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What’s New in Adobe Illustrator CS5?


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© 2010 Ugur Akinci

Today I participated in a training webinar presented by Dan Rodney of NobleDesktop. It was an excellent introduction to all the new features in Adobe Illustrator CS5. Dan, kudos!

Here are the highlights:

1) New Width Tool allows you to draw strokes of varying thickness and create some fantastic shapes. You can apply the tool to geometric shapes like rectangles, circles etc. and take it from there.

2) New Shape Builder Tool allows you to create compound shapes from individual shape components by selecting them in whole or their intersections, in any combination. You can subtract the shape components (creating holes) as well as add them.

3) New Drawing Modes allow you to draw behind an object as well as INSIDE it (love that!). Illustrator’s default mode is drawing a new object in front of the existing one. You can copy compound images and paste them inside both other images and type, creating good’old fashioned clipping paths in an instant, without losing any background-object fill-color or stroke. Continued…

Posted in Graphic Design.

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By admin – September 2, 2010

MS Word 2003 — How to Add Nonbreaking Space and Nonbreaking Hyphen


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© 2010 Ugur Akinci

Does your MS Word text break off and continue on the next line at the wrong spot? If you’d like to keep two words that appear at the end of the first and the beginning of the second line together, insert a nonbreaking space or hyphen.

Here is our sample text:

MS Word 2003 Nonbreaking Spaces and Hyphens SAMPLE TEXT

How to Insert Nonbreaking Space

We’ll insert a nonbreaking space in between the words “non” and “breaking” so that they will appear on the same line.

1) Display your paragraph marks by pressing the Show/Hide Paragraph Mark button on your toolbar.

MS Word show-hide paragraph marks button

If you haven’t already done so: Select Tools > Options from the menu and then select the View tab. The select the All check-box in the Formatting Marks group to display all the paragraph marks: Continued…

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By admin – September 2, 2010

10 Things I Like about my Samsung Galaxy S Android Smart Phone


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© 2010 Ugur Akinci

1) I can touch the microphone icon on the desktop and make a Google search by speaking into the microphone.

2) I can click on the Navigator icon and then search for an address by speaking into the microphone. A map pops-up showing where I am. A blue line shows where I should be going. And a soothing female voice tells me which turns to take, how much is left to the next crucial turn etc. and leads me to my destination.

3) I can download FREE applications and games from the Android Market.

Samsung_GalaxyS_Android_Smart_Phone4) With the “App Killer” application I can shut down all open applications and processes instantly, with one click, making sure I won’t be unnecessarily wasting memory or any of my allotted data download quota.

5) I can get on the Internet either through AT&T’s built-in browser and connection or Opera (or any other compatible browser) and any available Wi-Fi network nearby. My Samsung Galaxy S automatically searches for any Wi-Fi networks around and alerts me to their presence.

6) I can call people or send them a text message with a single swipe over their names in the Contacts list. Swipe right and the phone calls them automatically. Swipe left and the texting editor displays automatically.

7) When I’m typing text, I can swipe my finger from one letter to another instead of pecking on each letter individually. That leads to faster texting. When a certain word pattern emerges, Samsung Galaxy S automatically pops-up a list and asks if the word I’m trying to type is any one of those on the list. If “yes” I click and insert that word right away into the sentence.

8] Its 5 Meg camera takes great pictures and shoots video clips at one click.

9) It’s got Bluetooth.

10) It uses only one cable both to charge it (lasts at least 2 days with moderate use) and to connect it to my laptop. Great smart design.

Posted in Consumer.

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By admin – September 1, 2010

Localization – Problem with Translating Phrasal Verbs – English-French Examples

© 2010 Ugur Akinci

Multi-word phrasal verbs in English is a crucial ingredient of creative writing. It’s hard to write beautiful English, especially when writing dialogs in fiction, without using such phrasal verbs like “figure out” or “call on” etc.

