Figures

[Len Olszewski <saslpo -at- UNX -dot- SAS -dot- COM>]

I'm just curious (some would say *extremely* curious indeed, but that's
another story...), how do the folks on the list handle figures in their
documents? I used to do sketches and let designers handle it, and even
then I did figures as an afterthought, after the text was finished.

We've gotten ahold of some pretty good line drawing tools here, and now
I find myself sometimes using figures as a way to clarify my own mental
organization about topics, chapters, even entire books, prior to
writing. I'm more inclined to develop a figure when I feel I need one in
the text right then and there. And I'm getting that feeling more often
as I write, these days.

How do the rest of you work? Do you use a lot of figures? How do you
develop them? In the document cycle, when do you develop them? Do you
include them in technical reviews?

I write about software, so my figures are generally about conceptual
stuff; how processes occur, how entities relate to each other, how
implementations differ or are similar, stuff like that. I've been
including them in draft review documents. Some reviewers respond to the
figures very well, and provide excellent feedback. (Of course, others
just hate them.)

I've also been, out of necessity, messing with annotated screen images;
screen dumps with callouts. Very effective in some cases.

How about the rest of you?

|Len Olszewski, Technical Writer | "Vultures don't eat sponge cake."  |
|saslpo -at- unx -dot- sas -dot- com|Cary, NC, USA|  - Trinidad proverb                |
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| Opinions this ludicrous are mine. Reasonable opinions will cost you.|