from zero doc control to pub dates

[Caroline Tabach]

Our manuals have the publication date on them, and the software
version to which they apply on them too.

Manuals are distributed as a set for each software release, but if
nothing in a manual changes the date and software version are not
changed.

I would also be interested in any answers you get here, as this is
something I deal with day to day.
.
What constitues a change? We changed only contact information and
logos in a set of books and are not sure what to do about version
numbers?

On 9/5/07, Pamela Denchfield <PamelaD at onyx.com> wrote:
> Hello fellow techwhirlers,
>
> Any gotchas I should be aware of when adding publication dates to uncontrolled PDF manuals? For software manuals, are publication dates typically identical to software release dates to "avoid looking strange" to customers?
>
> The documentation department I belong to has historically omitted publication dates from manuals, relying on the "Date Modified" property of the PDF file to indicate this information. PDF files are delivered on software CDs and updated PDF files are posted on the customer portal page of our website. Document control version indicators are absent.
>
> I proposed adding publication dates to the manuals so that customers and internal folks would have another way to confirm that their manual was the latest. For one thing, if a customer prints the manual, they may not want to visit our customer portal to check the date, and they won't even have a way to confirm a match or mismatch without knowing what the differences are. (Document control is another matter for another day.)
>
> Today the documentation department agreed on the following practices:
>
> * Include the phrase "Published September 5, 2007" on the copyright page, at the bottom of the page to visually distinguish it from the "legalese" paragraphs at the top of the page (type the PDF publish date instead of using a saved-date variable). The idea of a date or other control indicator on every page was rejected.
>
> * If this document is for an upcoming software release, change the date to the software release date. >>I wonder if this is typical practice.
>
> * Do not track versions of the document as our department is still defining what constitutes a new document versus a document revision (title changes and other things being considered). For example, an "ABC User Manual" created today would say "Published September 5, 2007" and an updated "ABC User Manual" (or "ABC User Guide") created a month from now would say "Published October 5, 2007" with no indication that the document is a revision.
>
> * Add an action to the final output checklist to confirm the above publication date.
>
> Have any of you been down this road before, going "from zero document control to publication dates"? Any issues I should be aware of? Please note that I'm on the daily digest list, so send messages directly to me (in addition to the list) if you'd like a speedy reply.
>
> Thanks,
> Pamela
>
> Pamela Denchfield
> Sr. Technical Writer, Onyx
> Consona CRM
> E-mail: pamelad at onyx.com
> Direct: +1 (425)250-5817
> Fax: +1 (317) 249-1942
> Visit: www.onyx.com
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-- 
Caroline Tabach
Technical Writer
e-mail: caroline.tabach at gmail.com