However, in technical writing, phrasal verbs is an open invitation for mistranslations and worse. Here are a few examples of the difficulties one might encounter if an English text with multi-word verbs were translated into French:

CALL ON

How should we translate this? Here are the options:
1.    demander
2.    réclamer
3.    rendre visite à
4.    aller voir
5.    passer voir
To me “rendre visite à” sounds good but what if the translator chooses “réclamer”?

STAY AWAY

Can easily be translated as “rester à l’écart” but it should probably be “s’abstenir de”. Continued…

Posted in English, Localization, Technical Writing.

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By admin – September 1, 2010

The Complicated Art and Science of Naming Tropical Storms and Hurricanes

© 2010 Ugur Akinci

I never thought naming hurricanes was a complicated business. I originally thought Atlantic storms were given male names and Pacific storms female ones. Period. Boy, was I wrong. Nothing is that simple in life, is it?

My naïveté starts with the assumption that these are all “storms.” Nope.

It’s a “tropical storm” if the winds blow over 39 miles per hour. Until that threshold is reached, no wind deserves the title “tropical storm.” Makes sense, except: do these storms always blow around the tropics? Like, what if there’s one that’s chewing up Northern Scotland, or offshore Greenland? Do we still call it a “tropical” storm?

800px-Cyclone_Catarina_from_the_ISS_on_March_26_2004

Cyclone Catarina

And: what if the winds start blowing harder than 39 mph? That’s easy. If it’s over 74 mph it becomes a “hurricane” and please don’t ask me why at that exact speed. It’s the way U.S. National Weather Service decided.

Okay, what about a “cyclone”? What’s that? Oddly enough, the U.S. National Hurricane Center web site does not post a list of hurricane names but “cyclone names.”

Wikipedia basically says there’s no difference between a cyclone and a hurricane, and provides this fascinating factoid: the cyclones whirl clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere but counter-clockwise in the Northern Hemisphere. Did you know that? I sure didn’t.

Back to naming cyclones, or hurricanes… Continued…

Posted in Information Design.

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By admin – September 1, 2010

Technical Book Review — “The Little, Brown Handbook”

© 2010 Ugur Akinci

The Little, Brown Handbook by Pearson Longman (LBH) is a heavy book (literally) for a very good reason: it’s got too much in it! This trade-paperback size book has a whole library of information about writing good prose stuffed into 966 pages. It’s a must source for anyone who writes, as far as I’m concerned.

There are two aspects of this reference volume that stand out immediately when you pick it up and peruse through it:

1) Superior page design and great educational use of color and graphics.
2) Unusual emphasis on how to think, analyze, and express ideas correctly.

This book has almost every standard rule and admonition that you come across any other book of its kind, however, with a difference: the rules are illustrated with examples that graphically show where a misplaced word or phrase should be; or conceptual diagrams showing how one can shift from one voice to another, etc. I don’t know how many hours went into producing something this detailed and this well-done but I’m happy for the opportunity to own it at the price it is sold. Continued…

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By admin – August 31, 2010

How to Eliminate Uneven Underlining in Adobe FrameMaker 9

© 2010 Ugur Akinci

In Adobe FrameMaker 9 underlining a sentence or paragraph produces uneven results if the fonts do not have the same size.

Here is an example:

Uneven underlining in FrameMaker 9

To eliminate this ugly-looking variation in line width, follow these easy steps:

1) Select the FrameMaker text.

2) Display your Character Designer (Ctrl + D, or select Format > Characters > Designer from menu).

3) Select Numeric Underline option from the Underline drop-down list. Make sure the adjacent check-box is selected with a check mark.

FrameMaker 9 Numeric Underline Selected

4) Click Apply, and now you have a single smooth-looking underline:

FrameMaker 9 Uneven underlining Resolved

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By admin – August 30, 2010

Compare Help Authoring Tools with HAT-Matrix

© 2010 Ugur Akinci

Here is an interesting web site to compare your favorite HATs (Help Authoring Tools): HAT-Matrix

The site has 2 drawbacks:

1) Only those vendors who paid to be on the site are represented (WebWorks, for example, is missing).

