Home

here - OoCities

1. Insert the system disk into the internal drive The installer program is on the printer installation disk Do not use when you mean desktop or screen or when referring to a cathode ray type monitor Refers to a device connected to the computer that displays text or graphics If possible be more specific monitor or td evision set Refers toa monitor and the display card sometimes called a video card that supports it In user manuals refers to a file the user creates and can open edit and print Compare file Do not use use document or window not both Use done as a complement use finish or complete as a verb Acronym for Disk Operating System It is not necessary to spell out on the first occurrence use dot not bit when describing an individual screen pixel See also pixel Note hyphenation of adjective Note hyphenation The key One word A file that can be downloaded is a downloadable file Chapter 4 Terminology 79 drag drive drivers drop box due to the fact that Refers tothe act of positioning a pointer pressing and holding the mouse button moving the mouse and then releasing the mouse button If you are writing for new users define on first mention Always use drag in reference to objects on the screen Do not use drag the mouse Do not use click and drag Use disk drive except in passages in which using both words becomes cumbersome or overly repetitive Do not capitalize
2. Do not include a chapter table of contents at the beginning of each chapter However if there is a significant amount of material in the chapter you may include a bulleted list of topics readers should be aware of Use in reference to what a key on the computer s keyboard stands for Compare symbol Do not use when you mean the action of clicking a checkbox to select an option Refers to an on screen box Checkbox is one word note lowercase Not box or ballot box You click a checkbox to select or dese ect an option you do not check or uncheck a checkbox Handbook for Technical Writers 70 c checkmark choose click click and drag click in click on close close box code Aptis See also button radio button Refers to the X that s in a checkbox when the checkbox is selected One word Use choose not select for menu commands In general the user selects something such as a disk icon a graphic image or a section of text and then chooses a command to act on the selection For tear off menus that become palettes choose is still appropriate See also select On first occurrence describe the action of positioning the pointer on an object and briefly pressing and releasing the mouse button Y ou do not click on the mouse button you press and release it After that simply refer to the object to be clicked Icon Click the disk icon Button Click the cancel button Checkbox Click Auto Page Numberin
3. necessary order for publishing books 50 new user in CommVergence adding 5 NoLink FigureNum cross reference format 40 NoLink FigureNumOnPage cross reference format 40 NoLink Paranum cross reference format 40 NoLink Paratext cross reference format 40 Normal Anchor paragraph style 35 Normal character style 38 Normal paragraph style 35 Note ndented paragraph style 35 Note paragraph style 35 Number List 1 paragraph style 35 Number List 1 paragraph style 35 NumoOnly cross reference format 40 O online books porting 55 publishing 55 online documentation set finalizing 58 online porting overview 55 organization chapter 4 section 4 volume 3 other books in the collection referringto 26 overview chapter 2 online porting 55 publishing 3 publishing process 49 templates importing 42 P page review checklist 53 PageN um cross reference format 40 PageNumber character style 38 Paint Shop Pro capturing a screen shot with 13 setting up for capture 12 Handbook for Technical Writers 124 Index paragraph style Alpha NumA 32 Alpha NumA 32 Appendix Number 32 Bullet List 32 Bullet List Indented 32 Caution 32 Chapter Number 32 Default Paragraph Font 38 Emphasis 38 Example 33 FigureTitle 33 FigureTitleAnch 33 Figure Title Report 33 Footer 33 Function 34 Header 34 Heading1 34 Heading1 MI 34 Heading2 34 Heading3 34 Heading4 34 Heading5 34 HyperText 38 Indent Para 25 34 Indent Para 5 34 Inde
4. Each item in the list should be a complete sentence Begin each item with a capital letter and end each sentence with dosing punctuation Not call or invoke Three words Users lock documents or applications they write protect their disks Disks are copy protected by the manufacturer Do not use as verbs Do not use login as a noun or a verb When referring to the command use lowercase code Do not use logoff as a noun or a verb When referring to the command use lowercase code Chapter 4 Terminology 93 log on v logon adj look up v lookup n adj lowercase Do not use logon as a noun or a verb When referring to the command use lowercase code Spell the verb as two words close up the noun or adjective One word no hyphen exception to American Heritage When used in conjunction with uppercase as a noun use uppercase and lowercase both words spelled out in that order Handbook for Technical Writers 94 Mm Main Bill to Number main logic board main memory male connector manual titles mass storage device Mbit sing n adj Mbits pl n megabit megabyte memory address memory location Aptis Use caps as shown when referring to the field use all lower case when referring to the concept except when beginning a sentence Not motherboard or main circuit board You can also use main board Not central memory Do not use use plug See also connector
5. table of contents tear off menu telecommunicati on television television monitor text file text head Aptis Capitalize when referring to the key use lowercase when referring to the character When you press Tab you generate a tab character The tab character HT for horizontal tab has ASCII value 09 Use tables whenever numbers or text would be clearer if presented in rows and columns Capitalization style for all parts of a table is initial cap only Most manuals of ten pages or more should have a table of contents which always begins on a new right hand page almost always iii The table of contents should include part chapter and chapter equivalent titles and all level one level two and level three heads If absolutely necessary level four heads can be included but remember that a book long enough to require level four heads will also have an index and that most readers rel y on the index rather than the table of contents when they want to locate a specific topic The wording capitalization punctuation and spelling of all heads and titles must be exactly the same in the text as in the table of contents Refers to a menu that can be dragged from the menu bar and left on the desktop either as a list of commands or as a palette Note hyphenation Telecommunication refers to the act te ecommunications refers to the field When used as an adjective the correct term is te ecommunications Telec
6. Curly brackets y cursor cut Aptis to chapter titles use caps lowercase and enclose the title but not the word Chapter or the chapter number in quotation marks See Chapter 2 Using CD Answer to Retrieve Information to disk titles In manuals use caps lowercase and italics do not use quotation marks Do not capitalize or italicize the word disk unless it s part of the title as it appears on the disk label Do not include trademark symbols Tutorial disk CD Answer Basics In on screen text use quotation marks not italics to manual titles In manuals use caps lowercase and italics do not use quotation marks Do not capitalize or italicize phrases like user s guide unless they are part of the title as it appears on the cover of the manual Do not include trademark symbols See Getting Started With Pegasus See your Pegasus user s guide In on screen text use quotation marks not italics to section titles Use caps lowercase and enclose the title in quotation marks See Trouble Installing Pegasus in Chapter 1 Abbreviation for Control initial cap only Use only when space constraints do not allow use of the full term as in column heads in tables otherwise use Control as in Control key or Control S Do not use use braces It is OK to define braces on first mention as curly brackets Use insertion point or pointer depending on context Cursor may be appropriate in describing other interfaces and i
7. Quick Key This format produces the heading found between the Chapter heading and the items in the Local Table of Contents It produces the text Topics Discussed In This Chapter This format produces normal text which spans the text frame of the page Use this format for the introductory and explanatory material for each topic and subtopic as well as for the material preceding a numbered procedure This format is used in the transformation of hard copy into HTML to ensure that graphics are placed correctly with respect to text This format produces the text Note followed by a tab in the center of the Sidehead frame The text of the note which will be written by the author begins in the sidehead frame and is in italic style Use this format to draw attention toa crucial piece of information In terms of status the Note format falls between a Caution which warns of possible loss of data and a Note ndented which alerts the reader to an important but not crucial piece of information Use sparingly Cf Caution on page 32 Note ndented on page 35 Warning on page 37 This format produces the Bold Italic text Note followed by a tab Its left margin is the same as produced by Indent Para 5 Use this format to draw attention to an important but not crucial piece of information In terms of status this is the lowest of the alert formats Use sparingly Note This format produces the number 1 followed by a p
8. Toensure that translating FrameM aker files to different file types will produce predictable results Additionally we have found that the use of such tags has freed writers from the mind numbing task of remembering such things as Do use bold italic in the sidehead when want to warn the users that taking such and such action might damagetheir file or Two pages and three screen shots ago started this step in the procedure Am I on Step 3 or Step 4 This section of the guide explains each of the tags in the standard set of Aptis formats what it does and under what circumstances you should use it Table 3 Where to Find Paragraph Tags Tag Name Page Tag Name Page Tag Name Page Alpha Num A page 32 Heading 2 page 34 Number List 1 page 35 Alpha Num A page 32 Heading 3 page 34 Number List 1 page 35 Appendix Number page 32 Heading 4 page 34 Quick Key page 35 Bullet List page 32 Heading 5 page 34 Quick Key Text page 36 Bullet List Indented page 32 Indent Para 25 page 34 Side by Side page 36 Caution page 32 Indent Para 5 page 34 Side Head page 36 Chapter Number page 32 Indent Para 75 page 34 Single Step Proce page 36 dure Example page 33 Indent Para 1 0 page 34 Syntax page 36 Figure Title page 33 LTOC page 34 TableHeader page 36 Figure Title Reports page 33 LTOC Heading page 35 TableText page 36 Figure Title Reports page 33 Normal page 35 Table Title page 36 Anch Footer
9. Wingding This format is used to create a superscript in text for those rare occasions when you need to indicate an exponent as in y x x 1500 This format is a relic and will probably be removed when we perform our next format sweep This format is a symbolic text font used to produce the Enter symbol 1 in Quick Key Paths Most people find it easier to locate the symbol somewhere else in the documentation copy it and paste it into their text Handbook for Technical Writers 40 Cross Reference Formats Cross Reference Formats Link FigureNum Link FigureNumOnPage Link FigureTitleOnPage Link Paranum Link Paratext Link ParatextinParanum OnPage Link TableNumOnly LTOC and PageNumber NoLink FigureNum NoLink FigureNumOnPage NoLink Paranum NoLink Paratext NumOnly PageNum Paranum ParatextO nPage ParanumOnPage ParatextInParanum Aptis Cross reference formats are used to refer readers to another section in a manual or to a specific figure in the manual As of this writing we are aware that there are too many of these that their naming is far from intuitive and that a weeding is called for Nonetheless the following is a list of all the current cross reference formats with an indicator of what will appear when each is selected Figure 12 Basic Figure for Cross Reference Figure 12 Figure 12 on page 40 Figure 12 Basic Figurefor Cross Reference on page 40 Figure 12
10. break from their subordinate level 2 entries Similarly watch for level 2 entries that are separated by a page or column break from their subordinate level 3 entries not common because we generally don t go that deep but you never know Separator Breaks Also in the Index watch for less than optimum breaks between your separators A B C etc and the corresponding entries for the letter For instance if B starts near the bottom of the page column so that only a few entries for B are on that page column apply a Start attribute of Top of Column to the B separator to force it to the top of the column Chapter 3 Publishing Procedures 55 Porting and Publishing the Online Books Topics Discussed In This Section Overview of Online Porting 55 Publishing the Online Books 55 Finalizing the Online Documentation Set 58 Overview of Online Porting Every time we publish to online format the hard copy book file and all of its content files have to be ported Publishing the Online Books 1 In Windows Explorer copy the non generated files for the book you will be publishing from the Hard Copy Book Set folder to the Online Book Set folder Note Makesureto copy not to move the non generated files into the Online Book Set when this operation is completed the files must still exist in the Hard Copy Book Set 2 In FrameMaker create a new document Pull down File and choose New The New window will display you will use this
11. import all formats into all non generated files in the book Pull down File highlight Import and select Formats from the side menu The Import Formats window will display Check the following The mport from Document field contains the name of the Chapter 1 document for this book and that the current folder is in the Online Book Set folder All formats are checked in the mport and U pdate section No formats are checked in the When Updating Remove section All non generated files are listed in the U pdate section All generated files are listed in the Don t Update section Click IMPORT FrameMaker will copy all the formats from the Chapter 1 file into all non generated files in the book From the Book file window open the TPCOV file and minimize it From the Book file for that book import the Color Definitions Variable Definitions and Conditional Text Settings into all files in the book Pull down File highlight Import and select Formats from the side menu The Import Formats window will display Check the following The mport from Document field contains the name of the TPCOV file for this book and that the current folder is in the Online Book Set folder In the Import and Update section only Color Definitions Variable Definitions and Conditional Text Settings are checked All others must be unchecked No formats are checked in the When Updating Remove section All files are listed in the Update section
12. 54 Index 125 separator breaks when reviewing generated W chapters 54 setting up Image Robot for conversion 12 Warning paragraph style 37 master index 25 Wingding character style 39 Paint Shop Profor capture 12 Side by Side paragraph style 36 Side Head paragraph style 36 Single Step Procedure paragraph style 36 subheadings in index 18 SubScript character style 38 SuperScript character style 39 Symbols character style 39 Syntax paragraph style 36 T Table Title paragraph style 36 TableAll cross reference format 41 TableHeader paragraph style 36 TableN umOnPage cross reference format 41 TableText paragraph style 36 tags character 38 template definitions 30 templates using 29 Term Definition paragraph style 37 Term ndented paragraph style 37 Term paragraph style 36 U updating documents with new templates 42 V variable definitions 41 volumes organization of 3 Handbook for Technical Writers 126 Index Aptis
13. Bernstein If Miss Thistlebottom taught you in elementary school that between applies to two things and among to more than two she probably knew what she was doing She was making things easy for herself It is simpler to lay down a rule than to try to stimulate discriminating thinking particularly in a school class that ranges from blockheads to eggheads Among to be sure applies to more than two things but the relationship it expresses is usually a rather loose one When three or more things are brought into a relationship severally and reciprocally between is proper In the following passage between would be better than among Apart from discussions among Washington Paris and London on the prospective conference The idea of two is inherent etymologically in the word between but so is it inherent in the discussions here referred to the meetings were being held by Washington and Paris by paris and London by London and Washington Similarly to speak of a treaty between nine powers would be completely proper and exact When the relationship is looser among is the proper word War reparations were distributed among the nine victorious powers Among shows a relationship between two items The following table lists the most common terms used among the technical writing staff Between shows a relationship involving two or more items as long as the items are considered separately Between is typically followed by either
14. Configuration Guide BT CVWin Fundamen tals lt dtalic gt CVWin Fundamen tals User Guide lt Default 4 Font gt CVWin Fundamentals User Guide BT Directory User Guide lt talic gt Directory User Guide lt Default 1 Font gt Directory User Guide BT Financials amp Inven tory Work Order User Guide lt talic gt Work Order Process ing User Guide lt Default 4 Font gt Work Order Processing User Guide BT Financials Accounts Payable lt talic gt Accounts Payable User Guide lt Default Y F ont gt Accounts Payable User Guide BT Financials Cash Receipts lt talic gt Cash Receipts User Guide lt Default 1 F ont gt Cash Receipts User Guide BT Financials General Ledger lt talic gt General Ledger User Guide lt Default 1 F ont gt General Ledger User Guide BT Financials Payroll lt Jtalic gt Payroll User Guide lt Default 1 Font gt Payroll User Guide BT Financials Time Entry amp Spreads lt talic gt Time Entry Spreads User Guide lt Default Y F ont gt Time Entry Spreads User Guide BT Inquiry User Guide lt JtalicAnquiry and Directory Assistant User Guide lt Default 1 Font gt Inquiry and Directory Assistant User Guide BT Interfaces Guide lt talic gt nterfaces Guide lt Default 1 F ont gt Interfaces Guide BT International Car rier Settlement System lt talic gt nternational Carrier Settlement S
15. For figure Basic Figurefor Cross Reference For header Cross Reference F ormats For figure Basic Figurefor Cross Reference in Chapter 2 on page 40 For header Cross Reference Formats in Chapter 2 on page 40 Table 12 Cross Reference Formats 40 This is used for chapter and local tables of contents Figure 12 Figure 12 on page 40 Figure 12 Basic Figure for Cross Reference 12 page 40 Chapter 2 Basic Figurefor Cross Reference on page 40 Chapter 2 on page 40 Basic Figurefor Cross Referencein Chapter 2 Chapter 2 Using the Templates 41 ParatextOnPage ScreenlsDisplayed TableAll TableNumOnPage Basic Figurefor Cross Reference on page 40 The Basic Figurefor Cross Referencescreen is displayed as shown in Figure 12 on page 40 Table 12 Basic Figurefor Cross Reference on page 40 Table 12 on page 40 Variable Definitions Marker Types Ixg Entries Figure Titles Report Figure Titles Variable definitions are used throughout the manual set to assure consistent labelling throughout the set The manager or director makes changes to these variables as needed into the template for TOC and the values for the variables are propagated throughout the set during the publishing process Do not make any changes to variable definitions unless instructed to by the manager or the director Markers are used to generate the index list of figures and list of report figures We use Xgen as our marker management soft
16. No files are listed in the Don t Update section Click IMPORT FrameMaker will copy all the formats from the TPCOV file into all files in the book Generate and U pdate the book Pull down File and choose Generate U pdate The Generate U pdate Book window will display Chapter 3 Publishing Procedures 57 10 11 12 Make sure that all the generated files are listed in the Generate section and that none are listed in the Don t Generate section Click UPDATE When the updating process is complete you will need to open each non generated file in the book individually Page through the file using two page view Esc Z P looking for layout errors primarily widows and orphans After you have completed a file save it and go on tothe next For guidelines of what to look for see Reviewing Chapters on page 53 Pull down File and choose Generate U pdate The Generate U pdate Book window displays Make sure that the Table of Contents List of Figures List of Reference Figures and Index files are in the left hand U pdate list Click UPDATE When the updating process is complete you will need to open each generated file in order scanning for such layout errors as a subsidiary level beginning on a different page than its leader Caution Remember when looking through the Table of Contents List of Figures and List of Report Figures files that you must not alter the number of pages contained in those files It is bet
17. Reports Anch Footer This format produces the word athin rule followed by the word Example in the sidehead frame At the time of this writing its use is under discussion This is an example of the example format To use this format 1 Start a new paragraph 2 Changethe paragraph format to Example 3 Press ENTER 4 Begin your example This format serves several purposes First it provides the words Figure Title above each figure in the chapter Second it uses a variable to establish the correct figure number Third it allows you to type the text for the title of the figure Finally it sets up the next paragraph format to ensure that the transition from hard copy to HTML and PDF formats will be predictable Tousethis format 1 Start a new paragraph 2 Change its format to Figure Title 3 Typethetitlefor the figure our style suggests using the screen title of the captured screen as the figure title Press ENTER 4 Import the figureitself using Fite gt IMPORT gt FILE Like the Figure Title format this format serves several purposes It is used when the screen shot used is that of a report rather than a screen panel or menu Instead of keeping the screen shot in thetext area Figure Title Reports allows the use of the sidehead area of the page as well thereby allowing a more legible presentation in the manual To use this format 1 Start a new paragraph 2 Change its format to Figu
18. Upload the hard copy postscript files to the publisher 3 Port the finalized versions of the hard copy books to on line See Porting and Publishing the Online Books on page 55 for details of this procedure 4 Finalize the on line books and publish them electronically See Finalizing the Online Documentation Set on page 58 for details of this procedure 5 Create CD ROMs for initial release distribution 6 Createa CD ROM of everything that has been published This gives us a snapshot in time of the information we developed and published for the release Handbook for Technical Writers 50 Publishing the Hard Copy Books Publishing the Hard Copy Books Topics Discussed In This Section Necessary Order for Publishing Books 50 Publishing the Reports Reference Guide 50 Publishing the Master Index 51 Publishing All Other Books 51 Necessary Order for Publishing Books Two books depend on the completion and availability of files from other books e The Reports Reference Guide e TheMaster Index Because these books depend on the completion and availability of files from other books they must be published last All other books must be published prior to these two books This holds true whether you are publishing for hard copy or for online The order for publishing all books must be 1 Publish all books except the Reports Reference Guide and the Master Index 2 Publish the Reports Reference Guide 3 Publish the Master Inde
