Do You Just "Shutdown" Or "Shut Down" a System? "Sign In" Or "Sign-In"?
There are terminology errors in technical writing that even some experienced technical writers commit from time to time. The words we use when describing how to turn a system on and off, or how to enter and leave a location, are ripe for such inadvertent errors. Here are the basics: “Shutdown” is a noun. “Shut…
Read MoreTechnical Writing – How to Use the PDF Format Correctly for Print and Online Publications
PDF (which stands for “Portable Document Format”) is one of the most widely used document formats in technical writing. PDF rose out of a real need to read documents created by proprietary software on all kinds of different operating systems and browsers. An advertisement illustration created by Illustrator could not be viewed by the receiver…
Read MoreAnatomy of a Technical Editing Process
Here is the anatomy of a technical editing process. This ORIGINAL SENTENCE is from a software user’s guide: “A prompt will occur prior to deletion that confirms the operator’s wish to delete the selected item and once confirmation occurs the deletion is made final.” Here is a BETTER version: “A warning message displays, prompting the…
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How to Generate Localization Ready Technical Copy and Images in Pre-Production
Introduction Technical writers can help a localization project significantly by following a set of guidelines in the pre-production phase of localization – that is, when the source files are generated at the “home location.” What is Localization? Localization is the process of adapting a product to different languages and cultures. Localization can be done by…
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