Online Video Courses

What is a FrameMaker Lock File (.lck)?

By Ugur Akinci | April 19, 2011

When you open a FrameMaker file which is stored on a network server (on a Windows or UNIX platform), FM creates a lock file (with the extension .lck) to prevent other users from editing the same file. Mac OS operating system prevents that from happening without creating a .lck file. To make sure your open…

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How to Fix a Font-Related PDF Generation (Printing) Problem

By Ugur Akinci | April 18, 2011

© Ugur Akinci Sometimes you will not be able to generate a PDF copy of a MS Word or Adobe FrameMaker technical document because of a font problem. More specifically, your PDF will not be generated because you have the “Rely on systems fonts only” setting turned on in your printer preferences. This will create…

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The Politics of Plain English vs. Obfuscation

By Ugur Akinci | April 15, 2011

Usually people don’t write in plain English because they don’t know any better. Sometimes a banker, an engineer, a doctor will write a business letter or a technical document in a way that he or she best knows how – by using jargon and long-winded sentences; clauses awash in passive voice and unparallel construction, with…

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TECHNICAL BOOK REVIEW: "Practical DITA" – A Nuts-and-Bolts Guide to Structured Technical Writing

By Ugur Akinci | April 13, 2011

Julio Vazquez has written a great book: Practical DITA. It’s a tightly-written thin volume (only 100 pages including the Index) that has a lot of nuts-and-bolts type of practical how-to information on DITA — Darwin Information Typing Architecture. The distinguishing characteristic of this short but comprehensive volume is the way it takes you by the…

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