19. Use the Side Head format for the text Field Definitions for lt name of screen gt the accompanying field definitions should be contained in the text frame This format produces the single step procedure sigil Use this format whenever a procedure is composed of a single step This should be a rare occurrence This is a distinctive format used to explain the various options of a function in programming and API documentation This format provides a uniform typeface for column headers in tables Use this format in all column headers for all tables This format provides a uniform typeface for entries in a table Use this format for the text in all cells of all tables This format produces the text Table followed by the appropriate numeral given the table s position in the text Use this format in the paragraph above a table to give the table a title and to ensure that it will be available for cross reference and will be included in any lists which gather table markers This format places a bold italic term at the left margin of the text frame Use this format in a field screen reference outside of the context of a numbered procedure Chapter 2 Usingthe Templates 37 Term Definition This format follows the Term format automatically Use this format in a field screen reference to explain either what appears in a given field or what the user needs to enter into a field Term Indented This format place a bold italic term at
20. an article The insertion point does not flash it blinks Not inside of Use insureto describe what an insurance company does Use ensure to mean make sure or guarantee Spell out on first occurrence Note capitalization Handbook for Technical Writers 88 interrupt in use light inverse displayed in inverted invoke a program 1 O device Italic Aptis Useas a verb when describing what happens at the hardware level when a running program is stopped Hardware interrupts a running program a user stops a running program Note hyphenation If you include this term in a user manual be sure to explain it on first occurrence Do not use when you mean highlighted Do not use use load or run whichever is appropriate in the context Abbreviation for input output device Note capitalization and slash Spell out on first occurrence Use italics for e references to titles of disks and titles of manuals e letters as letters words as words and phrases as phrases thei the o s the word boot the phrases Welcome to Billing Concepts But Type Q press Ctrl S e emphasis e metasymbols in syntax examples e introduce terms In on screen text use quotation marks In manuals use italics not quotation marks after stands for labeled named termed theterm and so on If the term is an on screen element however use plain text for elements whose names are caps lowercase or plain text in quotation m
21. an earlier contents file Print the contents file using the Apple LaserWriter Pro 600 printer driver With the Contents pdf file in the On line Book Set subdirectory open Acrobat Exchange and make links from the contents file to the book files Generate an index for the documentation set using Acrobat Catalog The index should be created in the On line Book Set subdirectory This index is used to do word searches on the entire documentation set versus one book file when using the Acrobat Reader Update the readme txt file if necessary Chapter 4 Terminology A abbreviations and acronyms An acronym is a pronounceable word formed from the initial letter or letters of major parts of a compound term An abbreviation is usually formed in the same way but is not pronounced as a word Acronyms are always all caps regardless of the capitalization style of the spelled out form Abbreviations bps for bits per second Acronyms ROM for read only memory Always spell out an abbreviation or acronym on first occurrence and define it if its meaning isn t self evident Include acronyms and abbreviations in the glossary Do not use periods except in abbreviations for English nonmetric units of measurement or in the abbreviations U S A M and P M Do not add an apostrophe before the s when forming the plural ICs RAMs ROMs For the rules on forming the plural of letters characters and symbols see plurals Do no
22. as Do not use as an intransitive verb The disk drive ejects the disk Some commands have three unspaced periods following the command line name in the menu Usethe periods in any text head made up solely of the command name and in the corresponding entry in the table of contents do not use the periods in running text or in the index When three periods are used to present material omitted with a quotation or text that trails off the printing convention is to separate the periods with spaces When the material preceding the ellipsis points is a complete sentence add a fourth point as a period before the ellipsis points and closed up with the last word Some programming languages such as Pascal use two unspaced periods to represent a range of numbers in code 0 15 Use this form for number ranges in code only Use the en dash elsewhere Not imbed See dashes See dashes Use ensure to mean make sure or guarantee Use insure to describe what an insurance company does Chapter 4 Terminology 81 enter entitled EOF error messages equal sign equally as Esc et al etc exit Do not use when you mean type or press Enter is appropriate when referring to data Enter implies typing information and pressing the Enter or Return key Y ou enter data type words and characters and press keys Compare press type Do not use use titled or named or named Abbreviation for end of file Spell out on first
23. drive or disk drive except with describing a preprinted disk drive label on which the term is capitalized or when using a product name Capitalize the word driver in a driver name only if it is part of the product name for example Sound Driver or Disk Driver When using the term driver generically asin printer driver do not capitalize Do not use Usingthis phrase is a sure sign that your sentence is in trouble Did you mean because Due to is acceptable after a linking verb otherwise avoid it Handbock for Technical Writers SO E E each and every edition editor effect n v affect v e g eject trans v ellipsis points embed em dash en dash ensure insure Aptis One or the other but not both Lowercase Not edition file except where necessary for explanation Capitalize editor only when using the full name the MPW editor but the editor Consider the following guidelines when using the terms affect and effect Use affect as a verb Affect means to influence change or have an effect on Even minor changes affect the performance of the database Effect can be used a noun or a verb When used as a noun effect means the result of some action Even minor changes have an effect on the performance of the database When used as a verb effect means to cause to happen or to bring about To effect even minor changes in the database you Do not use use for example or such
24. highlight as a noun The short form hi res n adj is OK if space constraints warrant it Turn hypenation off Try not to hyphenate if at all possible Chapter 4 Terminology 87 IEEE imbed in terms of Incorporated Inc index indicator information INIT initialize in order to inline input n adj input output I O device insertion point inside insure ensure integrated circuit IC Internet Do not use first person Note capitalization Refers to the pointer Abbreviation for integrated circuit Spell out on first occurrence Do not use use that is Abbreviation for Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers Spell out on first occurrence Do not use use embed Try to eliminate this phrase Spell out or abbreviate according to the particular corporation s preference Manuals of more than 30 pages should have an index Refers to the wedge shaped symbol that appears in certain menus Use instead of data in user manuals if it makes sense in the context INIT refers to files that contain INIT resources and thus start up when the user turns on the computer Do not use when referring to tape use format for this purpose When referring to disks initialize and format mean the same thing Not necessary use to One word Do not use as a verb use enter or type depending on the context Note capitalization and slash Spell out on first occurrence Always preceded by
25. menu Click PRoperties The AppleWriter Pro 600 Document Properties window displays Check the following values Paper Size Letter Orientation Portrait Resolution 600 Color Appearance Color If you need to change any of these values on the Advanced tab dick on the value you need to change and select the correct value from the list which appears at the bottom of the window When the values in the AppleWriter Pro 600 Document Properties window are correct click OK The Print Setup window redisplays Click OK to return to the book file window 3 From the book file window double click on the TPCOV file to open it Make sure all variables used in the TPCOV are correct 4 Minimizethe TPCOV Make sure the book file window is active If it is not click on its title bar to make it active 5 With the book file active pull down File highlight Import and select Formats from the side menu The Import Formats window will display It is comprised of two sections in the top section you will indicate which formats you want to import in the bottom section you will indicate which files you want to import the formats into In the top section make sure that only the Color Definitions Variable Definitions and Conditional Text Settings are checked Boxes for all other formats must be unchecked Handbook for Technical Writers 52 Publishing the Hard Copy Books Caution Aptis In the bottom section make sure that all f
26. occurrence Enclosein quotation marks reproduce exact spelling and punctuation even if incorrect Not equals sign or equal symbol Something can be equally important or as important as but not equally as important The key Include the word Escape in parentheses on first occurrence Press the Esc Escape key When describing escape sequences do not use hyphen between names of keys because the keys are pressed and released separately Do not use use and others Do not use use and so on Better still provide one more example to suggest that you could have written more but chose not to You exit from leave or quit a program You never exit a program Handbook for Technical Writers 82 F F face felt tip pen female connector fewer less Field tool figure figure caption figure text Aptis Do not use use font or font family whichever is appropriate Note hyphenation Not felt tipped pen Do not use use socket See also connector Use fewer for countable items use less for quantity or bulk Note capitalization Line art photographs and screen shots are all considered figures Figures should be used when their presence will enhance the reader s understanding or enjoyment or will illustrate a procedure or point that is not evident from the text alone Whimsical line art can be appropriate in a manual as long as it is used to help telegraph the sense of a topic to
27. or Garamond Compare font Chapter 4 Terminology 1 13 TheFont Manager places fonts of the same typeface regardless of font style or point size or whether they are outline or bitmap fonts into a single font family type family Do not use use font famil y type size Do not use use size or font size Handbock for Technical Writers 114 y U uncheck underlining unhighlight v unhighlighted adj UNIX system unprotect unselected Up Arrow uppercase upside down adj upward U S user group user name user ID user defined utilize Aptis Do not use use desd ect Do not use in manuals See also boldface italic quotation marks Do not use Use desdect for the action of clicking to remove highlighting Do not use use not highlighted All caps but not an acronym UNIX is an adjective and cannot stand alone Do not use use remove protection U se to describe something that has not yet been selected Not dese ected or dehighlighted Thekey When referring to more than one of the arrow keys arrow is lowercase as in the arrow keys One word no hyphen When used in conjunction with lowercase as a noun or to modify a noun use uppercase and lowercase both words spelled out in that order Note hyphenation Not upwards Note periods Use the abbreviation as an adjective only as a noun spell out United States Not users group or user s group Two words Note the
28. page 33 Normal Anchor page 35 Term page 36 Function page 34 Term Definition page 37 Header page 34 Note page 35 Term Indented page 37 Heading 1 page 34 Note Indented page 35 Warning page 37 Heading 1 MI page 34 TableHeader page 36 Handbock for Technical Writers 32 Paragraph Tags Alpha Num A Alpha Num A Appendix Number Bullet List Bullet List Indented Caution This begins a new alphabetic list Use this format when a numbered list of steps in a procedure needs a sublist of steps It should be used rarely often a re analysis of the problem will reveal a method of presenting the information which is less convoluted Should you decide to use this be prepared to explain your decision it will be questioned This continues an alphabetic list picking the next consecutive letter after the last use This provides an appendix number and the rules which are used at the beginning of each appendix in a book in each book of the set Its use provides a consistent look to the Aptis documentation set This format indicates the paragraph is part of a bulleted list the left margin of which is 0 5 inches from the left margin of the text frame the bullets themselves are indent 0 25 inches from the left margin of the text frame For example the following paragraphs are in bullet list format e Thefirst item e The second item Use this format when the left margin of your text is the left margin of the
29. preexisting Use for keys on the keyboard and mechanical buttons and switches to mean pressing down and releasing Don t use click hit tap or type Press the Return key Use for button on the screen or the mouse button to mean only pressing down without releasing To click press and release the mouse button Press the New button to see a list of memo forms then drag to the form you want See also click enter type Not print out One word Do not use use print In user manuals when referring to a single application program use application program on first mention thereafter use program or application program Use application software or software to refer to application software in general Do not use code style Capitalization should agree with the directory or catalog listing Do not confuse a program name with a product name One of the program files used for AppleWorks is named APLWORKS SYSTEM See also product names Handbook for Technical Writers 104 pP prompt n v adj pronunciation propeller protocol pull down v pull down adj punctuation Aptis Avoid as a verb except in reference to what the system does when it displays an actual prompt character on the screen The prompt reminds you to do something The system then prompts you for information with a prompt character The prompt character is sometimes a bracket Whenever the pronunciation of an acronym is n
30. sections but the responsibility for activating those procedures remains with the assigned writer In general the first chapter of each book will describe the organization of the book introduce technical terminology used throughout the book provide background sufficient for a generally informed reader to understand the purpose of the module and under what circumstances the procedures explained in the book are to be undertaken If the topic of the book includes a long super procedure such as running a billing the first chapter should outline with a brief explanation the major steps involved in the super procedure with cross references to the sections of the books which detail those steps Finally the initial chapter should provide step by step instructions with screen shots leading the user to the initial screen if any from which most if not all of the procedures in the book begin Handbock for Technical Writers 4 Publishing Overview Organization of Chapter Organization Aptis Each chapter begins with a Chapter Title Page which contains the following elements e TheLTOC Local Table of Contents heading produced by the LTOC Heading format and e A cross reference to each Heading 2 in the chapter in LTOC format The author is responsible for creating these entries The text of each chapter begins with an overview which introduces users to the concepts and procedures explained in the chapter If the sub
31. sign minus sign multiplication sign number sign and plus sign Use code for literals parts of the language values and so on italic regular text font for metasymbols artificial terms that have meaning only in your book and are to be replaced by a value or symbol and plain style regular text font for brackets that enclose something that s optional Pay close attention to punctuation READ file var Use a hyphen or an embedded cap to connect two words that act as a single metasymbol Correct source file or sourceF ile Incorrect sourcefile or source file The hyphen is preferred to the embedded cap because it avoids confusion of the metasymbol with a routine name Be consistent when naming metasymbols for example do not alternate between commands and comman4d list Use asa broad term a system includes a computer and any peripheral devices accessories and software In user documentation may be used to describe files for instances files of type INIT appe and seri that extend the abilities of the computer Compare INIT Note capitalization Refers to the specifically named file in the System Folder Lowercase Refers to any files used by the computer to start itself up or to provide system wide information Note capitalization Enclose in quotation marks reproduce exact spelling and punctuation even if incorrect Handbook for Technical Writers 110 7 T Tab tab table
32. the reader Most figure captions include both a figure number and a figure title Not all figures need caption you may spoil some of the effect of whimsical line art for example if you belabor the obvious by giving such a figure a number and title But anytime you need to refer specifically to a figure that figure needs a number and a title Unnumbered figures are not included in a list of figures and tables A figure with a number must also have a title a figure with a title generally has a number Figure titles should be short and to the point a line and a half should be considered the absolute maximum Avoid changing type styles in figure titles Capitalization style for figure titles is initial cap only there is no ending punctuation even if the figure caption is a complete sentence Use articles in captions whenever appropriate All numbered figures should have appropriate in text references to point the reader to the appropriate figure In text references can follow three styles e at the end of the text sentence in parentheses Choose Create Database from the Compile menu see Figure 1 e standing alone as a complete sentence without parentheses See Figure l e as part of a sentence You can also use as shown in Figure 1 the Compile menu You can use either of these styles but be consistent Use figure text also known as labels for any type that accompanies a figure but is not connected to the figure by a le
33. to the deposit here Chapter 1 General Doc Practices 25 Setting Up the Master Index 1 Open the Master Index book and add the new files of the documentation set to it 2 Generate the Master Index book 3 Print the book as a PostScript file but print only the cover chapter and index files Make sure the PostScript file name is the same as the book name 4 Distill the PostScript file Handbook for Technical Writers 26 Referring to Other Books in the Collection Referring to Other Books in the Collection Aptis When referring to other books in the collection you should never type the title of the book Always insert a book title variable This enables us to globally change the title of a book easily should the title ever change Table 2 Book Title Variables Variable Definition Result BT Application and Ser vice Order lt Jtalic gt Application and Ser vice Order User Guide lt Default 1 Font gt ServiceOrder User Guide BT Billing User Guide lt talic gt Billing User Guide lt Default 1 Font gt Billing User Guide BT CABS lt talic gt Carrier Access Billing User Guide lt Default 1 F ont gt Carrier Access Billing User Guide BT Capital Credits lt talic gt Capital Credits User Guide lt Default 1 Font gt Capital Credits User Guide BT CVWin Configura tion lt talic gt CVWin System Con figuration Guide lt Default Y Font gt CVWin Systen
34. use two unspaced periods to represent a range of numbers in code 0 15 Use this form for number ranges in code only Use the en dash elsewhere Do not confusion the en dash with a dash the key on the keyboard See also hyphenation Singular or plural depending on the context When used as a collective noun data takes a singular verb When the meaning is not collective use a plural verb In user manuals avoid in favor of information if information make sense in the context One word As a noun database refers to the body of data manipulated by a database program Two words except in reference to the Pascal predefined file type datafile Note slash and lowercase Define on first occurrence Handbook for Technical Writers 76 bp dehighlight dehighlighted DEL character Delete depress deprotect deselect v desktop n adj device device name dialog box dialog message different from differently than Aptis Do not use Use deselect as a verb when appropriate otherwise reword Use not highlighted as an adjective Not DELETE character or rubout character Refers directly to the ASCII character 7F The key not DEL key Compare Forward Delete Fwd Del Do not use use press Do not use use remove protection OK to use when you mean cancel a selection Not uncheck unsel ect unhighlight or dehighlight Compare unselected One word lowercase Refers to the working a
35. 0 0 0 0 eee 41 Marken TY PS A ee ie a ta BS ee Ae Bay 41 Updating Documents with New Templates ooooocooococcronr 42 Overview of Importing Templates 0 0 cee tet 42 General Procedure for Importing Templates ooooocooocorocronr a 43 Importing Templates after Porting Existing Online Books 0 000 e eee eee 44 Recreating Customized Paragraph DefinitionS 0 00 cece ee 46 Chapter 3 Publishing Procedures 0 0 c cee uee 47 Publisher InforMati0N ooooocooocoo eens 48 Overview of the Publishing Process 0 0 cect tte tees 49 Publishing the Hard Copy BOOKS 0 0 20 cee tetas 50 Necessary Order for Publishing BOOKS 000 cece eee ete 50 Publishing the Reports Reference GUIdE 1 teen eens 50 Publishing the Master Index ooococcococorr tees 51 Publishing All Other BOOKS 0 ccc tetas 51 Page Review Checklist is atni a ty a a e a a e E AAE Ta m TA A aa e OA a a y ea 53 ReVIE WIND Chapters veis ad Aue a n a Ade DI a pd 53 Poor pagination 25 ci ia rt Ratha le Se ee ES a e Ea lo 53 Headers F oote Saen 2006 Wess a RE owes URES ay ee aia a chee 54 Reviewing Generated ChapterS oooooccoccorrr 54 HeaderS FOOterS tia als dat dan kk A AN ace A 54 Lines that Breaky neisuna aie li bE eee wk 54 Separated Entries 2 i e pas feng ein Meee o5 ei ee een deg te eee Ae eee 54 Separator Breaks eiia 4 y howe dian whe wad ded we DA A
