Re: Recommended software for breaking into technical writing

[Kathleen Frost <frostdoc -at- EARTHLINK -dot- NET>]

My comments to Ed Gregory's list:

1.      "Word - Not because it is good, but because it is a corporate
standard
across the country."
(( Word is very good because it was designed to work with Windows, not
redesigned to TRY and work with Windows.  Being able to Pint, Click, and
Drag and drop, are real time savers.  As for being a standard, I would say
it was in our area around Atlanta.  I have worked for major companies,
mostly Fortune 500, some Fortune 1000, from Coca-Cola to Delta Airlines.  I
only knew one company that used something besides MS Word.))

2.      Pagemaker, Quark, or Framemaker
((I have been in tech writing for 14+ years and never worked anywhere that
used these applications.  I don't know what they might be able to do that MS
Word can't do but I have been producing all kinds of documentation from
technical documents to end user operations in Word without any problems. --
Personal comment = I did work at one place that was getting rid of
Framemaker.  The previous tech writer didn't know exactly how to use it and
did a very poor job on the documents.  Graphics, headers, and footers were
so separated and so deeply buried that they couldn't be corrected and kept
popping up at inopportune times (we'd print three times and they would only
show up in one of them, usually the one we were supposed to send out for
review). That company converted to Word because it easier to hire people who
knew it, easier to revise, and it was what most of their clients had so they
could move documents back and forth easily.>>

3.      Snagit
((I haven't heard of this one in particular but there are several good ones.
I am currently using FullShot99 which came free with RoboHELP.  Like Ed's
description of Snagit, FullShot99 also allows you to resize, rotate, erase
areas, add callouts, etc.))

4.      Paint Shop Pro (shareware downloadable from JASC.COM) or
PhotoShop --
(( I haven't used this one on any job either but people who have say it's
very good.))

My addition:  Most applications eventually add some type on online help so I
would suggest you look into one of the applications for doing help
automatically rather than the old hand coding in the footnotes from the
original WinHelp application.
I prefer RoboHELP because I have used several of the variations for
different platforms (for 16-bit, 32-bit, HTML, and platform independent web
help).  (www.blue-sky.com)  The current RoboHELP suite comes with the
FullShot99 for graphics and other tools.

As you can see, Ed's list and mine vary a lot.  It all depends on the
company you work for, what they have in house when you get there, and if
they don't have anything, what they are willing to spend.  Get familiar with
different applications.  One way, without having to go out and buy all the
expensive applications yourself is to check with friends who might have the
application at home.  Around here, you can usually trade a couple hours of
overview on an application and what it can do for a nice home-cooked meal or
maybe some beer and a pizza or two.  (Gee, that's also how I get friends to
help move when my apartment lease is up and my new contract is an hour and a
half commute across town!.)

Enjoy!

Kathy Frost
FrostDoc -at- Earthlink -dot- Net

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