2) The owners of the site rely on the vendors’ own product descriptions and admit that they are not experts in all the HATs presented. So, user beware.

And here are the 2 positive things about it:

1) Most (if not all) help file companies are represented here, including my personal favorite Adobe RoboHelp 8.

2) The site indeed provides a very useful interface through which you can compare up to 4 HATs in over a dozen dimensions. I for example was not aware of RoboHelp’s amazing superiority in database handling until I’ve made some side-by-side comparisons with the other products. Such comparisons can be an eye-opener indeed.

Hat_Matrix Help Authoring Tool Comparison site

Try it and let me know what you think…

Posted in RoboHelp Tutorial.

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By admin – August 30, 2010

Six Principles of Professional Technical Writing

Principles of Technical Writing by Catherine Hibbardby Catherine Hibbard

If you take a technical writing workshop, the materials will address numerous areas; some are very specific while others are more general in nature. A good starting point is to look at six principles of technical writing. Reviewing these basics can provide a great platform from which we can launch forays into specific areas of interest and documentation.

1. Use Good Grammar
2. Write Concisely
3. Use the Active Voice
4. Use Positive Statements
5. Avoid Long Sentences
6. Punctuate Correctly

Principle One: Use Good Grammar

Your readers expect technical documents to be written in standard English. Certain grammatical errors can actually cause your reader to misinterpret the information. However, because technical documents must be precise and accurate, readers expect documents to be professional, polished, and flawless.

One grammatical rule to adhere to is subject-verb agreement. Note the choice of verbs below:

One employee is absent.

Two employees are absent.

This subject-verb agreement is easy to make because in each sentence, the subject is obvious: employee in the first sentence agrees with is and employees in the second sentence agrees with are . The real challenge is when the subject is not as obvious. In the following sentences, which verb would you select?

Either of the levers is clearly marked.

Either of the levers are clearly marked?

You must decide if the subject is either or levers . If you selected either as the subject and is as the verb, you made the correct choice. A list of indefinite pronouns that are always singular is listed below:

Each, either, everybody, everyone, neither, one, anyone, anybody, someone, somebody, no one, nobody

The following indefinite pronouns are always plural:

Both, few, many, several

Just to keep your life interesting, the following pronouns can be either singular or plural.

All, more, most, none, some

You may wonder how some pronouns can be both singular and plural. Review the following examples:

Some of the information is inaccurate.

Some of the figures are inaccurate.

If grammar is a weak area for you, purchase and use a good reference book. Continued…

Posted in English, Technical Writing.

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By admin – August 30, 2010

26th Practical Conference on Communications in Nashville, TN, Oct 7-9, 2010

© 2010 Ugur Akinci

Here is an upcoming technical communication conference with a strong practical bend and a heads-up approach to career advancement:

26th Practical Conference on Communications in Nashville, TN, Oct 7-9, 2010

This STC-sponsored event has a strong roster of accomplished speakers and  many informative and skill-building workshops.

The keynote speech by Neil Perlin, a 31-year veteran of technical communication, will address the following issues:

  • Viewing ourselves as independent consultants rather than employees.
  • Taking charge of our own careers, rather than waiting for the company to do so.
  • Accepting the need for lifelong technical learning.
  • Accepting the need to go beyond technology and writing and into the business side of our world.

26th Practical Conference on Communication Oct 7-9, 2010, Nashville, TN

The sessions are developed and organized around the following main themes:

  • Tools
  • Skills
  • Careers
  • Teams
  • Vendors

As far as other conferences of similar caliber go, this one is pretty affordable as well. Check it out.

Posted in Technical Writing.

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By admin – August 29, 2010

A Great Example of Information Design — “The Illustrated Guide to a Ph.D.”

Sometimes a picture is worth not only a thousand but perhaps a million words.

Here is one such graphic representation of a rather complex topic — “The Illustrated Guide to a Ph.D.”

Well done!

The illustrated guide to a Ph.D.

The illustrated guide to a Ph.D.

Posted in Education, Graphic Design, Information Design.

