atw: Adobe products and hard-to-use software WAS Re: Online form advice
- From: Howard Silcock <howard.silcock@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: austechwriter@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Wed, 15 May 2013 13:18:58 +1000
Christine said
> I tend to avoid all Adobe applications of every kind because if they can
make something difficult, they will. Sheer prejudice of course
I don't think this is really sheer prejudice. It'd be fairly easy to make a
reasoned case for "if they can make something difficult, they will". And
their online help is awful. And trying to find your way around their
website is a nightmarish experience.
*But* their products do have a lot to offer and, much as I'd like to
boycott them, I keep coming back simply because they let you do things that
other products don't. Who can match Dreamweaver or Photoshop?
Besides, as a technical writer, mastery of these hard-to-use products is an
asset for your employment prospects. If your client or employer is
providing the tools for your documentation, they may not provide the ones
you prefer to use - and often they may take your skill with their tools
into account when deciding whether to use you. What's more, if your work
involves documenting software, you may find the software you're documenting
is not only awful to use but has no existing user-oriented documentation at
all - which is why they employed you. In other words, *you* will be the one
charged with making the software *less *hard to use for the end users and
overcoming its difficulty becomes a challenge by which you can prove your
value as a tech writer.
So I guess what I'm really saying is that bad software could be a good
thing for us tech writers! (Don't take that too literally - most of us
wouldn't want to work for people who want their documentation to make their
software look better than it is, which certainly does happen.)
Howard
On 14 May 2013 16:25, Christine Kent <cmkentau@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> I can’t help with comparing like with like, but certainly Survey Monkey is
> easy both to set up and complete. However, I have no idea if it is
> possible/how easy it is to organise automatic data transfer. It extracts
> good statistics, and I would imagine it can generate simple data files, but
> I have always used the results manually. I used Survey Monkey while
> working for a very conservative company paranoid about security, so if it
> got past their technophobes it is probably OK.****
>
> ** **
>
> I tend to avoid all Adobe applications of every kind because if they can
> make something difficult, they will. Sheer prejudice of course, but each
> time I have over-ruled my prejudice it has been to my cost. Reliable and
> safe but difficult sums up Adobe products.****
>
> ** **
>
> And we all know that reliability is not a Microsoft strong suit. I would
> sum Microsoft up as flashy and imaginative, but unreliable.****
>
> ** **
>
> I would start with Survey Monkey to set your standards and then test the
> others to see how they compare.****
>
> ** **
>
> Christine****
>
> ** **
>
> ** **
>
> ** **
>
> *From:* austechwriter-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:
> austechwriter-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] *On Behalf Of *bloss oliver-skuse
> *Sent:* Tuesday, 14 May 2013 12:57 AM
> *To:* austechwriter@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> *Subject:* atw: Online form advice****
>
> ** **
>
> Hi austechies,****
>
> ****
>
> I am hoping for a bit of advice about creating forms using fairly basic
> tools.****
>
> ****
>
> I need to create an application form as part of a pilot program. After the
> pilot program the organisation will invest in setting up a proper online
> process (using a similar setup to their recruitment portal). However, I
> need a bit of a cheap and cheerful (or is it quick and dirty?) solution at
> the moment because timing has been changed dramatically and suddenly this
> needs to be rushed.****
>
> ****
>
> The form will be submitted electronically and would ideally:****
>
> - Allow me to use custom logics to build in different response
> streams. (I would like to be able to ask a different set of questions
> depending on applicants’ response to a couple of key questions. The trick
> here is that the membership type will be different depending on some of the
> responses but this is only an administrative distinction on our end and
> they do not get to choose which membership type they apply for, so we would
> not want to make the application pathway too obvious for each membership
> type)****
>
>
> - Allow multiple users to work on the same application form (i.e.
> admin staff may need to complete the bulk of the form on behalf of the
> applicants, and then individual applicants would need to complete the rest
> of their forms themselves) ****
>
>
> - Be easy to save (both allowing the applicant to save progress while
> completing the form and allowing our admin to save each individual response
> on file)****
>
>
> - Be suitable for completion on a range of devices ****
>
>
> - Be largely idiot-proof (on our end and applicants’ – so forms need
> to be easy to retrieve and data easy enough to copy into our database, and
> they need to be easy enough for people with relatively low computer
> literacy to complete and submit)****
>
>
> - Be secure.****
>
> ** **
>
> I am seeing what I can do with Adobe FormsCentral, Survey Monkey, Acrobat
> Pro and MS Word. Does anyone on the list have any suggestions, tips or
> comments?****
>
> ** **
>
> Cheers,****
>
> Bloss****
>
>
> ****
>
> ****
>
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