So, you want to write release notes but don’t know where to start? Well pull you a chair and let me give you the lowdown. Download – Release Notes template with sample text. Introduce the release notes with text such as the following: These release notes provide information about the documentation for <your product> <version […]
As the name implies, a derived class originates from another class, which in C# is called a base class. A derived class is a specialization of the base class. A derived class is created from an existing base class. It inherits the member variables and methods of the base class from which it is derived. […]
Technical writing is about getting the small details right. The difference between the almost right word and the right word is the “difference between the lightning-bug and the lightning.” Mark Twain So, when writing a user guide, should you say, Run or Execute? From one angle, it doesn’t seem to matter. Everyone knows what you […]
Scott says, “If you want to improve as a writer, you not only need to write. You need to read. Writing and reading are two sides of the same coin. You need to do both to achieve your potential.” I head downtown most weekends and buy 2 or 3 books, mostly business, history and some fiction. Every so often I run out of options (we’re in Beijing) and get something I usually wouldn’t buy, for example, Iain M Banks. Reading outside my comfort zone stretches me. I encounter writing styles, opinions, and information that I usually side-step.
Wouldn’t it be great if there was an F5 button in FrameMaker like the Redo action in MS Word? Yes, I prefer Word to Frame but we’ll get back to that later. So, if there a way to repeat actions in frame? Kinda. Here’s how it works. Let’s say you change some text to bold […]
You have fifteen minutes to check your technical document before it’s sent to the client. What do you do? Start at one page one and read every word out loud? Maybe, maybe not 🙂 Here’s one suggested approach to proofread any type of document when you’re under pressure. Checklist: how to proofread technical documents in […]
When it comes to writing technical documents, the ability to create conditional text is one of the main advantages that Adobe FrameMaker has over MS Word. What is Conditional Text? Let’s say you have one document but you want to tailor some content for different readers. For example, you want to add a new warning […]
Who do you write for? This is a problem for many technical writers, especially if you don’t get to meet or interact with your readers. Essentially, you’re writing in the dark. But, that doesn’t mean you can’t improve the usefulness of the documents. Far from it. Technical Documents: How to be more accurate For example, […]