36. Aptis Handbook for Technical Writers Copyright Handbook for Technical Writers Publication Date 8 29 00 This guide is designed to aid in the use of the CommVergence product It should not be taken as a guarantee of system features Billing Concepts exclusively retains the right at any time to modify change or otherwise alter the contents of this guide or the system that it describes This documentation has been reviewed for errors and inaccuracies but Billing Concepts does not warrant that omissions and or discrepancies do not exist This documentation may refer to programs or program changes that have not been released or if released may not be installed at your site All efforts have been made to get to you the most up to date and site specific documentation possible This documentation contains examples of reports All the names and addresses used are fictitious Any similarity of this data to actual names and addresses is coincidental No part of this guide may be copied or reproduced in any way without the prior written permission of Billing Concepts Copyright 1999 Billing Concepts All Rights Reserved CommVergence 1999 Billing Concepts Trademark Information All BillingC oncepts products aretrademarks or registered trademarks of Billing Concepts All other brand and product names mentioned herein are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders Limitation of Liability Billing Concepts l
37. Image Robot for conversion Aptis 1 Within Image Robot select Script gt OPen The Open Script File dialog displays Navigate the file structure to locate the directory Documentation Program F iles l mage Robot Choose the appropriate script If you are documentating a GUI application choose 256GIF to 16GIF jsc If you are documenting a greenscreen application choose N ewColorConverter050698 jsc Click Open The ASC Image Robot window will display Chapter 1 General Doc Practices 13 How to capture a screen shot with Paint Shop Pro 1 2 In the program being documented display the screen you wish to capture Make Paint Shop Pro the active application and press SHirT C The screen you wish to capture will become the active application Click the right hand side mouse button if that is what you indicated in the ACTIVATE CAPTURE USING option on the Capture Setup dialog if not use whatever option you chose there Control will return to Paint Shop Pro a document containing an image of the captured screen will be the active document Select Fite gt Save As The Save As dialog box will display Navigate the file structure to locate the correct folder in which to save the screen shot Use the screen title of the captured screen as the file name If you are documenting a green screen application Use type Windows or OS 2 Bitmap bmp If you are documenting a GUI application Use type Compuserve Graphic
38. In manuals use italics for full titles in on screen text use quotation marks Use caps lowercase as used in thetitle The article theis usually part of the manual title Always give the title exactly as it appears on the manual but eliminate any trademark symbols When referring to an edition number use lowercase and spell out both the ordinal number and edition Technical Introduction to the Macintosh Family second edition Generic references to manuals are neither capitalized nor italicized See the owner s guide that came with your printer Note that not all titles include the word guide See also cross reference volume book OK in reference to a hard disk drive a tape backup unit or a CD ROM drive but not in reference to a 3 5 inch or 5 25 inch disk drive Abbreviation for megabyte Spell out on first occurrence The adjective form is not hyphenated 20 MB hard disk In the noun form a space separates the numeral and the abbreviation and the preposition of is necessary before the unit that the value quantifies 20 MB of memory Abbreviations for megabit and megabits Spell out on first occurrence The adjective form is hyphenated 10 M bit memory In the noun form the preposition of is necessary before the unit that the value quantifies 10 M bits of memory See Mbit Mbits see MB OK to use just address or location for brevity Don t use commas even in numbers of five digits or more Chapter 4 Terminolog
39. Paratext 40 ParatextInParanum 40 122 Index ParatextOnPage 41 TableAll 41 TableNumOnPage 41 cross references in index 19 customized paragraph definitions recreating 46 D Default Paragraph Font paragraph style 38 doc practices general 1 documentation set finalizing the online 58 double postings in index 18 E edited list of markers applying 22 Emphasis paragraph style 38 entry screens format of 23 Equation Variables character style 38 evaluation checklist for index 18 Example paragraph style 33 F Figure Title paragraph style 33 Figure Title Reports Anch paragraph style 33 Figure Title Reports paragraph style 33 Figure Titles marker type 41 finalizing online documentation set 58 Footer paragraph style 33 format of index 19 Function paragraph style 34 G general procedure for importing templates 43 generated chapters reviewing 54 graphic using Image Robot to convert 13 Aptis H hard copy books publishing 50 Header paragraph style 34 headers footers when reviewing chapters generated 54 ungenerated 54 Heading 1 MI paragraph style 34 Heading 1 paragraph style 34 Heading 2 paragraph style 34 Heading 3 paragraph style 34 Heading 4 paragraph style 34 Heading 5 paragraph style 34 headings main 18 HyperText paragraph style 38 I mage Robot converting screen shots 13 setting up for conversion 12 importing screen shot intodocument 14 importing templates after porting existing onli
40. a 0 5 inch indent from the left margin of the text frame Usethis format in a field screen reference in the context of a numbered procedure Warning This format place an all caps bold WARNING text at the left margin of the sidehead frame Use this format to warn of very serious consequences such as action which would compromise the integrity of a database Cf Caution on page 32 Note on page 35 Notel ndented on page 35 WARNING Deleting records from the HOUSE file could result in corruption of the database Handbook for Technical Writers 38 Character Tags Character Tags Default Paragraph Font Bold Emphasis Equation Variables HyperText Input Italic Italic Bold Key Button Normal PageNumber Quick Key Quick Key Text SubScript Aptis Character tags are used to ensure that a given look will be consistent throughout our manual series Additionally the use of character tags ensures a smooth transition from hard copy to online to HTML For example to make something italic use the italic character tag do not use the Ctrl B which will produce bold text This is the base font used for basic body text throughout all the books This is the basic body text in bold weight This is the basic body text in italics This is the basic body text in italics This is basic body text in a different color It is used in the pdfs and html versions of the books to indicate an active link to another secti
41. a plural between machines or by two or more expressions joined by and What is the difference between VISUAL BASIC and C Only use the ampersand character amp when describing a command name or other on screen element that uses the character In all other cases use the word and Rewrite to avoid this construction Do not use redundant Use angle brackets not brackets to describe these symbols lt gt When distinguishing between the two symbols write left angle brackets or right angle brackets Y ou can also use greater than or less than to describe these symbols in the appropriate context Acronym for Application Program Interface Handbock for Technical Writers 62 A apostrophe appendix appendices application application software Arabic adj arrow arrow keys Aptis An apostrophe is curly a foot mark is straight Use the curly apostrophe except in command line descriptions Appendices contain reference material or material that supplements information presented in the chapters of the document Appendices may not be necessary in all manuals they are most often needed when the material in the documentation is complex Typically appendices contain the following information e Error messages e Tables graphs and lists e Code examples e Bibliographic information e Detailed descriptions of equipment or procedures that may add additional information that the reader may find
42. ader line Keep labels brief Chapter 4 Terminology 83 file file name file server file sharing n file sharing adj file types finish first person firstly secondly thirdly fixed width adj flashing flexible disk floppy floppy microdiskette flowchart folder folio font Refers to any entity stored on a disk regardless of whether the user can open edit or print it Compare document Two words In specific references capitalization should agree with the catalog or directory listing Note the treatment of these similar terms device name pathname user name volume name Two words In user documentation use only when you are explaining what a file server is a computer that is dedicated to holding files shared by users on a network Use shared disk to refer to a file server icon on the desktop See also shared disk Two words Note hyphenation of adjective Two words Do not use is finished with Use finish as a verb and done as a subject But do not use done as a subject complement if the subject is a person Do not use Number things with first second third or numerals not with adverbial forms Preferred to describe fonts such as Courier in which each character takes up the same amount of space on the line Do not use to describe the insertion point or the cursor use blinking for this purpose Do not use use disk Do not use use disk Use floppy disk to
43. ansfer pp These entries of course will be interspersed among the other index items dealing with the concept billing or those index items which describe a process procedure Third and Subsequent Passes Polish Continue to refine and modify the files produced by Xgen until you are satisfied with the results keeping as always the needs of the harried reader whois anxious to find the information because the person who normally does this just left the office due to illness and the job has to be done before the close of business Handbook for Technical Writers 18 Indexing Evaluation Checklist The following material is a summary of the Index Evaluation Checklist provided by the Chicago Great Lakes Chapter of the American Society of ndexers Reader Appropriateness Are the terms in the index those which the intended reader is most likely to look up first Main Headings Arethe main headings relevant to the needs of the reader Arethey pertinent specific comprehensive Not too general yet not too narrow Not inane or improbable Do main headings have more than 5 7 locators page reference If so further polishing is needed they should be broken down into subheadings Subheadings Are the subheadings useful Are subheadings concise with the most important word at the beginning Is the number of subheadings about right More than one column s worth is probably too many Are subheadings overanalyzed A l
44. arenthesis and a tab The left wrap margin of text in this format is the same as that produced by Indent Para 5 Use this format for the first step in a numbered procedure This format is used to indicate a keypress path to the beginning screen of a procedure Each step by step procedure does not need to begin at the mainscreen after giving a step by step earlier in the section or chapter indicating how to get to a screen from which a number of procedures are run use the quick key path to remind users how to get to that starting screen To use the Quick Key format 1 Press Enter tostart a new paragraph 2 Change the format of the new paragraph to Quick Key The dagger will be inserted with the l bar to its right 3 Press Enter The words Quick K ey Path followed by a colon At this point type the key path The character style for the key path is Key Button The keypath begins at the screen which appears when you type the command to start the program No descriptors are included after either option numbers or function keys When the path requires pressing the Enter key use the symbol to indicate this Elements in the key path are separated by two spaces no other separators commas etc are used Handbook for Technical Writers 36 Paragraph Tags Quick Key Text Side by Side Side Head Single Step Procedure Syntax TableHeader TableText Table Title Term Aptis Within the key pat
45. arks for elements whose names are initial cap only Chapter 4 Terminology 89 J jargon Avoid jargon whenever possible justification Do not use to refer to the alignment of text to the right or left margin use alignment Text that is aligned on both the right and the left margin is justified Compare alignment Handbook for Technical Writers K KB Kbit Kbits keyboard equivalent key down adj keypad keypress keys keystroke key up adj keyword kilobit kilobyte Aptis Abbreviation for kilobyte Abbreviation for kilobit and kilobits Not Command key equivalent unless all combinations referred to usethe command key Note hyphenation One word Use keypad or numeric keypad not numerical keyboard One word Use caps lowercase for names of modifer keys Option key Control key Shift key Y ou press a key you type a character word or phrase In general do not use articles in reference to key Press Control But ease the user into the documentation by using theand key thefirst time you mention a keystroke Press the Control key In combination keystrokes use hyphens to signify that the first key or keys should be held down while the last key is pressed Do not use hyphens if each key should be held down separately Be sure to explain this convention on first use Control Shift N Esc N One word Note hyphenation Refers to a special word that identifies a particular type o
46. arts constitute a whole Do not use is comprised of A class comprises students Students constitute a class Eliminate the to be and unless it s important who s doing the considering try to eilimate the entire phrase Parts constitute a whole A whole comprises parts Students constitute a class A class comprises students Avoid in user documentation except when explaining what a folder or disk s use folder or disk The key Do not use CTRL Ctrl is OK when space constraints do not allow use of the full term Note hyphenation of adjective The name of the specific key is capitalized Control key Not controled controling Chapter 4 Terminology 73 controller card control panel Control Panels folder coprocessor copy copy protect v copy protected adj pred adj copy projection n copy right page cord Corporation Corp CPU CR crash crossbar crosshair Refers to a type of card that drives or controls a peripheral device Be specific disk controller card Lowercase Refers to a file of type cdev that allows the user to set or control some features of hardware or software such as the volume of the speaker or the number of colors displayed on screen Such files are available in most operating languages Refer toa control panel by its name capitalized and add the words control panel lowercase Views control panel Map control panel and so on However refer t
47. case Two words Note lowercase Handbook for Technical Writers 120 Z Aptis Index A adding a new user in CommVergence 5 Alpha NumA paragraph style 32 Alpha Num A paragraph style 32 Appendix Number paragraph style 32 applying edited list of markers 22 B Bold character style 38 books publishing all other 51 publishing online 55 books publishing hard copy 50 Bug Fix Report 26 Bullet List Indented paragraph style 32 Bullet List paragraph style 32 C capture setting up Paint Shop Profor 12 capturing a screen shot with Paint Shop Pro 13 capturing and savingscreens 12 Caution paragraph style 32 Chapter Number paragraph style 32 chapter organization of 4 chapters reviewing generated 54 chapters reviewing 53 character style Bold 38 Equation Variables 38 Italic 38 Italic Bold 38 Key Button 38 Normal 38 PageNumber 38 Quick Key 38 Quick Key Text 38 SubScript 38 SuperScript 39 Symbols 39 Wingding 39 character tags 38 checklist 18 checklist pagereview 53 CommvVergence adding a new userin 5 conversion setting up Image Robot for 12 convert a graphic using Image Robot to 13 cross reference format 40 Link FigureNum 40 Link FigureNumOnPage 40 Link FigureTitleOnPage 40 Link Paranum 40 Link Paratext 40 Link ParatextinParanumOnPage 40 Link TableNumOnly 40 NoLink FigureNum 40 NoLink FigureNumOnPage 40 NoLink Paranum 40 NumOnly 40 PageNum 40 ParanumOnPage 40
48. chever is used in the product In user manuals use to describe video cards that are installed at the factory do not use on board video cards You dick an on screen button you press a mechanical button Capitalize names of rounded rectangle buttons as you would a title Click Cancel Click the Connect to Network button Press the mouse button See also click When writing about a software s application environment buttons are on screen controls that enable the end user to choose actions or operations Use the names of buttons as adjectives not nouns Correct Click the OK button Not correct Click OK Capitalize the first letter of button names use lowercase for all other letters an exception to this guideline is the OK button When referring to hardware specify the type of button such as an On Off switch or mouse button Always refer to a key on the keyboard as key not button Note capitalization Chapter 4 Terminology 67 C cable cache n v cached v caching n v call a program callouts cancel canceled canceling capitalization Use cableto describe what physically connects two pieces of hardware Note spelling See also RAM cache Do not use call when you mean load A callout is a short text label with a line that points to part of a figure Use callouts if you need to identify something within a figure Callouts are usually positioned outside the boundaries of t
49. created F rame generated files index table of contents list of figures list of reports figures When you create a new book and add a generated file to the book file such as an index the first time you generate the book with the newly added generated file FrameMaker will create the new file but will not include formatting elements from our templates Y ou will have to import the templates for these files Once you have done this you will not have to re import the templates for subsequent re generations of the book For this scenario you can follow the general procedure for updating templates See General Procedure for Importing Templates on page 43 If you have changed the template set you will have to update all files that need to reflect the change For this scenario you can follow the general procedure for updating templates See General Procedure for Importing Templates on page 43 Importing templates during the porting to online process for new online books If you have created a new book and are in the process of porting that book to online for the first time you will have to import all online templates to each respective file online title page and cover template to the online version of the title page for the book online table of contents template to the online version of the table of contents for the book and so on For this scenario you can follow the general procedure for updating templates See General Proced
50. creen type the username of the employee and press ENTER The screen will redisplay If the user s already in the system The screen will position on that user This is undesirable Contact someone to find out more about this If the user s not in the system The screen will position to the user whose username is closest to that of the one you entered This is what is expected continue to step 6 Aptis Chapter 1 General Doc Practices 7 6 On the Display Employees screen press F9 App EmPLoYEE A blank E dit Employee User Record displays See Figure 4 Figure 4 Edit Employee User Record 7 On the Edit Employee User Record fill in the following fields User Code The username of the person you are adding First Name The first name of the person you are adding Last Name The last name of the person you are adding Type Enter R Rabio This allows the system to assign that person a trouble tickets Dispatch Ofc Press F4 Prompt The Select Dispatch Office screen displays See Figure 5 on page 8 Handbook for Technical Writers 8 Adding a New User in CommVergence Figure 5 Select Dispatch Office On the Select Dispatch Office screen use the Tas key to move the cursor to the desired dispatch office at this point it doesn t really matter which one type 1 SELECT REQUEST and press Enter The Edit Employee U ser Record screen will display with the value you selected entered into the Dispa
51. d screen as in Select Customer screen If there is no screen title use a descriptive phrase followed by the word screen followed by the program name enclosed in parentheses as in the select customer screen CSSSRO1R If there is neither screen title or program name use a descriptive phrase as in the select customer screen Enter a Team Track issue for the item making sure to include the exact path Avoid using as a transitive verb Correct Scroll through a document Correct Scroll to view more of the document Incorrect Scroll a document Two words Two words Acronym for Small Computer System Interface Spell out on first occurrence The acronym is pronounced SKUH zee so it is preceded by a not an TheAppleCD 300 CD ROM driveis a SCSI device Use select not choose for icons windows objects graphic images sections of text or options in dialog boxes Use choose for menu commands including those in tear off menus See also choose Note hyphenation Do not use as a verb One word except as a verb In user documentation use shared disk when you discuss connected to another computer over the network When you discuss setting up a folder to share on your own computer use shared folder Use file server only when explaining the concept of file servers The key Note capitalization Note capitalization and hyphenation The hyphen denotes a combined keystroke Handbock
52. distinguish from hard disks or compact discs never use just floppy for this purpose One word A folder can contain documents applications and other folders Folders are sometimes called subdirectories Capitalize folder names according to how they are named and how they appear on the screen If the word folder does not appear in the folder name do not capitalize the f Page numbers or folios appear on all pages except the inside front and back covers the title page the copyright page liability page part openers and any blank left hand pages preceding chapter openers In front matter including the preface folios are lowercase Roman numerals In the text and back matter folios are Arabic numerals A complete set of characters in one typeface such as Palatino Handbook for Technical Writers 84 F format n format v form feed n form feed adj forward delete FWD Del fractions front frontmost front matter function keys future tense Aptis Refers tothe arrangement of appearance of text graphics and other elements such as footers on a page When referring to disks and tapes use format rather than initialize Note hyphenation of adjective Do not use In nontechnical documentation spell out fractions whose denominator is 10 or less in running text Spell out fractions are hyphenated one tenth one fifth and so on The active window is the front or frontmost window Fr
53. e Meat cs tia cg APB toe icy 107 Teese oe A he a gn aioe A kn ne eh oases 110 O A ronda cates Gttane act nels tran E A E EE AE PEATE ace 114 A E cts a Woke hice 115 A onc GR Cs Noo RT E 116 pak Pele Bares e Ses RAS Mires a ceed ph ah Ss Se ae teas ak YD enla o das Ne 117 Men eee ade aha Micah AI tyne wat ebade A eae oh ino ee 118 Deda Ne O Ge dete nus eae ety NS E ee NE attain ane ERRE 119 Indec Sohne othe ki eh Aa od knottin dae town Satay Mb beard A 121 Handbook for Technical Writers VI Contents Aptis Chapter 1 General Doc Practices Topics Discussed In This Chapter Publishing Overview 3 Adding a New User in CommVergence 5 Capturing and Saving Screens 12 Indexing 15 Setting Up the Master Index 25 2 Oveview of This Book Overview of This Book This book is a compilation of various approaches and procedures used in the Technical Writing and Documentation team s work It is and probably will remain a work in progress AS processes and procedures change and evolve so will this book As existing procedures are documented this book will be augmented Stay tuned for further developments As of this writing the following topics in this chapter are acceptably complete Publishing Overview 3 Adding a New User in CommVergence 5 Capturing and Saving Screens 12 Indexing 15 Entry Screens 23 The following topics are acknowledged to need work Setting Up the Master Index 25 Referring