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By admin – August 29, 2010

tcworld Conference and Trade Fair 2010 in Wiesbaden, Germany

© 2010 Ugur Akinci

If you’re interested in catching up with the latest in the European technical communications and visit the booths of hi-tech vendors like Adobe, Siemens, SAP and dozens of others, you might mark up the following conference on your calendar:

tcworld Conference and Trade Fair 2010 in Wiesbaden, Germany

The conference web site says: “The annual conference that takes place at the Rhein-Main halls in Wiesbaden in November, attracts visitors from around the world. Along with the tcworld conference and the tekom-Trade Fair, that are happening at the same time, the tekom annual conference by now is Europe’s largest event in the industry. ”

“The conference participants are offered a diverse program, which includes nearly 200 lectures, workshops, tutorials, and discussion groups. Well-known speakers present the latest developments in technical communication and documentation and provide excellent opportunities to exchange knowledge and get in touch with experts and developers.”

Click here for the Program and the impressive roster of Speakers.

tcworld conference and trade show 2010

(Interested to write a review of the conference for TCC? Please let us know…)

Posted in Technical Writing.

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By admin – August 28, 2010

Qualities of a Good Technical Writer

Qualities of a Good Technical Writer David-Odell_56430By David Odell

Most technical writers started off their careers as software programmers, engineering technicians, or even research scientists. Others began their careers in an IT department, found that they were spending so much time writing reports, rather than working on IT equipment, that they decided to move into writing technical documents on a full-time basis. By the nature of the profession, a lot of technical writers also develop skills in technical editing, training, and quality management.

The scope of jobs available for writers who do have a technical background, whether it is in software, electronic, mechanical or nuclear engineering, is vast. There are also openings in the financial areas of business, though these are normally more procedural based than technical. It is quite surprising that many freelance writers that are seeking an avenue of work do not consider venturing down this route.

If you do decide to become a technical writer you must accept that there is more to it than understanding the subject matter. This is where most writers, and also companies that are trying to utilize a software developer to work on the documents part-time, fall down. There are a number of documentation software programs to understand, most technical documents are not written in Microsoft Word, thankfully. You have to understand, and work to style guides, understand about single sourcing, creating help files and interactive PDF documents. Obviously depending on the job you do determines the technical writing skills required, but interviewing skills and diplomacy are always needed. And it does help if you understand what the engineers are talking about. Continued…

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By admin – August 28, 2010

Duke University offers Technical Communication Certificate

Duke University needs no introduction. It’s one of the premiere learning institutions of the nation. Not only Duke has a great technical communication certificate program but it also turns out that one of our regular readers and contributors, Larry Kunz is on the Duke faculty teaching tech comm. Larry holds a Masters Certificate in Project Management from the George Washington University. He is a Fellow of the Society for Technical Communication and is active in its local chapter.

The Benefits of the Duke Program:

  • Established program created by technical communication professionals
  • Exposure to multiple instructors working in different areas of technical communications
  • Knowledge learned is applied to a final project required for program completion
  • Final project provides a “work product” to show potential employers of skills learned
  • Convenient evening and weekend hours
  • Certificate earned from Duke University Continuing Studies

Check it out today.

Duke University Technical Communication Program

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By admin – August 27, 2010

Technical Book Review — “Writing and Speaking for Technical Professionals”

© 2010 Ugur Akinci

Writing and Speaking for Technical Professionals: Communication Skills for Success by Martin S. Roden and Teressa E. Murphy (Discovery Press, Los Angeles, 2009, 264 pp. ISBN 978-0-9793487-3-0, with TOC and Index) is a surprisingly comprehensive how-to book that should be on the book shelf of all technical communicators, especially those who are just starting out on their careers.

This work includes some of the evergreen topics that is covered in other “how to write” books as well, like how to write office correspondence and term papers. But it goes well beyond that. Although I’ve been in writing and communication business for over 20 years, I was delightfully surprised to read about some interesting topics that are rarely talked about in books of this kind; like lab reports, contract documents, patents, the section of plagiarism, and a lot more. Continued…

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By admin – August 26, 2010