You are here: Home » Technical Writing Skills » Content Development
sessionsumm-current-css-promise-css3

Session Summary: Cascading Style Sheets—Current Techniques and the Promise of CSS3

Written by on

Mike Hamilton, VP of product management for MadCap Software and member of the Orange County Chapter of the STC, really got specific at his WritersUA session on CSS3. Hamilton believes most technical communications teams do not CSS2 to its fullest potential. So he focused on providing practical and applicable tips for CSS2 and CSS3 as it makes its way to adoption as a standard. Although Hamilton described CSS techniques using Flare, his tips are applicable regardless of the program used. He reminded participants that the DIV element "is our friend;" that the key to layouts is using the attributes Float, Position and Overflow; and that while CSS3 holds promise, the promise comes with caveats. Read more of this technical writing article »

globe-mobile-content

Writing for Global Readiness: What Technical Writers Need to Know

Written by on

More companies are translating more content into more languages. Sadly, translating content into multiple languages still costs too much and takes too long. It’s not that the translators or the translation companies are at fault. They are doing the best they can with the source English that they receive. The problem lies in the quality of the source content. There are many things that technical writers, editors, artists, and production editors can do to make English source content easier to translate. And easier content means that the quality of the translation will be higher, the cost will be lower, and the speed will be faster. The perfect trifecta! And for an added bonus, the English version will be easier to understand, too. Read more of this technical writing article »

globeflags

How to Choose a Translation Vendor for Tech Comm Projects

Written by on

When a company identifies a need for documentation to be translated into new languages for both existing customers and new customers it is important to ensure you choose the right translation vendor. In doing so, it is necessary to identify options (with associated costs and risks) for meeting current demands, processes for handling future translation requests, and a big-picture strategy for documentation translation needs across product lines and worldwide needs. Read more of this technical writing article »

Technical Writing Tips and Tricks

Technical Writer Tips and Tricks: PDF and Online Help Documentation Translation

Written by on

Over the past few years, I’ve had to manage the translation into French of user guides and online help for TSX SecureFile. The documentation consists of PDF user’s and administrator’s guides produced using unstructured Adobe FrameMaker, and web-based online help produced using Quadralay’s WebWorks ePublisher. This article is based on a relatively simple scenario – a lone technical writer with a small number of manuals being translated into one language. Read more of this technical writing article »

globe-atlas

Ten Steps to Make Your Technical Translation Project a Success

Written by on

With an increasing number of companies pursuing a presence for their products in other countries, your management team’s global strategy may involve the need to translate technical and support materials into other languages. This article describes ten effective steps technical writers, publishers, or communications managers can take to ensure that translation projects go smoothly and to everyone’s satisfaction. Guest post from Dorothee Racette, president of the American Translators Association. Read more of this technical writing article »

storyboarder

The Storyboard: An Outline for Visual Technical Communications

Written by on

As technical communicators, we’re often assigned to projects that appeal to more than one sense—words, visuals and sounds—to convey a message. A multi-media technical communications project requires not only creative skills, but organizational skills as well. We can settle on a concept, a delivery method, and come up with ideas for visuals and copy points. But, we need feedback before we invest the time producing our project, or we may find we’ve gone down the proverbial rabbit hole and missed the intended goal of the project. The storyboard provides organization and makes it easy to get feedback before production begins. Read more of this technical writing article »

checklist-laptop

Create Technical Writing Consistency While You Write—Or Add it Later

Written by on

One of the primary tasks any writer or editor must perform is to impose consistency on a manuscript. Consistency is particularly important for technical writers, because it makes the task of writing easier: if you don’t have to develop a new solution each time you face the same problem, you can simply find a solution that works for all occurrences of that problem and use it thereafter. From the technical writer’s perspective, it’s best if you try to build in that consistency right from the start, because it can save you a lot of time both in your initial draft and in your subsequent revisions. Read more of this technical writing article »

argue

New Look at Grammar Basics for Technical Writing

Written by on

Of all the arguments technical writers enjoy having, few beat the ones about grammar for sheer vehemence of point of view. Grammatical arguments suffer from a problem of authority. one technical writer flourishes complex syntax categories with impressive names, while another points out the arbitrary rules of a revered style guide. There are still quite a few who refer to the authority of an impressive early teacher, and some of us who are forced to fall back on "I know what sounds right." Whether you’re on a technical writing team that serves up corporate style guides for lunch, or a lone writer trying to find consistency and clarity, perhaps it’s time to take a new look at how you approach grammar. Read more of this technical writing article »

computer_tamer

Technical Writing Tips & Tricks: Taming MS Office

Written by on

Over the years, many list members have posted their frustrations and their workarounds to the problems MS Office present to technical writers. At Techwhirl, we want to share some tips and tricks when it comes to MS Office application to hopefully make your life a little easier. Most of these you probably learned in your early days in technical writing…but in case you’ve forgotten or just missed them, here’s a summary of ten basic tips to make MS Office work for you. Read more of this technical writing article »