54. e Book panel b Usethe Find command to replace markers of the following types with lt null gt IXG entries Index Figure Titles and Report Figure Titles c Save and close the chapter When you have removed all the old markers from the book you now need to generate new markers With the Book file active pull down the Xgen menu and choose Open Selected Files Each of the selected files will be opened and minized With the Book file active pull down the Xgen menu and choose Markers from Para Tags The Create Markers from Paragraph Tags window will display Pull down the choice list from the Create markers of type blank and choose IXG entries The From paragraphs tagged panel should include only the following items Heading 1 Heading 2 Heading 3 Heading 4 Heading 5 and Side head When this is the case click Create Xgen will generate markers of type XG entries at each place where a heading or side head paragraph tag exists The main FrameM aker window will display With the Book file active pull down the Xgen menu and choose Markers from Para Tags The Create Markers from Paragraph Tags window will display Pull down the choice list from the Create markers of type blank and choose Figure Titles The From paragraphs tagged panel should include only the following items Figure Title When this is the case click Create The main FrameMaker window will display With the Book file active pull down the Xgen menu and choo
55. e Menu Click the Keep lines together checkbox Do not use code for error messages or system messages f you quote a message exactly as it appears on the screen use regular text font in quotation marks If you paraphrase a message use regular text font without quotation marks In user manuals do not use code in part of chapter titles text heads cross references to parts chapters or sections or entries in the table of contents Avoid using code in callouts and figure captions Do not use code for names of files folders or directories Punctuation following a word or phrase in computer voice is in regular text font not in code unless the punctuation mark is part of the computer language element represented or part of what the user should type Two words except in reference to the Pascal predefined file type codefile Use exactly the same form for a product s code name throughout a manual or product training disk If the name is sometimes misspelled or otherwise treated inconsistently a global search and replace is not possible Avoid using colons in text heads if it is absolutely necessary to use a colon in a header capitalize the first word after the colon Not colored pixels Use command or menu command in user manual do not use menu options The menu contains a list of commands Use the Save command to save any changes to your file Use menu item to refer to items in the menu and open programs in the Application m
56. e applying a Keep With Next or Keep With Previous attribute to the paragraph e modifying the Widows Orphans for the paragraph Handbook for Technical Writers 54 Publishing the Hard Copy Books Aptis e modifying the Start attribute under Pagination tab in the designer to be Top of Page or Top of Column Use Top of Column when adjusting pagination issues in the index Headers Footers Make sure all of your headers and footers are displaying the correct information Reviewing Generated Chapters There are four issues to watch for Headers Footers In all files make sure your headers and footers are displaying the correct information Lines that Break In the TOC LOF and LORF watch for headings figure titles that are longer than one line these should be broken with a soft return lt SHiFT gt 4 lt ENTER gt Note Watch your pagination If you make enough changes you may affect the overall number of pages in the TOC LOF or LORF If this happens you will be throwing off the accuracy of the pages as represented in the table of contents For instance if you make enough changes to the table of contents and it adds two pages to the file your list of figures list of reports figures and preface files will be incorrectly numbered additionally they will be incorrectly referenced in the table of contents Separated Entries In the Index watch for level 1 entries that are separated by a page or column
57. e conjunction as with the preposition like As introduces clauses like introduces phrases Do not use the single word whether will suffice Do not use assure when you mean ensure or insure Assure means to remove the doubt or to be positive We assure our customers of our product quality Handbook for Technical Writers 64 B B basically essentially totally being that or being as below between among bibliography bibliographic entries Aptis These words sel dom add anything useful to a sentence Try the sentence without them and almost always you will seethe sentence improve These words are a non standard substitute for because Do not use be ow to describe an element that has not yet occurred in a manual If necessary use a more specific reference such as later in this chapter For a chapter or section include the chapter or section title For a figure or a table include the number of the figure or table For more information see Printing later in this chapter For a summary of slot and drive and numbers see XREF on page XREF Quoted from The Careful Writer by Theodore Bernstein If Miss Thistlebottom taught you in elementary school that between applies to two things and among to more than two she probably knew what she was doing She was making things easy for herself It is simpler to lay down a rule than to try to stimulate discriminating thinking particularly in a
58. e create special paragraph definitions 1 Locate your customized paragraph in the document and place your cursor somewhere in the paragraph Open the paragraph designer cTrL m In the Paragraph Designer dialog box pull down the Commands drop down list and select New Format In the New Format dialog box name the paragraph style and make sure the Store in Catalog and Apply to Selection options are both selected Press the CREATE button Chapter 3 Publishing Procedures Topics Discussed In This Chapter Publisher Information 48 Overview of the Publishing Process 49 Publishing the Hard Copy Books 50 Porting and Publishing the Online Books 55 48 Publisher nformation Publisher Information Our publisher is Laser I mage Corporate Publishing 2810 Meridian Parkway Suite 132 Durham North Carolina 27713 1 800 644 5822 LICP publishes all of our paper documentation from postscript files produced from FrameM aker LICP also produce our CD ROMs including jewel case inserts graphic label on ROM and data toROM LICP actually outsources the graphic label and the data toa company called RTM Research Triangle M edia Aptis Chapter 3 Publishing Procedures 49 Overview of the Publishing Process The following steps provides a general overview of the entire publishing process 1 Finalize the hard copy books See Publishing the Hard Copy Books on page 50 for details of this procedure 2
59. e in refining their index The Documentation team uses the XGen marker management tool to create modify maintain and apply the marker lists used in generating the indexes tables of figures and tables of report figures Initial Pass of Marker List Generation Aptis The initial pass of marker list generation indicates which chapters from the book document are to be included when creating a marker list removes all old markers creates new markers based on paragraph tags and creates and massages the marker list to be passed to the writers for editing To generate the marker list 1 In FrameMaker open the book file for the book you wish to index 2 With the book file open pull down the Xgen menu and select Select Files The Select Files to Process screen will display 3 On the Select Files to Process screen make sure that all non generated files except the TPCOV file arein the Process Files column and that all generated files and the TPCOV file are in the Ignore Files column Double click the file name to move the file from one column to another When you are finished click Open Selected Files The main FrameMaker window will display with the Book file expanded and each of the selected files opened and minimized Chapter 1 General Doc Practices 21 10 11 12 For each file to be included in the index do the following a Open the chapter this is most easily done by double clicking on the chapter in th
60. ent If the screen is a standard AS 400 screen Type 210 dpi but you may need to modify this later If the screen is a report from the AS 400 Type 175 dpi but you may need to modify this later If the screen is from a GUI product Type 130 but you may need to modify this later The screen shot will be placed in your document Chapter 1 General Doc Practices 15 Indexing An index is not an outline nor is it a concordance It s an intelligently compiled list of topics covered in the work prepared with the reader s needs in mind from Index Evaluation Checklist Chicago Great Lakes Chapter of the American Society of Indexer A good index records every pertinent statenent made within the body of the text from The Chicago Manual of Style About Indexing at Billing Concepts Our books in general consist of two types of material explicative and procedural The explicative material provides an overview and a context for the procedure which is about to be detailed This may include an illustrative example an indication of the variety of situations in which the procedure is used and cautions or warnings about effects of the procedure The procedural material provides step by step guidance in executing procedures Because we use FrameM aker a good portion of the work of actually generating the index can be done for us through the use of the templates which include headings Each chapter begins with a Heading 1 format The mai
61. enu A command is in a menu not on a menu a menu contains commands Use caps lowercase do not capitalize command the Find command Do not capitalize a command name when used as a normal English verb Choose Cut from the Edit menu Now cut the selected text from your document Handbook for Technical Writers 72 c commas compact disc CD Company Co compiler compile time n compile time adj comprise considered to be constitute container Control control character n control character adj Control key controlled controlling Aptis Some commands have an ellipsis following the command name in the menu Use the periods in any text head made up solely of the command name and in the corresponding table of contents entry do not use the periods in running text or in the index For commands or other on screen elements of two or more words whose names are initial cap only use quotation marks Click the checkbox labeled Keep lines together Usethe serial comma a comma preceding and or or in a list of three or more items Not compact disk It is not necessary to spell out on first occurrence in Commsoft documentation Spell out or abbreviate according to the particular company s preference Capitalize compiler only when using the full name The Metrowerks Compiler is not the only compiler we use Note hyphenation of adjective A whole comprises parts P
62. ept processing electronic fund transfer billing billing processing electronic fund transfer electronic fund transfer billing processing Additionally the following items were added because the expertise of the indexer recognized that electronic fund transfer is a synonym for credit card processing credit card billing billing processing credit card credit card billing processing After you have completed your edits notify the person responsible for applying the index to the FrameMaker document Second Pass Further Editing and Application of Logic After the application of the index to the FrameM aker document two files are made available the actual FrameM aker index file and the Xgen file The FrameM aker file shows what the index would look like if the document were printed without further editing The Xgen file contains all the items which comprise that index listed in alphabetical order At this point you should revisit the Xgen file looking for items which should be corrected due to inaccuracy spelling errors for example or inconsistency referring to records in some entries and record in others You will also notice that all the index entries in the FrameM aker file will be level one entries without the sub entries common to a professionally generated index The application of logic enters the story at this point When two or more entries begin with the same word or words use that word o
63. f statement or command such as IF Follow the capitalization of the programming language involved See Kbit K bits See K KB Chapter 4 Terminology 91 L labeled labeling labels leave Left arrow left hand leftmost left side less fewer less than sign letter quality printer limited warranty line line fed n line feed adj linker lists Not labelled labelling See figure text You leave exit from or quit a program Y ou never exit a program Compare abort cancel halt interrup stop The key When referring to more than one of the arrow keys arrow is lowercase as in the arrow keys Avoid except in reference to left hand pages use just left whenever possible No hyphen Not left hand side Use less for quantity or bulk use fewer for countable items Note hyphenation Not less than symbol You can also use left angle bracket if appropriate to the context Note hyphenation Note lowercase Not necessarily the same of statement One line may contain several statements and one statement may extend over several lines Note hyphenation of adjective Capitalize linker only when using the full name The Metrowerks Linker but the linker There are three types of lists bulleted multicolumn and numbered Avoid subnesting lists within lists bulleted list Usea bulleted list when you want to stress the parallelism of a number of options elements rules or instructions that
64. face and in each chapter Avoid using a trademarked term in the possessive or the plural form One word One word OK to use when describing power to a computer or peripheral device Early in an instructional sequence phrase tutorial steps to reflect the sequence of the novice user s action Say Pull down the File menu and choose Open instead of Choose Open from the File men The latter phrasing is appropriate for procedures in reference manuals and in later sections of tutorials when the sequence of choosing from menus has been well reinforced Not TV set or television set Use television on first occurrence Compare video monitor Do not use Use video monitor or monitor Note hyphenation Avoid in user manuals describe the connector by its size and shape icon or in another way appropriate to the context because it may have fewer than 25 actual pins See also connector Use in general references to the text that appears on a printed page Do not use type when you mean font or font family Use to describe the act of pressing keys to produce characters on the screen In manuals use code style to represent what the user actually types regular text font to describe generically what the user types For on screen text use the code style Type PR 4 Type Hello Type your name Compare enter press Use to refer to a distinct design for a particular character set Each typeface has its own name such as Times
65. fline adj pred adj adv OK online adj pred adj adv on screen adj on screen pred adj adv on screen text open One word Not okay One word Note hyphenation of adjective Use quotation marks not italics for words as words letters as letters and phrases as phrases and for manual and disk titles Y ou open icons folders documents and applications In user documentation avoid open a window and open window Handbock for Technical Writers 100 pP P parts passive voice pathname pay per view Peer Review per percent Aptis Whenever possible don t use use active voice Passive voice is sometimes appropriate and necessary when using the active voice would require highly convoluted sentence structure or excessive anthropomorphism for example but rewrite to avoid passive voice if you can In training disks a passive construction may be appropriate to avoid miscuing the reader that is when describing an action that the user is not supposed to try yet Explanation screen An icon is selected by clicking it User try screen You try it Click the icon One word Note the treatment of these similar terms device name filename user name volume name Hyphenated Praise what works well in the draft point to specific passages Comment on large issues first Does the draft respond to the assignment Are important and interesting idea
66. for Technical Writers 108 s shortcut sign since 68000 68020 size v software source file Space bar splash screen stand alone adj start up v startup adj startup display startup screen state name step Aptis Small children may have trouble with the Shift click Shift click to extend the selection Use the Shift click technique to select more than one icon One word Use sign not symbol in the following terms division sign equal sign greater than sign less than sign minus sign multiplication sign number sign and plus sign Can be used to mean because but only if it begins a sentence When using sincein this way however make sure it isn t possible to misread the sentence as an expression of temporal relationship In general avoid using sincein documentation Correct Since the address is passed on every call you must Incorrect Using access privileges is a good idea since you probably won t want all users to make changes to the document Do not use a comma in a number representing a microprocessor Do not use 68K for 68000 On first occurrence use Motorola 68000 microprocessor thereafter the manufacturer need not be mentioned Do not use use resizeor change the size of in reference to a window or an object Use application softwareor software to refer to application software in general Use application program or program when referring to a single p
67. g Do not use Y ou either click or you drag Correct You dragthefiletotheC1 drive Click the icon to select and then drag it to the C drive You click in a window or region such as a scroll bar you click all other on screen elements such as icons checkboxes and buttons Do not use use click You closea window or a document Do not refer to an icon as a closed window See also open Note lowercase Use code when offering code samples Code is new courier 9pt If the language you are working in has a standard style of indentation use it If it doesn t have such a style develop a logical method of your own and use it consistently Develop a method of spacing around punctuation and use it consistently It s often best to use English style spacing because it s easy to remember and stick with Use code for what the user types for program listings and for small pieces of sample code For more detailed guidelines on using computer voice in technical documentation see Code in Text in Appendix A Chapter 4 Terminology 71 code file code names colons color pixels command command names Do not use code for names of buttons bars menu commands menu titles or other on screen elements that are caps lowercase use regular text font for this purpose For such tems that are initial cap only use regular text font in quotation marks Click the Cancel button Choose Page Setup from the Fil
68. h itself we have established the following usages e Thescreen which appears when you type the command to start the program is style Mainscreen one word capital M e When referring to a complex procedure within the keypath such as Create a New Batch place the reference inside parentheses e When referring to placement of a particular key command such as typing a B next to a header record use square brackets as in B next to header record e When working in a GUI environment use the greater than sign between elements to indicate menu cascades as in File gt mport gt Format e When working in a Menu Manager environment where keystroke choices may vary from installation to installation use the greater than sign between screen names to aid the user in distinguishing where one begins and another ends asin Mainscreen gt Financial Main Menu gt General Ledger Main Menu gt General Ledger Reports Menu The definition of Quick Key automatically inserts this format after Quick Key format Y ou do not need take any special action to activate this format This format produces output resembling a two column table without rules Use this format in programming and API documentation to explain arguments passed to and from functions This format moves the paragraph into the side head frame Use sparingly One place in which we want to consistently use this format is when defining fields to be filled in a procedure
69. he figure and a thin line known as a leader line connects the callout to what it identifies within the figure Use callouts freely when they are necessary but keep in mind that too many callouts can be distracting tothe reader Keep callouts brief both for clarity and for an uncluttered look It s OK to use cancel instead of halt to avoid awkwardness In a dialog box in the desktop interface the user clicks the Cancel note capitalization button when he or she does not want to continue performing a particular action Not cancelled cancelling all caps THIS LINE IS AN EXAMPLE OF ALL CAPS Avoid using all caps caps lowercase This Line Is an Example of Caps L owercase Use caps lowercase for book titles part titles chapter titles titles of major sections of disks running feet that use chapter titles and cross references to such titles In cross references to a specific appendix or chapter or to the preface capitalize the word Appendix Chapter or Preface But when referring to appendices chapters or prefaces in general do not capitalize the word appendix chapter or preface Seethe Preface for more information See the Appendix for a list of specifications The preface of a manual is a good place to explain the typographic conventions you follow in the text Handbock for Technical Writers 68 Aptis In cross references to sections that never take a title glossary index table of contents and so on do
70. iability for damages for any cause or causes whatsoever shall never exceed the software license fee paid by Customer for the Systems Customer agrees that Billing Concepts shall not be liable for damages for lost profits or lost savings or for indirect incidental or consequential damages under any circumstances Non Disclosure Agreement Any party in receipt of this information the Customer shall a hold all INFORMATION received from Billing Concepts in confidence b use such INFORMATION only for the purpose of gaining assistance using the licensed software or evaluating the possibility of forming a joint business relationship or other commercial arrangement between the parties concerning such INFORMATION c reproduce such INFORMATION only tothe extent necessary for such purpose d restrict disclosure of such INFORMATION toits employees with a need to know and advise such employees of the obligations assumed herein and e not disclose such INFORMATION to any third party including but not limited to any manufacturer or independent contractor without prior written approval of Billing Concepts In addition with respect to any equipment component software or other items delivered to any party by Billing Concepts the Customer shall not reverse engineer disassemble de compile or otherwise analyze the physical construction of any such items So there All INFORMATION shall remain the sole property of Billing Concepts and all mate
