Archive for September 2010
How to Become a "Software Development Kit" (SDK) Technical Writer
© 2010 Ugur Akinci SDK (Software Development Kit) (a.k.a. “devkit”) writing is a highly specialized hi-tech niche within the technical communication field. The pay and the benefits are good but the entry threshold is high. This well-paying technical writing specialty is not for the beginner-level tech writers or those who do not have a good…
Read MoreDon't be just a Proposal Writer But a Proposal CONSULTANT who Writes Well
Many years ago I showed up at the door of an employer for a job interview, responding to an ad that said the company was looking for an experienced “writer.” One of the first questions the interviewer (who also happened to be a VP) asked me was how many words I could type in a…
Read MoreHow to Write a Service Level Agreement (SLA)
A “Service Level Agreement” (SLA) is one of the dozens of document types created regularly by technical communicators, usually under the supervision of the corporate legal departments. An SLA is typically issued by a technology service company to regulate its business relationship with the customer, or end-user. Web-hosting companies and SAS (Software as a Service)…
Read More4 Levels of Editing in Technical Writing
Writing is re-writing; that is, editing. Technical editing is a crucial part of all technical writing projects. But we have to remember there are multiple levels of technical editing which makes the task all the more challenging. LEVEL 1 EDITING Spec Editing. Does the document satisfy all the macro requirements specified in the Documentation Plan?…
Read MoreProportional- and Fixed-Length Spaces in Adobe FrameMaker
There used to be a time when writers were very fond of double-spaces after a period, or as many spaces as they liked. There are those who argue that the habit started with those U.S. government workers using IBM Selectric typewriters (yes, once upon a time writers used to bang on the keys of clumsy…
Read MoreHow to Use Smart Quotes with Adobe FrameMaker and MS Word (with a WARNING)
First let’s define our terms. These are called (left and right) Smart Quotation marks (or, “Smart Quotes” for short): in contrast to these, (left and right) Standard (or, Straight) Quotation marks (or, again “Standard Quotes” or “Straight Quotes” for short): A good reason to use smart quotes is because they look pretty. They should’ve called…
Read MoreHow to Create an Adobe FrameMaker Custom Document
When you begin to create a new document in Adobe FrameMaker, FM offers 3 format options: Portrait Landscape Custom The first two FrameMaker format options are self-explanatory. In this post we’ll study the third option by creating a Custom Document. 1) Select File > New from the menu (or click the Document option under the…
Read MoreAdobe FrameMaker 9 Default Document Templates
© Ugur Akinci Adobe FrameMaker 9 comes with a set of built-in default document templates. Here is how you can browse them: 1) Launch your FrameMaker 9. The Starter screen offers you a few default templates to choose from: 2) Click Letter to display the letter template: You can edit this template by inserting your…
Read MoreMS Windows Productivity Tip — Remove Read-Only Property of Multiple Files
© 2010 Ugur Akinci Whether you are working with a set of Adobe FrameMaker or MS Word files, it doesn’t matter: if your files are read-only, you won’t be able to save your changes. Your machine will give an error and remind you that since your files are Read-Only, you cannot save the changes you’ve…
Read MoreViewing Flexibility of Pods and Panels in Adobe FrameMaker
There are so many ways to arrange and view pods and panels in Adobe FrameMaker. You can drag and dock your pods and panels at the bottom of the page as well as to the right side of your FM screen, in any order and combination you like. You can close, remove, or add them…
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