs. Linking an Object in a MS Word Document
© Ugur Akinci You can insert objects into a MS Word document in two ways: By embedding them, and by Linking them. If you embed an object, when the source object is changed, the Word object will NOT change. If you link an object, when the source object is changed, the Word object WILL change.…
Read MoreAdvantages of Content Management System (CMS) in Technical Writing
I believe not too far into the future a great majority of technical documents will be produced through Content Management System (CMS) platforms. Reduced to its simplest terms, a CMS is a text editor ran by a relational and searchable database. Content Management Systems are not cheap and they have a learning curve. That’s why…
Read MoreHow NOT to Write a User Guide
I don’t like to be negative in general. Life is too short to go around fuming about things that we can’t change. However, there are times when we all need to be critical in order to improve things; especially if they fall within our area of expertise. The other day I bought an iPhone docking…
Read MoreHow to Visually Express 7 Different Processes
Trainers, public speakers, and technical writers always look for a visually attractive way to present abstract ideas. One way to do that is to use PROCESS CHARTS. Here are 7 such ideas (all created with SMART ART tools of MS Word 2007 and 2010): 1) BASIC TIMELINE 2) TIMELINE WITH TASK LIST 3) TOP-DOWN VERTICAL…
Read MoreHow to Edit and Manage the Custom Dictionary in a MS Word 2010 Technical Document
© Ugur Akinci MS Word 2010 offers two kinds of dictionaries: 1) The standard default dictionary that gets installed with the MS Office, and 2) the CUSTOM dictionary. Any words that are not in the standard dictionary can be added to the custom dictionary. What’s more, you can create more than one custom dictionaries. For example, for all your medical spreadsheets, you can…
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Digitization of Doctor-Patient Communications and the Prospects for Technical Writers
Introduction The digitization of Doctor-Patient communications is a major trend in the healthcare industry. It has been predicted that digital interactions will overtake traditional forms of communication in the years ahead. This development is largely due to the rise of smartphones and other mobile devices which make it easier for patients and doctors to share…
Read MoreArnold Burian – a Technical Communication Interview
© Ugur Akinci Arnold Burian is a technical communicator from Chicago, IL. He is the founder of Technical Writing World, the social network for technical communicators. In January 2012, Arnold is selected the 63rd most influential technical communicator on MindTouch’s list of 400 Most Influential Technical Communicators. QUESTION (1): How long have you been a…
Read MoreHow to Locate and Display AutoCorrect Options in MS Word
AutoCorrect options are not displayed by default on MS Word ribbon. And when you search for them, they’re not intuitively easy to find either. Here’s how to locate and display the AutoCorrect options and add a link to your QUICK ACCESS TOOLBAR for easy future access: 1) Click File > Options to display the Word Options screen. 2) Click and…
Read MoreHow to Express Opposing Forces Visually in a Word Technical Document
“Opposing Forces” is a fairly common idea both in life and in technical communication. Hope and Fear oppose each other. They may overlap to a certain extent but their effect is very different. In the technical field, assuring backward compatibility and keeping the code length to a minimum, for example, cannot be done at the…
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