71. iles making up the book arein the U pdate list on the left hand side of the section The Don t Update list on the right hand side of the section should be empty Click IMPORT Pull down File and choose Generate U pdate The Generate U pdate Book window displays Make sure that the Table of Contents List of Figures List of Reference Figures and Index files are in the left hand U pdate list Click UPDATE When the updating process is complete you will need to open each non generated file in the book individually Page through the file using two page view Esc Z P looking for layout errors primarily widows and orphans For guidelines on what to look for see Reviewing Chapters on page 53 After you have completed a file save it and go on tothe next When you have completed reviewing all chapters in the book pull down File and choose Generate U pdate The Generate U pdate Book window displays Make sure that the Table of Contents List of Figures List of Report Figures if any and Index files are in the left hand U pdate list Click UPDATE When the updating process is complete you will need to open each generated filein order scanning for such layout errors as a subsidiary level beginning on a different page than its leader For guidelines on what to look for see Reviewing Generated Chapters on page 54 Remember when looking through the Table of Contents List of Figures and List of Report Figures files tha
72. ion use at least two Strictly speaking a chapter or section can not be subdivided into only one part The wording of parallel head within a section should be parallel verb forms should be the same gerunds imperatives and so on from head to head comparable terms should all be either singular or plural not a mix and if you re using complete sentences for some heads use them for all comparable heads Avoid cute flippant or gimmicky heads Humor can be an effective means of unhanding the reader s experience but it generally works best in the text rather than in titles or heads Count on your prose to create the excitement necessary to carry the reader along keep heads simple and descriptive The capitalization style for all levels of text heads is initial cap only Avoid colons in heads whenever possible If a colon in a head is required capitalize the first word after the colon Usetointroduce a restrictive clause clauses beginning with that are generally not set off with commas Compare which Correct This is the house that J ack built There are many houses the phrase that J ack built restricts narrows the meaning of the subject of the sentence to one house Correct The largest house in town which J ack s sister built is also the newest There is only one largest house the phrase which J ack s sister built although it provides more information does not restrict the subject of the sentence Not 3 1 2 when refer
73. ject of the chapter involves a series of processes which must be performed in a prescribed order the overview presents that order with cross references to the processes and an explanation of why the prescribed order is necessary If most of the procedures in the chapter start from a common menu or screen the overview should include step by step instructions with screen shots to access that menu or screen After analysis of the procedures involved in the chapter the author will divide the material into discrete procedures each of which will constitute a section of the chapter of Section Each section will detail the step by step actions needed to accomplish a particular procedure Each section will begin with an overview which e Discusses for users the conditions under which the procedure covered will be executed e Explains in general what data are generated changed or removed by the procedure and how those data are used and e In cases where inappropriate application of the procedures could result in data loss or degradation of database integrity warnings and or cautions should be included in text format A Quick K ey Path from the main screen of the application to the screen on which the user initiates the procedure follows the overview Theindividual steps which comprise the procedure follow the path Each step should bea complete entity indicating the screen the user should be viewing when initiating the step the acti
74. le for internal use Two reasons for this exist The first is the obvious quality control issue Because the manager bears the responsibility for the quality of thedocumentation produced by theteam it is essential that he or she examinethe material beforeit is release The second is organization Because members of the technical writing team are spread throughout the organization it is necessary that there be only one voice offering the Official Announcements of products and services available from the team 13 The manager will verify the postscript and pdf files If the pdf and postscript files are in order you re done If the manager finds items in the pdf and postscript files that could be optimized he she will let you know You will then have to make the necessary improvements in the FrameM aker files Page Review Checklist Reviewing Chapters Issues to watch for include but are not limited to Poor pagination Example If a Heading 3 paragraph falls near the bottom of a page with only a few lines or one paragraph of information following it before the page breaks This may look better if the Heading 3 paragraph simply started at the top of the next page Example If a paragraph ends at the top of a page but only one or a few lines of the paragraph fall to the top of the page This may look better if the entire paragraph were situated at the top of the page and not split between the two pages You can make adjustments by
75. le of that window will change to 1 File s Successfully Converted At that point click OK Image Robot has completed its operation you now have the proper format for use in a FrameM aker document If the file is already black and white do not run the file through Image Robot If you do the application will change all the black pixels to white and you will have to recapture all the screen shots that have been changed How to Import into a FrameMaker Document Aptis When you are ready to insert the screen shot into your F rameM aker document 1 2 Press EnTEn to start a new line Set the paragraph style of the new paragraph to Figure Title This will automatically generate the word Figure and the appropriate consecutive number for this figure Type a title for the figure It is important that this be the screen title for the captured screen if more than one screen has the same screen title use a descriptor to distinguish them but do not use initial caps in the descriptor portion of the figure title Press ENTER Press ALT F then I then F If you prefer using the pull down menus choose FILE gt IMPORT gt FILE Navigate the file system to locate the directory in which you saved the converted screen caption document Click on the document to highlight it make sure that Import by Reference is checked then click Import FrameMaker will ask for the resolution you wish to use for the graphic in the docum
76. lick to select it Once the reader is familiar with basic mouse techniques it s often not necessary to mention point at all Click the Recycle Bin icon or Select the Recycle Bin icon OK in general references but be specific whenever appropriate arrow crossbar crosshair beam wristwatch Note hyphenation of adjective Do not capitalize the names of ports modem port printer port SCSI port See also connector Form the possessive of a singular noun including one that ends in s by adding an apostrophe and an s the computer s power cord the boss s husband Form the possessive of a plural noun that ends in s by adding an apostrophe Form the possessive of a plural noun that does not end in s by adding an apostrophe and an S Chapter 4 Terminology 103 PostScript pound sign power off v power on v pre prefix press print v printout n print out v program program names the student s curriculum children s requirements Form the possessive of a proper noun or a proper name including one that ends in s by adding an apostrophe and an s Formthe possessive of a plural proper noun or proper name by adding an apostrophe Howard Hughes s official biography the J oneses computer Note capitalization Don t use small caps Don t use use number sign for this character Do not use use switch off Do not use use switch on Close up even when it forms a double vowel as in
77. m Part fm TOC fm or Tpcov fm From within the new document pull down the Fite menu and select IMPORT FILE Locate and select the file that you want to update making sure you have the Copy Into Document option selected Press the Import button At the mport Text Flow dialog box make sure the following options are selected Section Options Flow to Import Body Page Flow A Main Flow Formatting of Imported Flow Reformat to Use Current Document s Formats Press the Import button From within the new document pull down the Fite menu and select Save As Locate the original file and select it This will save the current file over the existing file Press the Save button Handbook for Technical Writers 44 Updating Documents with New Templates Importing Templates after Porting Existing Online Books When importing templates you can specify which aspects of the template you wish to import When importing templates during the publishing process in particular when moving hard copy information to the online format you should follow the procedure outlined in Porting and Publishing the Online Books on page 55 To import the online template into an online document that has been ported from hard copy 1 Open the online book file for the book you will be publishing 2 Open the online ChapApp fm template from the Doc Templates Online Manuals 8 5x11 directory 3 Open the first non Frame gene
78. n technical manuals Toremove something by selecting it and choosing the Cut command from a menu The selection is placed on the Clipboard Chapter 4 Terminology 75 D dashes data database n adj data file date time record default em dash Use the em dash alt 0151 Ctrl q Q to set off a word or phrase that interrupts or changes the direction of a sentence or to set off a lengthy list that would otherwise make the syntax of a sentence confusing Do not overuse em dashes If the text being set off does not come at the end of the sentence use an em dash both before and after it In cross references to a specific part of a manual use an em dash to separate the part number from the part title For more information see Getting Started With Pegasus Part 1 Setting Up Your Computer en dash Use the en dash Control q P for the following purposes e between numbers that represent the endpoints of a continuous range bits 3 17 1986 1987 but see exception following this list e between the elements of a compound adjective when one of those elements is itself two words e between keystroke names in a combination keystroke when at least one of those names is itself two words Option right bracket Option U p Arrow e toseparate double click from other keystroke names in a combination keystroke but use hyphens elsewhere in the sequence e asaminus sign Some programming languages such as Pascal
79. n the ndex Entries file for that book With the Index Entries file active pull down the Xgen menu and choose Apply Edited Marker List The Apply Edited Marker List screen will display Make sure that only the Split box is checked and click Apply Close the Index Entries file saving if prompted The Book file will become active Generate and update the book file Open the Index file in the book and print it as a reference for the writer to use This reflects what the index would look like if further edits to the Index Entries file are not made When the printing is complete close the Index file The Book file will become active With the Book file active pull down the Xgen menu and choose Gen Editable Marker List When it is complete pull down File and choose Save As Click on the ndex Entries file choose Save and confirm that you want to overwrite the file Notify the writer that the index items have been applied that an index is available and Index Entries file is ready for another pass Chapter 1 General Doc Practices 23 Entry Screens Field Definitions for Payment Entry When you document screens which require entrie in many fields define the fields at that point instead of referring the reader to the Field and Screen Guide appendix At the step of the procedure where the user will be entering data into the fields use the Side Head style with the text Field Definitions for name of screen gt In the te
80. n topics of the chapter are named in Heading 2 format The topics are further subdivided by the use of Heading 3 formats In general the Overview should be the first Heading 3 item under a Heading 2 topic This area contains the explicative material discussed earlier in this section For purposes of consistency we ask that this Heading 3 item be of the form Overview blah blah blah where blah blah blah is the subject of the topic Subsequent Heading 3 items should name the procedure being detailed Our procedure for creating an index is a mixture of software and human judgment First Pass Index Generation and Editing The IXgen software from Frank Stears Associates reads a FrameMaker document and creates a list of all headers in a book It then transmutes these items according to a word rotation algorithm Handbook for Technical Writers 16 Aptis In this way the heading Processing a Electronic Fund Transfer Billing generates the following index candidates note case processing electronic fund transfer billing billing processing electronic fund transfer transfer billing processing electronic fund fund transfer billing processing electronic electronic fund transfer billing processing Now the human judgment enters the picture From the list created by Xgen you need to decide which items are to be deleted which should be retained and which need to be transformed n the above example the following items were k
81. nce Figures and other master files This format produces the topic headings which divide the major sections of each chapter in all of our books This format produces the subtopic headings which divide a major section This format distinguishes subjects within a subtopic This format distinguishes sub subjects within a subtopic rarely used This format indents the paragraph so that it aligns with the numbers in the Number List formats This is often used for the paragraphs which introduce a numbered procedure This format indents the paragraph so that it aligns with the text in the Number List formats Used when you want to include additional paragraphs under a numbered step This format indents the paragraph to produce a 25 inch indent from the text in Number List formats This format indents the paragraph to produce a 50 inch indent from the text in Number List formats Number List Indent examples 1 This is Number List 1 format This paragraph is Indent Para 25 format Note that its left margin is the same as the number in the paragraph above it 2 This is number List 1 format This is Indent Para 50 format This is Indent Para 75 format This is Indent Para 1 0 format This format produces the individual items in a Local Table of Contents found at the beginning of each chapter Chapter 2 Using the Templates 35 LTOC Heading Normal Normal Anchor Note Note Indented Number List 1 Number List 1
82. ne books 44 Indent Para 25 paragraph style 34 Indent Para 5 paragraph style 34 Indent Para 75 paragraph style 34 Indent Para 1 0 paragraph style 34 index about 15 creation applying edited list of markers 22 initial pass marker list generation 20 second pass further editing and appli cation of logic 16 third and subsequent passes polish 17 cross references in 19 double postingsin 18 editor s point of view 20 evaluation checklist for 18 format 19 general 15 generation and editing 15 mail headingsin 18 subheadings 18 index review 18 Index 123 indexing at Billing Concepts 15 Input paragraph style 38 Italic character style 38 Italic Bold character style 38 Ixg Entries marker type 41 K Key Button character style 38 L lines that break when reviewing generated chapters 54 Link FigureN um cross reference format 40 Link FigureNumOnPage cross reference format 40 Link FigureTitleOnP age cross reference format 40 Link Paranum cross reference format 40 Link Paratext cross reference format 40 Link ParatextinParanumOnPage cross reference format 40 Link TableNumOnly cross reference format 40 LTOC and PageNumber paragraph style 40 LTOC Heading paragraph style 35 LTOC paragraph style 34 M main headings in index 18 marker type FigureTitles 41 Ixgentries 41 Report FigureTitles 41 marker types 41 markers applying edited list of 22 master index publishing 51 settingup 25 N
83. need not be presented or performed in a particular order Within a single list make all bulleted items parallel Handbook for Technical Writers 92 1 load a program local area network LAN lock logical operators log in v login adj log off v logoff adj Aptis Bulleted lists generally fall into one of the following categories e aregular sentence divided into a list This type of list emphasizes the parts of a series The syntax of the sentence is unbroken there is no colon after the main clause and each bulleted item is a sentence fragment with no close punctuation e asimplelist The main clauseis followed by a colon and each bulleted item is a sentence fragment with no punctuation e a complex list The main clauseis followed by a colon and each bulleted item is a compl ete sentence closed with a period multicolumn list Usea multicolumn list when you want to present simple data in tabular form without all the formal parameters of a table Y ou may use column heads A multicolumn list does not have spanners row titles or stubs multicolumn lists do not have numbers or titles Do not use multicolumn lists for complex information or for lengthy lists of data The entire list should not exceed one page and for best results should not be more than one half of a page numbered list Use a numbered list when you want to stress the sequential nature of steps rules or instructions
84. not capitalize the name of the section Follow these rules when using caps lowercase Capitalize every word except articles coordinating conjunctions toinfinitives and prepositions of three letters or fewer except when a preposition is part of a verb phrase Switching On the Computer Introduction to the CD Answer for the Macintosh How to Start CD Author Getting Started With Databases Capitalize the first and last word no matter what their part of speech Of Mice and Men The Rule We Fail to Live By Capitalize the second word in a hyphenated compound Correct High Level Event 32 Bit Addressing Exception Built in Disk Drive Capitalizels It Than That and This initial cap only This line is an example of initial cap only Do not use initial cap in cross references to section heads use caps lowercase When using initial cap only capitalize only the first letter of the first word as well as the first letter of any proper nouns and proper adjectives file names Use lowercase bold letters for file names unless they are case sensitive need discussion of this my_file txt Pathnames Use lowercase bold letters for pathnames unless they are case sensitive need discussion of this Ca pegasus docs relnotes Chapter 4 Terminology 69 captions card caret carriage return CD CD ROM central processing unit CPU chapter chapter opener chapter table of contents characte
85. ns that has some but not all features of a regular window Do not use window Not minus symbol Usean en dash for a minus sign except in code where a hyphen is used Acronym for million instructions per second Spell out on first occurrence Do not drop the s when you are referring to a single unit one MIPS not one MIP Avoid in user manuals when referring to software for example when describing a paint program say When using the paintbrush not When you are in paintbrush mode In technical documentation when referring to software you enter or leave a mode you don t turn on or turn off a mode Do not use when you could use computer Handbock for Technical Writers 96 m modem modem port modifier key monospaced adj motherboard mount mouse and mouse terms mouse devices multi prefix multiplication sign Aptis Correct How you use this feature depends on which model of Macintosh computer you have Correct The setup guide that came with your computer provides instructions Incorrect The setup guide that came with your model provides instructions In user manuals you may want to define as modulator demodulator in the glossary Do not spell out in the text even on first occurrence Note lowercase Not phone port Use instead of control key in the generic sense for a key that affects the action of other keys such as the Option Control Esc and Shift keys Not mono
86. nt Para 75 34 Indent Para 1 0 34 Input 38 LTOC 34 35 LTOC and Page Number 40 Normal 35 Normal Anchor 35 Note 35 Note Indented 35 Number List 1 35 Number List 1 35 paragraph style 36 Quick Key 35 Quick Key Text 36 Screenl sDisplay 41 Side by Side 36 SideHead 36 Single Step Procedure 36 Syntax 36 TableTitle 36 TableText 36 Term 36 Term Defintion 37 Term indented 37 Warning 37 Paragraph Tags 31 Paranum ParatextOnPage 40 ParanumOnPage cross reference format 40 Paratextl nParanum cross reference format 40 Aptis ParatextOnPage cross reference format 41 poor pagination when reviewing chapters 53 porting and publishing online books 55 publisher information 48 publishing all other books 51 books necessary order for 50 hard copy books 50 master index 51 online books 55 overview 3 overview of process 49 procedures 47 reports reference guide 50 Q Quick Key character style 38 Quick Key paragraph style 35 Quick Key Text character style 38 Quick Key Text paragraph style 36 R referring to other books in the collection 26 release notes Bug Fix Report 26 Report Figure Titles marker type 41 reports reference guide publishing 50 reviewing chapters 53 generated chapters 54 S screen shot capturing with Paint Shop Pro 13 importing into adocument 14 ScreenlsDisplayed paragraph style 41 screens capturing and saving 12 section organization of 4 separated entries when reviewing generated chapters
87. o avoid either construction Incorrect Initializing your disk s Correct Initializing your hard disk or disks Preferable Initializing hard disks product names Form the plural of trademarked product names by adding the plural generic noun to the singular product name used as an adjective Handbook for Technical Writers 102 p plus sign point n point v pointer Pop up v pop up adj port possessives Aptis Incorrect Macintoshes Quadras LaserWriters Correct Macintosh computers Macintosh Quadra computers LaserWriter printers If a product name includes a generic noun as well as a trademarked adjective form the plural as you would with any noun Apple 3 5 Drives LocalTalk Custom Wiring K its words as words Form the plural of a word italicized to show that it is used as a word by adding an apostrophe and an s Do not italicize the apostrophe or thes He had too many and s in the sentence Not plus symbol Use only when writing about font sizes Don t use as a synonym for dot or to describe a place or spot on the screen When describing the desktop interface do not use point as a verb without first defining it for the reader First occurrence Move the mouse to position the pointer on the Recycle Bin icon This action is called pointing Then press the mouse button to select the icon This action is called clicking the icon Thereafter Point to the Recycle Bin icon and c
88. ommunications gets simpler by the day though you can t prove it by most manuals on this subject Thetelecommunications industry is expanding rapidly Not television set or TV set After the first occurrence TV is OK Compare video monitor Do not use Use video monitor or monitor Two words except in reference to the Pascal predefined file type textfil e Use different levels of text heads to make the organization of a manual clearer to the reader but remember that too many heads too close together will distract the reader and clutter the page In general organize your sections so that level four heads are subordinate to level three heads level three heads to level two heads and so on Don t skip a level of heads When the next logical level of heading seems too prominent for a given usage in troubleshooting chapters for example try to use display sentences rather than skipping a level of text heads Chapter 4 Terminology 111 that 3 5 title bar titled title page titles chapter and section toolkit toward Do not begin a chapter with a level one head start with an introductory paragraph or two before your first text head Likewise do not place a level two head immediately after a level one head and so on A brief overview of a section even if it s only a sentence is useful before you begin using the next level of text head If you use a particular level of head at all in a given chapter or sect
