TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
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as ads in a newspaper, magazine, or journal underwrite the
costs of those publications).
In this posting, look for the following ...
* ANNOUNCE: Information Mapping (NEW)
* ANNOUNCE: What Do Writers Really Need?
* CONFERENCE: Information Design & Management 2005
* TRAINING: Learn how to Document APIs and SDKs with a
Workshop on a DVD
* ANNOUNCE: FRAMEMAKER TRAINING -- Dallas, Phoenix,
Redwood City (SF Bay Area)
* STORY: SnagIt - the Swiss Army Knife of Software
* ANNOUNCE: Word Smarter. WebWorks Publisher Professional
gives MS Word authors true single-source
ePublishing power
and at the end you'll find the concluding administrivia with
information about these ads and how to place your own.
Develop your professional skills today by learning Information Mapping's
research-based method for structured writing. The method can help you
make complex content and documentation
- Accessible
- User-friendly
- Readable, and
- Easy to maintain.
Books and jobs, of course (not necessarily in that order).
The Writers Book Mall (http://www.writersbookmall.com) offers 67
categories of books and magazines for writers, plus software and even
posters for writers. You'll find books on tech writing, help design, how
to write training, medical and pharmaceutical writing, project management,
marcom, PR writing, proposal writing, and writing skills, plus
dictionaries, thesauri, and various forms of fiction writing (novels,
screenplays, children's books, poetry, and more). And you'll also find
software for writers, plus books on how to use Frame, Word, Acrobat,
Dreamweaver, Flash, HTML, XML, RoboHelp, PageMaker, Illustrator,
Authorware, and more.
Techwritingjobs (http://www.techwritingjobs.com) offers friendly advice
from experienced tech writers on how to get a tech writing job, links to
job sites, and even tips on how to hire a tech writer. Techwritingjobs
offers resume tips, bloopers to avoid, advice on how staffing agencies
work and how to work with them, ideas on how to market yourself as a
freelance tech writer, training tips, what to put on your tech writing web
site, & more.
The James River Chapter STC seeks proposals for session topics for our
annual Information Design and Management Conference, scheduled for January
15-16, 2005 in Williamsburg, Virginia. Topic areas range from management
to usability to information design. Presentation format is limited to
workshops and presentations to emphasize hands-on interaction.
For more information, go to www.stc-jamesriver.org/c05/c05home.html.
TRAINING: Learn how to Document APIs and SDKs with a
Workshop on a DVD
Documenting APIs isn't easy but learning how is a great way to enhance
your tech writing skills. Our new "Workshop-on-a-DVD", featuring well
known tech writing guru Manuel Gordon, can get you started now.
You will learn:
- What are SDKs? Why sell them? Why buy them?
- How to structure the documentation set for an SDK
- What programmers really want: A real-world case study
- How to outline a Developer's Guide
- How to automatically generate a Reference Manual using DGP tools
- Strategies for going forward and resources for learning more
Here is what one satisfied customer had to say:
"Your DVD course, Documenting APIs and SDKs, breaks a difficult subject
down into manageable chunks. Manny's presentation is easy to absorb. The
information on the Developer's Guide, particularly the outline, gave me a
solid starting point from which to build the document. This course pays
for itself with dividends."
For more information, visit www.thirdwavestudios.com/gg/videos.html
DALLAS, TX: [10% early registration discount ends Oct 29]
FrameMaker-to-PDF Advanced Techniques, Nov 29-30
Single Sourcing with FM, Dec 1 * FM Template Design, Dec 2-3
Technical Indexing with FrameMaker, Dec 4
PHOENIX, AZ: [10% early registration discount ends Nov 5]
FrameMaker Template Design, Dec 6-7
Single Sourcing with FM, Dec 8 * FM-to-PDF Adv. Tech., Dec 9-10
REDWOOD CITY, CA (SF area): [10% early reg. discount ends Dec 15]
Structured FrameMaker: Authoring (hands-on), Jan 18, 2005
Structured FM: Developing EDDs (hands-on), Jan 19-20
Technical Indexing with FM, Jan 21 * FM Template Design, Jan 24-25
Single Sourcing with FM, Jan 26 * FM-to-PDF Adv. Tech., Jan 27-28
Dan the technical writer went to lunch with a couple of friends. Soon
enough, the conversation turned to work.
"How is it that you left early last night, Dan?" Rick asked. I thought
you had this big project to do."
"I used SnagIt - the leading screen capture software. I used it to
capture exactly what I needed, edited it within the same program, used the
various effects, and saved it in whatever file format I wanted," Dan
explained.
"Ha - you could just use the Print Screen key," his friend Matt
interjected.
"You must not have been listening," Dan said, his voice raising with each
word. "Comparing those two is like comparing a unicycle to a motorcycle
... a jack knife to a chainsaw ... a piece of bread to a club sandwich
plus fries!"
The waitress came over to see about the commotion. They all ordered club
sandwiches.
"See?" Dan said. "Everyone wants all the fixins' - and that's why I use
SnagIt. Region, Object, Scrolling Windows ... ham, bacon, cheese -"
"We get the analogy," Matt said. "Now tell me more about this SnagIt!"
Dan talked happily away, knowing that soon their hunger for food and for
great software would be satisfied.
~~~~~~~~~~
Thanks to your suggestions, SnagIt just keeps getting better and better.
Get the results - download 7.1.2!
To see if you're eligible for a free upgrade, visit our Upgrade Center.
Or, purchase new for $39.95, upgrade for $19.95.
ANNOUNCE: Word Smarter. WebWorks Publisher Professional gives
MS Word authors true single-source ePublishing power.
WebWorks Publisher Professional 2003 for Word enables the delivery
of online content exactly the way that you need it, directly from
MS Word documents, without post-processing. And, without
compromises. Get full control over every aspect of your output,
whether it's HTML, professional online help systems, XML, eBook,
or PDA.
With support for over 45 languages, including out-of-the-box
support for double-byte languages, merged help systems, added
conditional text support, and the ability to generate and
validate Section 508 accessible output, WebWorks Publisher
Professional does more so authors can spend time doing what they
do best: write.
Try it today by visiting www.webworks.com/techwr-l/word.
Or, call Sales at 512-719-3399 ext.501 for more information about
WebWorks Publisher Professional or cost-effective multi-author
solutions.
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