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Subject:Reuse of text/modular information From:geoff-h -at- MTL -dot- FERIC -dot- CA Date:Fri, 18 Jul 1997 12:47:19 -0500
Reusing text ("modular information") is a great
productivity booster for creating the _first draft_ of a
manual or online help system, but that's all it ever is.
First, context always changes somewhat, and you have to
analyze the final text for each delivery medium to
determine how well it's really going to work. Second, it's
ridiculously easy to screw up something created using
modular information through basic human carelessness. One
great example: The manual for a GM station wagon I once
owned frequently referred to an entirely different class of
car... an obvious case of using database publishing and
forgetting to proofread the final manual.
--Geoff Hart @8^{)} geoff-h -at- mtl -dot- feric -dot- ca
Disclaimer: Speaking for myself, not FERIC.
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