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I do my own document edits online, and for *minor* changes in other authors'
documents. We are a Word shop, and if there are too many changes (with Track
Changes turned on) the document can be impossibly messy and hard to read.
(And, the authors here are not writers, but are business department leaders,
so they have trouble following too many tracked changes. Most of them hate
it, too.)
For those authors who insist that I justify and explain *every* change, I do
hard copy edits in red pen, and write out the reason for every freakin'
change; such as, "word usage--do not use input as a verb, use "type" or
"enter"; "needs a verb"; "inverted sentence structure"; "misplaced
modifier" (with a diagram); and so on.
Many times it's all for naught: The documents go out without any review at
all from my department, and the errors are there forever. But, that's the
way it goes :-\
On 6/18/07, Jeannine Klein <jmek66 -at- gmail -dot- com> wrote:
>
> Do most of you edit on the computer screen or on a paper printout? And is
> the answer different depending on whether the material you're editing was
> written by you or by someone else? (I know the answer changes for me.)
> Also,
> do you know of any studies on the question? (I can't find anything in the
> STC archives.)
>
> I ask because I have taken over a professional editing course at the local
> state university and one of the topics is the relative frequency of
> electronic vs paper-based editing.The current course reading is about 10
> years old and heavily weighted in favor of paper-based editing. My own
> experience in the corporate world is weighted in favor of online editing,
> although not so heavily. The disparity was difficult to handle this past
> semester; I'd like to resolve it, if only through anecdotal evidence from
> this group. Of course, published research would be even better.
>
> I apologize in advance if this question is too far off-topic, but I'm sure
> this group has a wealth of experience in this area.
>
> Jeannine Klein
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Create HTML or Microsoft Word content and convert to Help file formats or
printed documentation. Features include support for Windows Vista & 2007
Microsoft Office, team authoring, plus more. http://www.DocToHelp.com/TechwrlList
True single source, conditional content, PDF export, modular help.
Help & Manual is the most powerful authoring tool for technical
documentation. Boost your productivity! http://www.helpandmanual.com
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