Technical Writing
Proportional- and Fixed-Length Spaces in Adobe FrameMaker
There used to be a time when writers were very fond of double-spaces after a period, or as many spaces as they liked. There are those who argue that the habit started with those U.S. government workers using IBM Selectric typewriters (yes, once upon a time writers used to bang on the keys of clumsy…
Read MoreHow to Use Smart Quotes with Adobe FrameMaker and MS Word (with a WARNING)
First let’s define our terms. These are called (left and right) Smart Quotation marks (or, “Smart Quotes” for short): in contrast to these, (left and right) Standard (or, Straight) Quotation marks (or, again “Standard Quotes” or “Straight Quotes” for short): A good reason to use smart quotes is because they look pretty. They should’ve called…
Read MoreHow to Create an Adobe FrameMaker Custom Document
When you begin to create a new document in Adobe FrameMaker, FM offers 3 format options: Portrait Landscape Custom The first two FrameMaker format options are self-explanatory. In this post we’ll study the third option by creating a Custom Document. 1) Select File > New from the menu (or click the Document option under the…
Read MoreMS Windows Productivity Tip — Remove Read-Only Property of Multiple Files
© 2010 Ugur Akinci Whether you are working with a set of Adobe FrameMaker or MS Word files, it doesn’t matter: if your files are read-only, you won’t be able to save your changes. Your machine will give an error and remind you that since your files are Read-Only, you cannot save the changes you’ve…
Read MoreMS Word – How to Draw a Venn Diagram
Use a Venn Diagram (named after John Venn of 1881) to illustrate the overlap between different sets of data or concept. Each data set or concept is represented by a separate circle. What is a Venn Diagram? The Venn diagram is a diagram that shows all the possible logical relations between different sets. It is…
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Localization – Problem with Translating Phrasal Verbs – English-French Examples
Introduction There are many problems faced by translators when they try to translate from English to French. Language is not the only thing that affects the quality of translation; cultural context also plays a role in how texts work in one language and not in another. This is because languages do not work in isolation…
Read MoreHow to Combine Two PDF Documents in Adobe Acrobat Pro 9
© 2010 Ugur Akinci This method can save the day if you were asked to create to separate PDF documents and then combine them; or add a new PDF document to an existing one. 1) Create your first PDF document. In this case, I created it in Word 2010 and saved it as PDF (Document1.pdf).…
Read MoreHow to Compare Two PDF Documents with Adobe Acrobat
© Ugur Akinci You’ve made changes to a PDF document as requested by your manager (r client) and sent it over for review. But how can the reviewer compare the new document with the old one and decide if all the requested changes have been made? Easy, if you’re using Adobe Acrobat Professional (i.e., “Acrobat…
Read MoreDITA – Bright Promise. Bumpy Ride.
© Ugur Akinci DITA (Darwin Information Typing Architecture) is an XML-based structured authoring platform that I’ve been studying for the last couple of years. Sarah O’Keefe and her colleagues at Scriptorium Publishing Services have been a reliable source in my struggle to understand the landscape of this “brave new frontier” looming over our technical communication…
Read More3 Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) Methods
A Standard Operating Procedure, or SOP for short, is documentation that provides step-by-step instructions on how to carry out a task. These are frequently used by all organizations, including small businesses and larger corporations, to ensure quality results with daily tasks. Creating Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) can seem like a daunting task, but it doesn’t…
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