89. on of the book This is a Courier type font used to indicate characters which are to input by the user In most of our books we use K ey Button format for this indication Check before using this style This is basic body text in italic When you want italic type use this character format This is basic body text in boldface italic Use this typeface to indicate conditions such as If you want to read the rest Turn to the next page This character format uses a different base font Use this format to indicate a key or button the user must press in a procedure or to indicate text which is to be typed exactly as indicated in the book An example of Key Button format is Press the Enter key This format is a holdover of days gone by It will be removed from the selections when we perform our next format sweep This is the format used for the page numbers For an example of this format look in the upper right hand corner of this page This is the format used for the dagger in the Quick K ey paths You do not have to explicitly select this format nor should you This is the format used for the text following the indicator Quick K ey Path You do not have to explicity select this format nor should you This format is used to create a subscript in text for those rare occasions when you need to indicate a chemical name for a substance such as H 30 Chapter 2 Usingthe Templates 39 SuperScript Symbols
90. on the user needs to take and the screen or message the user will view when the action is complete A screen shot of this screen or message should follow the step Chapter 1 General Doc Practices 5 Adding a New User in CommVergence When a new writer joins the group the editor must assure that he or she has access rights to the CommVergence system This should be done to correct the situation when the user gets a Not authorized to any Major Minor error message The process takes place in two steps e Add a new user to the system e Select major minor pairs for the user To add a new user to the system 1 Activate the version of CommVergence to be used Generally the command to do this will be STRDOC although if the changes to be documented exist on another system a different command may be used 2 At the Mainscreen press F2 MAINTENANCE The CommVergence Set Up menu will display See Figure 1 Figure 1 CommVergence Set Up 3 OntheCommvVergence Set Up menu choose option 6 SECURITY MAINTENANCE System Set UP and press Enter The Security System Setup menu will display See Figure 2 Handbook for Technical Writers 6 Adding a New User in CommVergence Figure 2 Security System Setup 4 On the Security System Setup menu choose option 4 Epit User AUTHORITY and press Enter The Display Employees screen displays See Figure 3 on page 6 Figure 3 Display Employees 5 OntheDisplay Employees s
91. ong list of subheadings with a single locator each is an indication of overanalysis Could they be combined Should some subheadings become main headings with their own subheadings instead Do subheadings have more than 5 7 locators If more they should eiter be broken down into sub subheadings or be changed to main headings Double Postings For the reader s convenience many subheadings should be double posted that is they should exist as main headings too Aptis Chapter 1 General Doc Practices 19 Locators Page References Arethe locators accurate Check a sample of entries to see When locators include roman numberals or volume numbers does the typography make the usage clear Cross References A seeshould direct the reader to a different term expressing the same concept A see also should guid te reader from a complete entry to the related entries for more and difference information Have see and see also cross references been provided Length and Type Format Is the index length adequate for the complexity of the book An index should be 3 5 of the pages in the typical non fiction book perhaps 5 8 for a history or biography and more 15 20 for reference books Is there a need for more than one type of index Is the type large enough to be read easily Do the index pages look open and not crowded Are the main headings and subheadings and sub subheadings if any distinguished from each o
92. ont matter elements include the inside front cover the title page the copyright page liability page the table of contents the list of figures and tables the RFI statement and the preface Front matter pages are numbered with lowercase Roman numerals rather than Arabic numerals Some front matter elements are boilerplate elements use the appropriate boilerplate information Refers to the keys on the keyboard labeled F1 F2 F3 and so on Note that function is lowercase Do not use Chapter 4 Terminology 85 gage gauge GB Gbit glossary graphic adj graphical user interface graphics n adj gray grayed grayscale greater than sign grounded outlet Never See gauge on page 85 This is the correct spelling Abbreviation for gigabyte Abbreviation for gigabit The writer determines whether a book needs a glossary Select terms for indusion in the glossary with the most naive user in mind Terms unfamiliar to most readers should always be included in the glossary Such terms should also be defined on first occurrence and shown in italic in the text Not graphical except in graphical user interface Note lowercase The noun form usually takes a singular verb Use graphics not graphic as an adjective in relation to the field of graphic art or graphic design Not grey Use grayed out instead of dimmed or highlighted in gray See also dimmed One word Note hyphenation Not greate
93. ot self evident it s a good idea to give a pronunciation key Use all caps for the stressed syllable use a hyphen between syllables Enclose the phonetic spelling in quotation marks SCSI pronounced SK UH zee Not propad lor When referring to specific protocol names capitalize protocol for example the Name Binding Protocol NBP When referring to protocol names in third party products capitalize according to the third party company s style When using protocol as a generic term use lowercase The AppleTalk protocols can be placed in the framework of the SO OSI model Usean article before the spell out name of the protocol do not use an article before the abbreviation when it stands alone The Name Binding Protocol resides at the transport layer of the reference model A protocol like NBP resides at the transport layer of the reference mode Note hyphenation of adjective In general a punctuation mark should be in the same type style and font as the preceding word See the glossary for the definition of word wrap The period is boldfaced Note the following exception to this rule e Punctuation following code in running text should bein the font of the overall sentence not in code unless the punctuation mark is part of what actually appears on the screen or in the program listing Avoid punctuation after something the user should type The user may type the punctuation A closing parenthesis bracket or
94. ote marks or quotes Quote is a verb quotation is a noun or an adjective Use quotation marks for e cross reference to other sections of the manual e cross references to chapter titles e direct quotations e letters as letters and words as words in on screen text e manual and disk titles in on screen text In manuals use italics not quotation marks for terms after called known as labeled stands for termed and soon If atermis an on screen element use plain style for elements whose names are caps lowercase quotation marks for elements whose names are initial cap only INIT stands for initialize A folder names N ew F older appears Click the checkbox labeled Keep lines together Enclose quotations from the screen such as error messages or system messages in quotation marks Handbook for Technical Writers 106 R R radio button RAM RAM cache n re prefix read only memory ROM read write adj real time n real time adj reference register release resize Return Right Arrow right hand right side road map ROM Roman roman adj run time n run time adj Aptis Refers to an on screen button Use only in technical documentation use button in user manuals No quotation marks around radio no hyphen See also button Acronym for random access memory Spell out on first occurrence Lowercase c Usually closed up even when it forms a double vo
95. othe General Control control panel as the General Controls panel Note lowercase folder No hyphen To put a copy of something on the Clipboard by selecting it and choosing the Copy command from a menu Hyphenated in all forms A copy protected disk or file is one that cannot be copied legally Compare with write protect write protected write projection All manuals and updates must have a copyright page or copyright notice This page is always the second in a book and does not have a page number or a footer The copyright page is a boilerplate element and is part of the Cover template and must include a document part number All trademarked products third party mentioned in the manual must receive a credit line on the copyright page For information on trademark symbols see Trademark Use only when describing the power cord Spell out or abbreviate according tothe particular corporation s preference Abbreviation for central processing unit Spell out and define on first occurrence Do not use when referring to the whole computer Abbreviation for carriage return Do not use Use Return key for the key you press In manuals for new users reassure the reader that the term crash does not imply damage to hardware One word One word Refers to a pointer that is always two fine crossed lines Use only when the thickness of the lines does not change Handbook for Technical Writers 74 c cross references Ctrl
96. ou may want to mention the term boot or include it in your glossary Do not use except in technical documents use startup disk Abbreviation for bits per second Spell out on first occurrence Not curly brackets but it s OK to define braces as curly brackets on first mention When you need to distinguish between opening and closing braces use left brace and right brace In syntax expressions using brackets and braces braces indicate that all of the enclosed elements are required Use the following guidelines when using brackets in text e If you cannot avoid nested parenthetical remarks use brackets for the inner remark and parentheses for the outer remark e f brackets enclose a sentence place the period inside the right bracket e f brackets enclose a phrase that ends in a sentence place the period outside the right bracket Handbook for Technical Writers 66 B built in adj built in pred adj built in disk drive built in video card button buttons Button tool Aptis In syntax expressions using brackets and braces brackets indicate that all of the enclosed elements are optional Braces with choices stacked vertically within them indicate that the user should choose exactly one of the tems Hyphenate only before the noun The dialog box shows the name of the disk in the built in drive The 3 5 inch disk drive is built in Use either built in disk drive or internal disk drive whi
97. pressing numbers as numbers Use a numeral not matter how small if you are expressing numbers as numbers You can attach as many as seven SCSI devices You can have as many as 31 characters in a filename The numeral 8 occurs eight times Spell out ordinal numbers from zero through ten Form ordinal numbers larger than ten by adding st nd rd or th as appropriate Where two numbers appear together consider spelling one of them out There are sixteen 32 bit registers Use an en dash between numbers that represent the endpoints of a continuous range bits 3 17 Use full span for continuing numbers 1986 1987 not 1986 87 Some programming languages such as Pascal use two unspaced periods to represent a range of numbers 0 15 Use this form for number ranges in code only Use the en dash elsewhere Use numerals for units of measure inches feet seconds no matter how small the number is Numbers of the same category within a paragraph should all be numerals if any of the numbers is over 10 We have 25 Macintosh computers and 4 LaserWriter printers on the network Computers and printers are the same category There are two kinds of 32 bit registers only one of which needs to be saved Kinds of registers and bits are different categories Do not spell out the 8 in 8 pin minicircular connector or the 9 in 9 pin connector Use numerals when referring to a specific address bit byte chapter disk drive field key pin
98. quotation mark should be in the same style as the opening mark For example a closing parenthesis following an italicized word should bein plain style not italic unless all text between the parentheses is italicized e When forming the plural of an italicized letter used as a letter a number used as a number or a word used as a word neither the apostrophe nor thes is italicized Chapter 4 Terminology 105 Q Quick Reference Card quit quotation marks A copyright notice should appear on all Quick Reference Cards Copyright O 1994 1995 Billing Concepts Inc All Rights Reserved Y ou quit exit from or leave a program You never exit a program Use curly opening and closing quotation marks except in code and resource types in any font Strictly speaking a quotation mark is curly and comes only in pairs An apostrophe is curly and comes singly The non curly things are either foot marks single or inch marks double Put periods and commas within quotation marks If necessary for clarity periods and commas can go outside as in AN 1 Semicolons colons questions marks and exclamation points go outside quotation marks unless they are part of an actual quotation When giving the name of a resource type use straight single quotation inch marks in code and place any punctuation outside the quotation marks Examples of resource types are FONT NF NT and cdev Use quotation marks not qu
99. r check checkbox Figure captions and table captions should be initial cap only In general a caption should read like a title Do not use a caption to explain a figure at length make the explanation part of the regular text preceding the figure Do not use figure captions or table captions instead use the defined stles of Figure Heading and Table Heading These items should use caps lowercase style Refers to a removable circuit board that is installed in as slot Compare board Do not use when you mean circumflex A caret is used for example to mark a dynamic variable in PASCAL Use only when referring specifically to ASCII character 0D or its equivalent Use return character when writing about for example searches for return characters Use Return key for the key you press Abbreviation for compact disc Spell out on first occurrence Abbreviation and acronym for compact disc read only memory For Commsoft s audience it is not necessary to spell out CD ROM Note hyphenation and capitalization Asa plural use CD ROM xxx where xxx is discs or volumes or drives and so on Spell out on first occurrence Do not use when referring to the whole computer Capitalize the word chapter in references to specific chapters Chapter 5 Expanding Y our Database Chapters 4 and 5 in the next chapter Include a paragraph of chapter opening text for all sections This material introduces the chapter to your reader
100. r case then click Set The Xgen Editable Marker List Usage Summary screen will redisplay Handbook for Technical Writers 22 Indexing from the Editor s Point of View 13 14 15 On the Xgen Editable Marker List Usage Summary screen use FrameM aker s Find command to change all comma space character combinations to a semicolon When this is the case save this document in the fol der with the book use the name ndex Entries when saving this editable marker list This is the file which the writers will edit to create the index On the Xgen Editable Marker List Usage Summary screen pull down the Xgen menu and choose Apply Edited Marker List The Apply Edited Marker List screen will display Make sure that neither the Permute or Split boxes are checked i e both are unchecked and click Apply Close the Xgen Editable Marker List Usage Summary screen saving if prompted The Book file window will display Generate and update the book Notify the writer that the Index Entries file is ready for editing Applying Edited List of Markers Aptis After the writer has provided an edit of the marker list created by the above procedure it is necessary to apply the remaining and changed markers create an index based on those markers and then re generate an editable list of markers for subsequent editing To accomplish this 1 In FrameM aker open the Book file for the affected book Then ope
101. r phrase as the level one entry with the remainder of the entry as the level two entries In Xgen this is accomplished by inserting a colon to indicate a change of level Chapter 1 General Doc Practices 17 From the previous example billing processing credit card billing processing electronic fund transfer processing credit card billing processing electronic fund transfer becomes billing process credit card billing process electronic fund transfer process credit card billing process electronic fund transfer Notice that in addition to the insertion of the colon the form of the verb has changed from the gerund processing to the imperative process This change is recommended readers should not be required to guess which form of the verb we will use while the gerund or other form is appropriate to the more conversational style of a heading the more standardized imperative form is in keeping with the tone of an index After a trip or two to the index readers will come to expect to see add to refer to headings which are entitled adding or to add or how to add When you have completed this pass notify the person responsible for applying the Xgen changes to the FrameMaker document When that application is completed the index items above will appear as billing process credit card pp processing electronic fund transfer pp process credit card billing pp electronic fund tr
102. r than symbol You can also use right angle bracket if appropriate in the context Not grounding type outlet Handbook for Technical Writers S H halt hard disk n adj HD disk He she hexadecimal hierarchical high density disk highlight trans v highlighted adj highlighting n high resolution n high resolution adj hyphenation Aptis Refers to what happens when the operation of a program stops Compare abort cancel exit interrupt stop Two words Do not use Use high density disk Do not use Use he or she or pluralize if appropriate to avoid the problem of the gender specifi pronoun altogether Expressed in base 16 Base 16 has the digits O through F this allows you to make numbers which look like words such as CAD which has a base 10 value of 3 245 12 256 10 16 13 Not hierarchial PreferabletoKD or 1 4MB floppy disk Explain on first use that these disks contain 1 4MB of storage space No hyphen Not hilight Refers to what you do to an option to indicate that you want to select it No hyphen Not hilighted Use a highlighted icon changes color or a highlighted icons is filled in Do not use unhighlighted or dehighlighted for an item that isn t highlighted use not highlighted No hyphen Not hilighting Refers to the inverse display text is light on dark when surrounding text is dark on light of an option Do not use
103. racter Formats Selected Page Layouts Selected Table Formats Selected Color Definitions Selected Document Properties Selected Reference Pages Selected Variable Definitions Selected Cross Reference Formats Selected Conditional Text Settings Selected Math Definitions Selected All format options should be selected because you are or should be importing from a document that is completely formatted for online publication Indicate the files into which you want to import the formats from the updated file You should select all chapter and appendix files and possibly the preface file but not the title page and cover or any Frame generated files Press the Import button This will import all pertinent on line template formatting into all selected chapter and appendix files Close the open chapter file If you arein the middle of the porting procedure return to that procedure Handbook for Technical Writers 46 Updating Documents with New Templates Recreating Customized Paragraph Definitions Aptis If you had customized paragraph styles in your original document that do not exist in the new template you can easily recreate these once you have updated the template for the document using the above procedure However because of the difficulties created by customized paragraph definitions when translating FrameM aker documents into HTML we strongly discourage the use of the customized paragraph definitions Tor
104. rated file in the book This will probably be the preface or first chapter 4 From within the first non F rame generated file in the book the preface or first chapter pull down the Fig menu and select Import Formats 5 Select the ChapApp file as the document to import formats from 6 Makesurethe format options are selected as indicated in the following 7 8 9 table Formatting Element Selected De Selected Paragraph Formats Selected Character Formats Selected Page Layouts Selected Table Formats Selected Color Definitions Selected Document Properties Selected Reference Pages Selected Variable Definitions De Selected Cross Reference Formats Selected Conditional Text Settings De Selected Math Definitions Selected Press the Import button This will import all pertinent on line template formatting Reset your variables and conditional settings for this file Close the ChapApp fm online template 10 From within the online book file with the first file still open pull down the Aptis File menu and select Import Formats Chapter 2 Using the Templates 45 11 12 13 14 15 16 Make sure the file you have already updated is the file to import formats from Make sure all format options are selected as indicated in the following table Formatting Element Selected De Selected Paragraph Formats Selected Cha
105. re Title Reports 3 Typethetitlefor the figure our style suggests using the screen title of the captured screen as the figure title Press ENTER 4 Import the figureitself using Fite gt IMPORT gt FILE This format is automatically applied by the Figure Title Reports format it assists in the conversion from hard copy to HTML and PDF formats Y ou need do nothing to use this format This is the format used for the footers you don t need to make use of this format Handbook for Technical Writers 34 Paragraph Tags Function Header Heading 1 Heading 1 MI Heading 2 Heading 3 Heading 4 Heading 5 Indent Para 25 Indent Para 5 Indent Para 75 Indent Para 1 0 LTOC Aptis Use this format when introducing a new function in documentation for APIs If it is invoked at the top of the page it merely formats the type for the name of the function if it is invoked in mid page it places a rule above the name of the function This is the format used for the headers you don t need to make use of this format This format produces the chapter title found at the beginning of each chapter of every book in our series The format forces the beginning of a right hand page includes the text of the chapter title and the rules underneath This is identical to the Heading 1 format but is named differently for use in the Master Index to general the Table of Contents Index List of Figures List of Refere
