Re: Part numbers for document deliverables

["Paul Goble" <pgcommunication -at- gmail -dot- com>]

>  How do you come up or use part numbers for your document deliverables?

As Mike said, part numbers are primarily useful for items which are
part of a bill of materials, and the numbers are automatically
generated.  In my little corner of Agilent Technologies,  we use part
numbers like N4851-97002, where N4851 is the product number, 9
indicates that it's printed material, 7 indicates that it's a bound
manual, and 002 is the revision number.  To avoid mixups on the
manufacturing line, every revision of a manual gets a new part number,
and the part number is printed as a barcode on the cover.

We use the part numbers to archive source files and print files on a
well-backed-up-server.  The print files also go into our giant ERP
database.  Online-only PDF manuals also get part numbers just like
printed manuals.  When somebody reports an error, it's always nice to
have a part number so that I can tell unambiguously which version of
the document has the problem.

>  Do you even need this for online help?

For online help, I always use the software development team's
configuration management system.  That way, the appropriate version of
the help will automatically be built and packaged with the software.
"The online help for software version 02.045" is sufficient to
identify the version of the help.

-- 
Paul Goble
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

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

---
You are currently subscribed to TECHWR-L as archive -at- web -dot- techwr-l -dot- com -dot- 

To unsubscribe send a blank email to 
techwr-l-unsubscribe -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
or visit http://lists.techwr-l.com/mailman/options/techwr-l/archive%40web.techwr-l.com


To subscribe, send a blank email to techwr-l-join -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com

Send administrative questions to admin -at- techwr-l -dot- com -dot-  Visit
http://www.techwr-l.com/ for more resources and info.