Re[2]: SERVICE MANUAL REVISION [Ref:C900631]

[Tom Tomasovic <Tom -dot- Tomasovic -at- NA -dot- NWMARKETS -dot- COM>]

          Fred et al:

          SAVEDATE may be useful, EXCEPT if you happen to
          use Autosave or have an "unstable" environment and
          like to save frequently to avoid disasters.

          There is also a REVISIONNUMBER(?) field which
          increments each time the file is saved.

          It seems to me that any solution is going to
          involve some "manual" labor, or it will not quite
          be satisfactory.

          Here's a cute one:

          1.   Create a file in which you maintain a
          complete list of manuals and appropriate revision
          dates.  These can be in any format you wish (e.g.,
          table)

          2.   For each manual, create a bookmark which
          includes the text of the revision date.  (In the
          doc, this will look like [10/02/97].)  Whenever a
          manual is updated, change the date within the
          bookmark or recreate the bookmark.

          3.   Wherever you want the revision date to appear
          in the original manual, insert an INCLUDETEXT
          field, using revision date file and the bookmark
          name as field switches.

          As long as the fields in the manual file are
          updated before printing, they will always have the
          latest revision date.

          A couple of added advantages:

          1.   You can use this for revision numbers,
          titles, or any other type of information.

          2.   You can update the information in the
          revision file from within the manual by changing
          the information and pressing Ctrl+Shift+F7.  (You
          could probably prevent this from being done, if
          necessary, by making the revision file read only
          or protecting it for revisions, or by protecting
          the manual file for revisions.)

          3.   You have created a source document with
          information on a complete library of documents in
          one place.

          4.   You can also use a spreadsheet (Excel works)
          and create range names.  The IT field will accept
          this and include the text from the spreadsheet.

          Good luck to all who try this.  Please let me know
          if you encounter any problems or if you think of
          other ways to work with this.

          Regards,

          Tom <<Tom -dot- Tomasovic -at- na -dot- nwmarkets -dot- com>>

          You should be aware that the information contained
          within this message is solely the opinion of the
          writer (me).  The people at NatWest have little
          control over how I express myself, and they should
          not be held responsible for anything I say
          (unless, of course, I express it as a corporate
          opinion).




______________________________ Reply Separator _________________________________
Subject: Re: SERVICE MANUAL REVISION  [Ref:C900631]
Author:  INTERNET TECHWR-L -at- LISTSERV -dot- OKSTATE -dot- EDU at Multimessage
Date:    1/22/97 5:19 PM


Another potentially useful approach is to insert the date using the
SAVEDATE field code (which only changes when you save the file)
rather than the plain vanilla DATE field code or the PRINTDATE code
(which is kind of dangerous to use unless you're in the middle of a
particularly active review cycle).

Fred Ridder
ridderf -at- dialogic -dot- com

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