106. rea on the screen when the Finder is active Use desktop or Finder desktop in user manuals when discussing activities the user performs or things the user sees on the desktop Use to refer to any piece of hardware that connects directly or indirectly through a network to the computer User peripheral device on first mention Compare accessory Two words Note the treatment of these similar terms filename pathname user name volume name Refers to a box that appears on the screen to request information Do not use just dialog to refer to a dialog box Name dialog boxes only if necessary Naming a dialog box after the command that brings it up to the screen is preferable The application selection dialog box is the exception because it appears so often Avoid naming features within dialog boxes if at all possible Instead rely on figures with explanatory callouts about the function of each feature If you need to name a feature give it a generic name such as text box and make it as unobstrusive a part of the explanation as you can Do not use use message Not different than Make sure that both elements being compared are parallel nouns The user interface of CDAuthor is different from that of Pegasus Use when comparing two parallel clauses do not use different than different from or differently from for this purpose Rewrite whenever possible to set up a construction in which different from is used to compare two parallel no
107. rials containing any such INFORMATION including all copies made by CUSTOMER parties in receipt of the INFORMATION shall be returned to Billing Concepts immediately upon termination or expiration of this Agreement or upon the Customer s determination that it nolonger has a need for such INFORMATION Upon request of Billing Concepts the Customer shall certify in writing that all materials containing such INFORMATION including all copies thereof have been returned to Billing Concepts Contents Chapter 1 General Doc Practices 0 ccc cee 1 Overview of This BO0K oooooooooro a o tee a a a 2 PUDISHING OVERVIEW vasca e O E E E A E 3 Organization of VOlUMES oocooco eee 3 Organization of Chapter 0 0 ccc eee 4 Organization of Section 2 2 tees 4 Adding a New User in CommVergence nuusan teens 5 Capturing and Saving Screens 0 cet ae 12 Setting up Paint Shop Pro for capture 0 0 cece 12 Setting up I mage Robot for conversion ooooccocococor 12 How to capture a screen shot with Paint Shop Pro 1 2 0 0 ees 13 How to use mage Robot to convert a graphic 00 saaana aeaea 13 How to Import into a FrameMaker Document 0 00 c cece ete eee 14 NIX aires Reread A A ous aes A AA A vl ewes A eee Ree a SA 15 About Indexing at Billing Concepts 0 cette eee 15 First Pass Index Generation and Editing 0 0 cee eee 15 Second Pass Fu
108. ring to 3 6 inch disks Two words Note lowercase Not entitled All manuals must havea title page This page is the first in the book page i and does not have a page number or a running foot In a manual that will be distributed only in the United States any trademarked product whose name appears on the title page must receive the appropriate trademark symbol Unlike trademark symbols in running text the symbols on the title page align with the base of the product name Mark part titles chapter titles and heads concise and consistent Keep the reader s needs in mind and remember that these elements are used primarily as locators for someone skimming through a manual One word Not towards Handbook for Technical Writers 112 r trackball trademarks TrueType troubleshoot v troubleshooting n adj turn on turn off tutorial steps TV TV Monitor 25 pin connector type n type v typeface Aptis An input device used as a substitute for a mouse One word Any trademarked product mentioned in a manual must be mentioned in the appropriate credit line for trademarks or registered trademarks on the copyright page Credit lines for all third party trademarked products must also be given on the copyright page When a product is a trademarked term it should be used often throughout the document as an adjective modifying a generic noun particularly on first occurrencein the pre
109. rks Do not give the name of the state or country when the place of publication is a well known city If you need to provide a state name use the correct postal abbreviation Chapter 4 Terminology 65 bit bitmap n v bitmapped adj bitmapping n bits per second bps black and white adj black and white pred adj blank character blinking board boldface Boolean adj boot boot disk bps braces brackets For complete rules on bibliographic citation refer to the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association 4th edition or the most current Do not use when you mean pixel or a dot on thescreen One word in all forms You can use either bitmap font or bitmapped font but be consistent Not the same as baud Spell out on first occurrence She s writing about the black and white monitor The image on the screen is black and white Do not use use space character Use blinking to describe the insertion point Do not use the term flashing to mean blinking Do not use to mean card A board is built in a card can be taken out by the user Use boldface for file names and path names Do not use bold face introduce new terms use italics You can use boldface for emphasis but use sparingly This needs considerable thought and definition Note capitalization Do not use for start up or switch on in user manuals In manuals written for new users however y
110. rogram Two words except in reference to the Pascal predefined file type sourcefile Two words Note capitalization Do not use use opening display startup display or startup screen Note hyphenation Do not use as a noun Avoid as a noun especially in user manuals Start up the Macintosh Insert the startup disk Not splash screen startup display startup screen and opening display are all OK Usethe two letter abbreviation Both letters are capitalized in these abbreviations Do not capitalize even in specific references step 1 steps 1 and 2 several steps Chapter 4 Terminology 109 stop subaccount submenu switch on switch off symbol syntax descriptions system system extension System file system files System Folder system messages A general term meaning to cause a process command or program to cease Compare abort cancel exit halt interrupt No hyphen Use when describing hierarchical menus When the user drags the pointer tothe side of a hierarchical menu command with a triangular indicator a submenu appears Don t use power down power off power on or power up in user manuals OK to use turn on and turn off when the process does not involve a switch OK in a generic sense as in the percent symbol Don t use symbol when you mean character letter or digit Use sign not symbol in the following terms division sign equal sign greater than sign less than
111. rther Editing and Application of Logic 0 ccc eee eee 16 Third and Subsequent Passes Polish ooooocoooconcr tees 17 Evaluation CheckliSts lt c04 reacia Sooo bea a ee dd e dd a ld 18 Reader Appropriateness ieie ii a o Eo a te eae 18 Main Headings 2 a vee skiers er a Eee ao a ee 18 SUDMCAGINIGS a s ri i Fg each a ot ds See Lenten a eS 4 ee bad nee Ra tee ee 18 DOUble POSHINOS evi siria eae eee ees a Ge Bee eee See ee ee ee 18 Locators Paje References orner wii A we ee oY 19 Cross References irang iia evils ae bee vee Mba ae eee tera ede bee dotnet 19 Eength and Type resa p42 pag sts ae ra E e e Seta a aN 19 FOIA a EA a ELIEN AL Ea E E ENET EOE EE e 19 Indexing from the Editor s Point of VieW oooooccoococrr tees 20 Initial Pass of Marker List Generation ooooocoocrrnror tees 20 Applying Edited List of Markers ooooooccoccocrr rrrarerererererenus 22 ENtry SERA Sa a feos Sek Seas fa aad kt ds te 23 Setting Up the Master Index 2 2 cee eee ee 25 Referring to Other Books in the Collection 0 0 0 cee tees 26 IV Contents Chapter 2 Usingthe Templates 0 00 ccc ceca 29 Template Definitions 0 0 00 eee ae 30 Paragraph Tags a e A A Pel ee ee oh eee ee A D 31 Character TadS citas hise elie a hed ox oes Pee wee heed wee Re wa es be Rho wee oe Dee 38 Cross Reference Formats 0 0 0 0 0c cee eee eee 40 Variable DefinitionS
112. s Interchange gif Remember to use this name as the Figure Title as this will make changing the book at a later date easier Click Save How to use Image Robot to convert a graphic 1 Make sure the appropriate script is in place GUI Bitmap to GIF jsc for GUI applications NewColorConverter050698 jsc for greenscreen The name of the screen appears in the title bar of the I mage Robot window If the proper script is not in use see Setting up mage Robot for conversion on page 12 for instructions to open it Click Start The Batch Process Input Files dialog box displays Navigate the file structure to locate the folder in which you saved the bmp file during the capture operation Click on that file to highlight it then click Next The Batch Process Output Options dialog box will display On the Batch Process Output Options make sure that e The Save as Type contains GIF CompuServe e The Sub type contains Version 89a Noninterlaced If necessary make the appropriate selections from the drop down menus at the right of each of those fields Navigate the file structure to locate the folder from which FrameMaker will select the finished gif file Handbook for Technical Writers 14 Capturing and Saving Screens WARNING 6 7 Click FinisH The Batch Conversion Status window will display in it a list of instructions will display as they are executed When mage Robot has executed the entire script the tit
113. s employee Handbock for Technical Writers 12 Capturing and Saving Screens Capturing and Saving Screens Screen shots provide important visual landmarks for users to ensure that they have completed an instruction or series of instruction correctly You should include a screen shot at every milestone in a procedure We use two programs to create a screen shot Paint Shop Pro and mage Robot Paint Shop Pro is used for capture and initial editing of the screen shot mage Robot is used to convert the bitmap bmp produced by Paint Shop Prointothe gif format we use in the FrameM aker documents Setting up Paint Shop Pro for capture 1 After launching Paint Shop Pro select Capture gt Setup The Capture Setup dialog displays Within the Capture option box on the Capture Setup dialog click the Oobject radio button This sets your Capture utility to grab whatever application object you are focused on An object ranges from a field button to an entire window thus giving you the widest range of capture options Within the Activate Capture Using option box on the Capture Setup dialog click the radio button for whichever capture method you are most comfortable using Most of the team prefers a right mouse click but some may prefer a function key or other keystroke In general we do not use the Include Cursor option it can create false emphasis to a particular area in a capture 4 Click the OK button Setting up
114. s presented Is the main point clear and interesting Is therea dear focus Is the draft effectively organized Is the sequence of points logical Are ideas adequately developed If appropriate is the draft convincing in its argument Is evidence used properly Go on to smaller issues later awkward or confusing sentences style grammar word choice proofreading Time is limited for your response and for the author s revision so concentrate on the most important ways the draft could be improved Comment on whether the introduction clearly announces the topic and suggests the approach that will be taken on whether ideas are clear and understandable Be specific in your response explain where you get stuck what you don t understand and in your suggestions for revision And as much as you can explain why you re making particular suggestions Try describing what you see or hear in the paper what you see as the main point what you see as the organizational pattern Identify what s missing what needs to be explained more fully Also identify what can be cut Use according to instead One word Always preceded by a numeral no matter how small the value Unless the word ends a sentence percent is never followed by a period 1 percent Chapter 4 Terminology 101 phone numbers phone port pin pixel plurals It s OK to use the percent symbol instead of the word percent in technical appendices specifica
115. school class that ranges from blockheads to eggheads Among to be sure applies to more than two things but the relationship it expresses is usually a rather loose one When three or more things are brought into a relationship severally and reciprocally between is proper In the following passage between would be better than among Apart from discussions among Washington Paris and London on the prospective conference The idea of two is inherent etymologically in the word between but so is it inherent in the discussions here referred to the meetings were being held by Washington and Paris by paris and London by London and Washington Similarly to speak of a treaty between nine powers would be completely proper and exact When the relationship is looser among is the proper word War reparations were distributed among the nine victorious powers Do not include a bibliography unless it serves a specific purpose If you have relied on printed sources other than Aptis manuals you should credit those sources ina bibliography If the scope of the manual is limited but you feel that many readers may want to seek out more information on their own a bibliography can also be useful The bibliography always begins on a new page In each entry invert the first author s name last name first with a comma both before and after the first name of names I talicize book and periodical titles Enclose article titles in quotation ma
116. se Markers from Para Tags The Create Markers from Paragraph Tags window will display Pull down the choice list from the Create markers of type blank and choose Report Figure Titles The From paragraphs tagged panel should include only the following items Figure Title Report When this is the case click Create The main FrameMaker window will display On the main FrameMaker window save the Book file Close and save each individual Chapter file On the main FrameM aker window pull down the Xgen menu and choose Gen Editable Marker List The Generate E ditable Marker List screen will display Make sure that the only item in the Collection markers of type panel is Xgen entries When this is the case click Generate The Xgen Editable Marker List Usage Summary screen will display When Xgen has finished collecting all the Xgen entries pull down the Sgen menu and choose Apply Edited Marker List The Apply Edited Marker List screen will display Click Permute rotate marker text and if necessary Split multiple index entries into separate markers With checks in both those boxes click Apply After a significant amount of processing the Xgen Editable Marker List Usage Summary screen will redisplay On the Xgen Editable Marker List Usage Summary screen pull down the Xgen menu and choose Capitalization The Marker Text Capitalization screen will display Make selections such that all levels read all words in lowe
117. sector slot or track or when expressing amounts of memory Handbook for Technical Writers 98 oN number sign numeric adj numeric keypad numerics n adj Aptis Rephrase to avoid starting a sentence with a number If you must start a sentence with anumber spell out the number Always spell out numbers when expressing an approximation In referring to numbers use larger and smaller not higher and lower In referring to software version numbers use later and earlier For example refer to Finder version 6 0 2 or later Use a comma to point off numbers of five digits or more 1024 65 536 But don t use a comma in memory addresses or numbers representing microprocessors FFFF FFFF 68020 microprocessor Form the plural of a number by adding an apostrophe and an s 1 s 5 s Use numerals for numeric values in text except for zero in the same sentence as nonzero ord blue returns 0 Function fseek returns nonzero for improper seeks otherwise it returns zero Not pound sign or number symbol to describe this character Not numerical except when referring specifically to numerical order See also numerics Can be shortened to keypad Don t use numerical keypad or numeric keyboard As a noun numerics takes a singular verb Use numerics not numeric as an adjective in relation tothe science of numerics numerics capabilities numerics environment Chapter 4 Terminology 99 O of
118. sents the active application Not Adaptor Usethis style when giving Aptis address Department Name Contact Person Aptis 8 Corporate Woods Blvd Albany NY 12211 or the appropriate address for your office site Consider the following guidelines when using the terms affect and effect Unless you are discussing emotional issues use affect as a verb Affect means to influence change or have an effect on Affect as a noun denotes an emotion or emotional response Even minor changes affect the performance of the database Effect can be used a noun or a verb When used as a noun effect means the result of some action Even minor changes have an effect on the performance of the database When used as a verb effect means to cause to happen or to bring about To effect even minor changes in the database you Avoid using allow when you can restructure a sentence so that the reader is the subject Use enable instead of allow Correct CD Author allows you to create a database Chapter 4 Terminology 61 alot alphabetize among between ampersand and or and also angle brackets API Preferable With CD Author you can create a database Do not use if you mean apportion or grant use allot If you mean a great deal or often use those words or when absolutely necessary a lot Alphabetize letter by letter not word by word Quoted from The Careful Writer by Theodore
119. sical sizein inches or centimeters but always use decimals rather than factions 8 removability from ts drive removable or fixed 9 flexibility of medium floppy or hard 800K 3 5 inch removable floppy disk Include only as much information as is necessary to avoid confusion in the context of each description When mentioning a particular device do not capitalize disk drive or drive disk drive 1 driveA When describing a preprinted disk drive label however follow the capitalization style used on the label Do not hyphenate disk drive when it is used as a compound adjective See also drive Do not use use disk Handbook for Technical Writers 78 bp disk name Disk Operating System disk titles display display device display system document document window done DOS dot dot matrix n dot matrix adj double click n double click v double clicking n v Down arrow download v downloadable adj Aptis Use when referring to the name for the disk as it appears on the desktop interface do no use disk title for this purpose Not necessary to spell out use DOS Use caps lowercase and italics for the full title of a disk The word disk may or may not be part of the title follow the usage on the official label Theis usually not part of the disk title Use lowercase when referring to a disk by less than its full title or for disks with generic titles
120. space See fixed width Do not use use main logic board or main board Avoid in user documentation Use connect to OK to use mount in technical documentation and when discussing certain environments User documentation You can connect to a shared disk by opening an alias for that disk Technical documentation To use a VAXshare file server you log on to the file server and then mount the volumes to which you want access Drop references to the mouse as quickly as possible Switch emphasis to the actions on the screen such as clicking dragging selecting or choosing See also choose click drag press select Not mice Hyphenate before a word beginning with a vowel close up before a word beginning with a consonant multicharacter multicolumn multi user Not multiplication symbol Chapter 4 Terminology 97 N 9 pin connector non prefix numbers Use a numeral do not spell out nine Note hyphenation Avoid in user manuals describe the connector by its size and shape icon or in another way appropriate to the context because it may have fewer than nine actual pins See also connector Close up except before a proper noun a proper adjective an abbreviation or an acronym or when the resulting word would be difficult to read for example non ADB non keyboard device non M acintosh non operational state but nonrecurring In general spell out cardinal numbers from zero through ten unless you are ex
121. t use e g etc or i e Instead use for example and so forth and that is or the equivalent phrase Many product names are acronyms for longer phrases that describe the product Expansion of such acronyms may be unnecessary if the acronym is commonly used such as the acronym BASIC In such cases omit the acronym definition Do not use abbreviations in chapter and section titles Acronyms may be used in chapter and sections titles providing they are defined in the text that follows Do not begin a sentence with an abbreviation You may use an acronym to begin sentences if they have been explained fully in the preceding text 60 a above and below abort access accessory active Application Icon adapter address affect v n versus effect n v allow Aptis For rules on using abbreviations with numbers see numbers Avoid using above below earlier preceding or later as pointers to information in text Where possible use specific cross references for example Seethesection Se ection the Driver If you cannot use specific cross references use previous and following do not use abort when you mean cancel Avoid in user documentation Avoid using access as a verb Use more precise examples Log on to Use accessory only for actual accessories such as carrying cases and mouse pages not for peripheral devices Do not use accessory device Use when you name the icon in the menu bar that repre
122. t you must not increase the number of pages contained in those files It is better to leave an error than to increase the number of pages 10 11 The above warning does not apply to the Index file Because it is at the end of the book adding pages to it will not cause ts accuracy to be compromised When you are satisfied that everything looks in order print the book to a file as postscript Make sure you usethe Apple LaserWriter Pro 600 printer driver Todothis a Fromthe book file pull down the File menu and select Print b Makesurethe following selections are made All for the page range is checked Odd and Even numbered pages is checked Print Only to File is checked and an appropriate file name is indicated No other options need to be selected c Press the Print button Distill the postscript file using Adobe Acrobat Distiller by double clicking the PS file in Windows Explorer Chapter 3 Publishing Procedures 53 12 If your pdf and postscript files are in order a Place the pdf file in the Doc Admin Publishing product Paranoia Directory folder b Place the postscript file in the Doc Admin Publishing product Printed Books folder c Notify your manager that the book is done Note tis very important that you notify the manager that the book is done Only the manager will have the authority to load books to the Common Drive and notify the appropriate persons that the documentation is now availab
123. tch Ofc field 8 When you have finished entering information into the Edit Employee U ser Record screen press Enter A Confirm Prompt will display Press Y The Display Employee screen displays See Figure 3 on page 6 You have now added that user to the employee file Press F3 Exit until you return to the CommVergence Set Up screen To select major minor pairs for the user 1 On the CommVergence Set Up screen select 5 GENERAL SYSTEM CODE TABLES and press Enter The General System Code Tables menu will display See Figure 6 Figure 6 General System Code Tables Aptis Chapter 1 General Doc Practices 9 2 On the General System Code Tables menu select 27 Epit EmPLoYEE UseR and press EnTER The Edit Employee U ser screen will display See Figure 7 Figure 7 Edit Employee User 3 OntheEdit Employee U ser screen type the username of the person you are entering in the Empl User field at the top of the screen and press Enter The screen will redisplay showing the entry for that user Caution If it does not display the proper user or if an error message displays something has gone wrong Get help 4 OntheEdit Employee U ser screen for the user you are adding press F6 BE ENTITY The Edit Empl User Business screen will display See Figure 8 Figure 8 Edit Empl User Business Handbock for Technical Writers 10 Adding a New User in CommVergence 5 Typethe username of the user you are adding into
