atw: Re: Vale technical writing?

Just to clarify, you can produce your eBooks in Word.  I do.  You can read
them on both a reader and a computer and print them from the e-reader on
your computer or the Word file.

 

I have never touched XML except through Word. From a design point of view,
you do not need to simulate the reader layout when you are writing the
material, but I do because I like to work WYSIWYG. I have created an
e-reader template and have learned to design the chunking of my content to
fit on an e-reader page within the formatting limitations of the tools I
use. In a way it just adds another constraint to Information Mapping - the
page size.  From my point of view, the real limitations are that e-readers
as yet cannot manage tables, and that font sizing is limited to HTML
options.  

 

Other than that, my documents are built like any other documents in Word.  

 

I doubt this is what Tony is talking about - particularly in relation to
content management, but I do notice that many of the replies do not seem to
understand that we can remain Word junkies if we want to. We can build our
content any which way we like and modules can be any size required.  It can
all work the same way it currently works - if we want it to.

 

Christine

 

From: austechwriter-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:austechwriter-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Anthony Self
Sent: Monday, 27 February 2012 11:14 PM
To: austechwriter@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: atw: Re: Vale technical writing?

 

Hi Bill

 

I think I am in almost total agreement with what you've written.
Handcrafting requires lots of effort to produce the fancy stuff. Automation
does not. That's the efficiency that I am talking about... better products
with less effort.

 

Where I might disagree is where you say your boss in Houston wants the
report in Word. He might also want it in a format he can read on his eBook
or iPad or mobile phone while on a plane or on the toilet.

 

It's interesting that you mention SOPs, because in my actual talk (not the
version that Geoffrey divined from the synopsis) I do spend some time
talking about the role of standards. 

 

Cheers


Tony



>>> Bill Parker <bill@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> 26/02/12 12:55 PM
>>> 
I think Tony Self has no contact with the real world. 

I am dealing with scientists and engineers who need to deliver plain
documents in Word, and if their readers cannot read them, that's a failure
in communications straightaway. 

Here's an example. Your firm manages an FPSO. A seriously large converted
oil tanker that has a drilling rig at one end, a helipad and storage tanks.
You are in the thick of complex procedures, safety requirements. You write
SOPs, you write reports from the broken rail to the serious accident. 

Where's the time to get into the fancy stuff when the boss in Houston wants
a report in Word that he or she can read ASAP? The KEY issue is clear,
correct, comprehendible writing produced in the quickest way possible. These
guys do not have time to scratch themselves, and many are FIFOs. And
Australia is currently dependant on them and their colleagues in ore mining
to keep some semblance of an economy going. 

Bill

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