124. ter to leave an error than to change the number of pages 13 14 The above warning does not apply to the Index file Because it is at the end of the book adding pages to it will not cause its accuracy to be compromised For guidelines of what to look for see Reviewing Generated Chapters on page 54 When you are satisfied that everything looks in order save the book in PDF format Pull down File and choose Save As Make sure In the Save In area the file will be saved within the Online Book Set folder In the File Name area the book file name is correct In the Save As Type PDF is selected Click Save If your pdf file is in order a Placethe pdf file in the Doc Admin Publishing produch Online Doc Set folder b Notify the Documentation Manager that your book is done 15 The Manager will verify the pdf version of the book If the pdf file is in order you re done If the Manager finds items in the pdf file that could be optimized he she will let you know You will then have to make the necessary improvements in the FrameM aker files Handbook for Technical Writers 58 Porting and Publishing the Online Books Finalizing the Online Documentation Set Aptis 1 Create the Contents file for the on line documentation set in FrameMaker This file should contain a text entry for all of the books in the documentation set plus entries for Reader Installation and Help Files in 32 bit versions See
125. text frame and you want to indicate a number of items all of which have the same significance or when you want toindicatethe steps of a super procedure such as Running a Billing The items in the bullet list will then end with cross references tothe explanation of the procedures which comprisethe super procedure This format indicates that the paragraph is part of a bulleted list the left margin at 0 75 inches from the left margin of the text frame For example the following paragraphs are in bullet list indented format Usethis format when e You wish to make several points relating to the same issue e You need to indicate several alternatives or e You want to list components of a particular process This format creates bold italic text in the sidehead area with the word Caution followed by a Tab followed by the text that you have typed Cf Noteon page 35 Note ndented on page 35 Warning on page 37 Use this format to indicate to users conditions which could result in data loss as in the following Caution If you press theF3 Exit key before pressing Enter the data you have entered will be lost Chapter Number Aptis This format present the chapter heading found at the beginning of each chapter of each book in our series it includes the word Chapter and the appropriate number Chapter 2 Usingthe Templates 33 Example Example Figure Title Figure Title Reports Figure Title
126. the position field at the top of the screen and press Enter The screen will redisplay indicating that this user is not yet in the file Caution If the user does in fact show on this screen something has gone wrong Get help 6 On the Edit Empl User Business screen press F9 App A blank Edit Empl User Business screen displays See Figure 9 Figure 9 Blank Edit Empl User Business 7 Onthe blank Edit Empl User Business screen enter one record for each Area Site combination to which you want to authorize the new user In the Empl User field type the username of the person you are adding In the Area field press F4 PRompt The Select BE Major Minor screen displays See Figure 10 Figure 10 Select BE Major Minor Aptis Chapter 1 General Doc Practices 11 Move the cursor to an Area Site combination type 1 SELECT REQUEST and press EnTER The Edit Empl User Business screen redisplays with the values you selected in the Area and Site fields Inthe Typ field type AU I don t know what it means but that s what nearly all of them are In the Def field If you want this to be the default major minor for the user Type Y If not TypeN When you have filled in a record for all Area Site combinations make sure that exactly one of the records has a Y in the Def field Then press Enter The Edit Empl User Business screen will redisplay See Figure 8 on page 9 You have finished authorization for thi
127. ther Is the organization whether alphabetical chronological or other accurate clear and consistent When an entry s subheadings turn a page that is are continued from a right hand page to a left hand page the main heading should be repeated followed by the word continued in parentheses You may need to type these in after your last edit Do not Generate U pdate after typing them in as that will remove them Depending on the size of the page continued headings might be appropriate for continuations from left to right pages or even from left to right columns Are they present Handbock for Technical Writers 20 Indexing from the Editor s Point of View Indexing from the Editor s Point of View Before the writers can begin indexing the materials in their documents the editor must create the markers which are gathered to create the index document This process occurs in two phases initial pass and update runs The initial pass e Removes all old markers to ensure that the newly created index does not reflect any material from previous books e Creates markers from paragraph tags and e Creates the marker list which the writers will edit to create the index The update runs e Apply the edits which the writers have made in the marker list to the document itself e Create and prints the index which would be generated from the current marker list and e Create a new marker list for the writers to us
128. tion lists and tables or when the word must appear so many times in a text passage that its use becomes cumbersome When describing a nonspecific quantity use percentage as in a small percentage of the population When giving phone numbers do not put the area code in parentheses or include the leading 1 for example 800 282 2732 Do not use use modem port In user manuals avoid referring to connectors by the number of pins because the actual number of pins may not match the designation Describe the connector by its size and shape icon or in another way appropriate to the context When referring to connectors in technical manuals use a numeral and a hyphen before pin 9 pin 11 pin 25 pin 50 pin Short for picture element Not synonymous with bit Define on first occurrence acronyms and abbreviations Toformthe plural of an acronym or an abbreviation add an s but no apostrophe ICs RAMs ROMs adjectives Do not add s to an adjective unless necessary For example it s electronic circuit but electronics engineer Other words that fall into this class of adjectives are graphic and graphics communication and communications numeric and numerics letters characters symbols To form the plural of a letter character or symbol add an apostrophe and an s p s 6 s 5 nouns Do not use s toindicate that a noun can be either singular or plural Spell out the singular and plural forms if necessary if possible rewrite t
129. to Other Books in the Collection 26 Aptis Chapter 1 General Doc Practices 3 Publishing Overview Organization Billing Concepts documentation is designed to serve two types of customer need e Procedural documentation which provides users with step by step methods to accomplish tasks using our product and e Reference documentation which provides users with specific information about the meaning of fields displayed on screens throughout the system We organize the main body of our book into functional units designed to fulfil the need for procedural documentation We provide a Field and Screen Guidein an appendix to meet the need for reference documentation That appendix is the topic of a later section in this chapter of Volumes Each book in the Aptis documentation series contains the following parts e Title Page and Cover e Tableof Contents e List of Figures e List of Report Figures if necessary e Chapters which contain the procedures and conceptual material needed for understanding them e Appendices which contain procedures common to all modules in the system and which contain the field and screen reference material mentioned earlier in this chapter and e Index Thetechnical writer assigned to the book is responsible for the production of the entire volume As noted in other sections of this book the documentation team has implemented procedures to ease the development of each of the individual
130. treatment of these similar terms device name filename pathname volume name Two words capitalize D Hyphenated per CMS14 p 222 Adjectival compounds consisting of a noun plus a participle are usually hyphenated before the noun to prevent ambiguity Don t use this word where use would suffice Chapter 4 Terminology 1 15 V version versus video cable video jack video port video monitor virtual memory volume book volume disk volume name vs Lowercase as in AppleShare version 1 1 Use later rather than higher in phrases such as Finder version 6 0 2 or later Not vs Rewrite to avoid using versus when possible Do not use use monitor cable OK to use to identify the monitor cable for people familiar with the term video cable Not video connector Do not use when you mean the port to which the monitor is connected use monitor port Not television monitor or TV monitor After first occurrence it is OK to shorten the term to monitor Not Virtual Memory or VM Books are divided into volumes when page length exceeds manageable limits Different volumes don t have different titles because the division into volumes doesn t represent a difference in subject matter Use Arabic numerals for volume numbers Volume 1 Volume 2 Do not use to refer to disks in user documentation use disk or the specific kind of disk you re referring to Two words n specific references capitali
131. tricts the subject of the sentence to one house Not whirr But whirring The disk drive whirs in a moment you see the opening display on the screen Three words When an icon is opened what appears on the screen is called a window not an open window Inactive windows or objects are in back of or behind active windows Note hyphenation of adjective Italicize a word when it is used as a word Use an apostrophe and an s to form the plural but don t italicize the apostrophe or the s He had too many and s in the sentence Two words except in reference to the Pascal predefined file type workfile One word Hyphenated in all forms You use the write protect tab to write protect a disk When a disk is write protected it can t be changed Sometimes it s necessary to remove the write protection from a disk Chapter 4 Terminology 117 When used as a place holder for replaceable number x is lowercase and plain style 02xx represents a range of Memory Manager errors Do not use x s as place holders in numbers representing microporcessors Incorrect 68xxx microprocessor Correct 68000 family microprocessor All caps Refers to the handshake Handbock for Technical Writers 118 y Y Year end Requires a hyphen Aptis Chapter 4 Terminology 1 19 Z zero character zeros zip code zoom box OK for the ASCII character 30 Do not confuse with null character 00 Not zeroes Note lower
132. ts Reference Guide lt Default Y F ont gt Reports Reference Guide BT System Configura tion Admin Guide lt Jtalic gt System Configura tion Guide lt Bold gt System Configuration Guide BT Table and Field Ref erence Guide lt talic gt Table and Field Ref erence Guide lt Default 4 Font gt Tableand Field Reference Guide BT Trouble Tickets User Guide lt talic gt T rouble Tickets User Guide lt Default 1 F ont gt Trouble Tickets User Guide BT Usage Processing lt talic gt U sage Processing User Guide lt Default Y F ont gt Usage Processing User Guide BT Web Biller Adminis trator Guide lt talic gt WebBill Administra tor Guide lt Default 1 Font gt WebBill Administrator Guide Handbock for Technical Writers 28 Referring to Other Books in the Collection Aptis Chapter 2 Using the Templates Topics Discussed In This Chapter Template Definitions 30 Updating Documents with New Templates 42 30 Template Definitions Template Definitions Topics Discussed In This Section Paragraph Tags 31 Character Tags 38 Cross Reference Formats 40 Link FigureNum 40 Marker Types 41 Aptis Chapter 2 Using the Templates 3 1 Paragraph Tags Aptis documentation makes extensive use of paragraph tags for two reasons 1 Toensurea consistent look to the various sections of a single book and to all books in the documentation set 2
133. uns She uses the computer differently than he does Chapter 4 Terminology T1 dimmed direction keys directory name disabled disc disk disk drive n adj diskette Use grayed out not dimmed or hollow to describe a shaded icon menu command button or option in a dialog box Do not use use arrow keys Refers to the name that appears above a list directory of files in a dialog box Do not use menu title for this purpose In user manuals do not use when you mean dimmed Use only when referring to a compact disc videodisc optical disc or other laser technology discs otherwise use disk In ongoing references to compact discs disc is preferable to CD or CD ROM See also CD ROM Not diskette flexible disk floppy floppy microdiskette micro diskette or microfloppydiskette Not disc except when referring to a compact disc videodisc optical disc or other laser technology discs If the medium is magnetic it s disk Use floppy disk to distinguish from hard disks or compact discs never use just floppy for this purpose In user documentation use disk instead of volume to refer in general to floppy disks hard disks shared disks and CD ROM discs Use an article when appropriate the disk a disk save on a disk not save to disk Never use as a short form for disk drive Describe a disk according to the following criteria and in this order 6 storage capacity in number of bytes 7 phy
134. ure for Importing Templates on page 43 Importing templates during the porting porting to online process for existing online books If you have an existing book that has already been published in hard copy and online format and are in the process of republishing it in online format then the procedure for updating templates is slightly different Chapter 2 Using the Templates 43 See Overview of Online Porting on page 55 for specific information regarding the difference between porting to online for existing versus new books For this scenario you can follow the general procedure for updating templates See mporting Templates after Porting Existing Online Books on page 44 General Procedure for Importing Templates When importing templates you can specify which aspects of the template you wish to import When importing templates during the publishing process in particular when moving hard copy information to the online format you should follow the procedure outlined in Porting and Publishing the Online Books on page 55 Toimport a template into an existing document 1 10 11 From within FrameMaker pull down the Fite menu and select New If your maker ini file is configured correctly you should receive the templates directory on the documentation drive Select the appropriate template directory online hard copy cd rom and so on Select the appropriate template ChapApp fm Index fm List of Figures f
135. useful but not necessarily critical tothe operation of the equipment or procedure described e Additional or advanced user information such as customizing a user interface dialog box or menu option e When a book has only one appendix refer to it as Appendix not Appendix A Not Appendixes In user manuals when referring to a single application program use application program on first mention thereafter use program or application program Avoid using application by itself in user manuals Use application or end user application when referring an application created usinga Aptis product Not applications software Use only when referring to application softwarein general Use application program or program when referring to a single program Always capitalized when referring to numerals See also Roman roman In user manuals use pointer in general references use arrow or arrow pointer when describing the specific type of pointer shown in Figure 1 The pointer becomes an arrow or beam or cross bar and so on Use lowercase when referring to the arrow keys do not use the term direction keys Use the font style K ey Button when referring to a particular arrow key such as RIGHT ARROW Key Use the arrow keys to move the cursor from cell to cell Press the left arrow key Chapter 4 Terminology 63 as as to whether assure Do not use as as a synonym for the terms because and while Do not confuse th
136. ware The particular markers are Used to generate the index These markers are created by the Markers from Paragraph Tags command in Xgen For most books they will be created for the header tags and the sidehead tag The inclusion of the sidehead tag is used to create index entries for the Field Definitions for description of fields on particular screens Note the final s These markers are created by the Markers from Paragraph Tags command in Xgen They will be created for the Figure Title tag and are used to create the List of Figures These markers are created by the Markers from Paragraph Tags command in Xgen They will be created for the Report Figure Title tag and are used to create the List of Report Figures Handbook for Technical Writers 42 Updating Documents with New Templates Updating Documents with New Templates The primary purpose for using templates is to ensure that all Billing Concepts documentation maintains the same look feel and function Adhering to the templates enables the documentation team and employees of Billing Concepts to open any file and be familiar with the layout of the manual Overview of Importing Templates Aptis There are a number of different scenarios that require importing templates The procedures for each scenario differ slightly Which scenario you face will determine which procedure to follow The general scenarios are Importing templates for newly
137. wel as in reenter Exceptions when a closed formation creates a word with a different meaning as in recreate or re create as in re create the file Note hypenation Spell out on first occurrence Note slash as in read write memory Note hyphenation of adjective Do not use as a verb use refer to Capitalize names of specific registers but do not capitalize the word register Do not capitalize generic register names such as bank register and control register Do not use when referring to a system software version number Not size or grow OK to write change the size of The key When you press Return you generate a return character Thekey When referring to more than one of the arrow keys arrow is lowercase as in the arrow keys Avoid except in reference to right hand recto pages use just right whenever possible Not right hand side Two words Acronym for read only memory Spell out on first occurrence Capitalize when referring to numerals lowercase when referring to type style See also Arabic Note hyphenation of adjective 107 Chapter 4 Terminology S save on a disk screen screen titles scroll scroll bar scroll box SCSI select self test n adj setup n adj set up v shared disk Shift Shift click n v adj Not saveto disk Not display In green screen applications Refer to the screen title in the middle of the top line followed by the wor
138. window to locate the template for the new file you are creating Navigate the file system to get to the folder Documentation Admin T emplates Online Manuals 8 5x11 In that folder click on the ChapA pp ntro fm file Click New An empty two page file will display 3 With that file open pull down File highlight mport and choose File from the sidemenu The Import menu will display Navigate the file system to get to the folder Documentation Online Book Set lt the folder for your book gt In that folder click on the file which contains Chapter One of the book Make sure that the Copy into Document option is chosen then click Import The text for that chapter will flow into the new file using the template you selected in step 2 4 Save this new file over the previous version of Chapter One Pull down File and choose Save As The Save Document window will display Navigate the file system to get to the folder Documentation Online Book Set lt the folder for your book gt Handbook for Technical Writers 56 Porting and Publishing the Online Books Aptis In that folder click on the file which contains Chapter One of the book Click Save Y ou will be asked to confirm that you wish to overwrite the existing file with that name Click OK The file will be overwritten using the templates established in step 2 Minimize the window containing Chapter 1 Open the Book file for the book With that window active
139. x Publishing the Reports Reference Guide The Reports Reference Guide includes the reports chapters from several other books After you have published for hard copy all books that have reports chapters make a copy of the reports chapters of those books in the Reports Reference Guide subdirectory for publishing This provides the opportunity to include index entries from the Reports Reference Guide in the Master Index Aptis Chapter 3 Publishing Procedures 51 Publishing the Master Index The Master Index can only be generated once all books of its type for instance all hard copy books have been published This is true for hard copy as well as for online In order to produce and publish the hard copy version of the Master Index you must first finalize and publish the hard copy versions of all of the books being published The Master ndex references all files from every book that will include index entries Typically this is limited to Chapters and Appendixes See Setting Up the Master Index on page 25 for specific information pertaining to the setup of this book Publishing All Other Books 1 Open the FrameM aker book file for the book you will be publishing 2 Set your printer driver to Apple LaserWriter Pro 600 Pull down File select Print Setup The Print Setup window displays If the Name field does not contain AppleWriter Pro 600 click to the right of the field and select AppleWriter Pro 600 from the drop down
140. xt frame next to that sidehead define all the fields on the screen in the order in which they appear on the screen top left totop right then down to bottom right This should be close to the Tab order of the fields The name of the field should be in Term Indented format which automatically formats the next paragraph as Term Definition If the field being defined is a code field where a single character or two character code is used to stand for something define the codes in line If there are more than four codes use a table to define them An example of these styles is shown in Figure 11 Figure 11 Data Entry Example Screen Amount Received Enter the amount of the payment in this field MOP A code indicating the form in which the customer presented the payment Press F4 Prompt for a list of acceptable codes Table 1 Valid Values for MOP Code Meaning 1 Cash 2 Check 4 Credit Card 5 Money Order Handbook for Technical Writers 24 Entry Screens Aptis Check In the case where a customer offers part of the payment in cash and part in a check enter the check portion of the payment here Check Number Enter the number of the check here This may be a required field for information on setting up this field see the Configuration Guide page whatever Deposit Amount If the payment is made to satisfy a required deposit enter the amount of the payment which is to be applied
141. y 95 memory expansion card memory pages menu command menu titles menu types metasymbols mice micro disk micro diskette microfloppydisk ette mini prefix miniwindow minus sign MIPS mode model Lowercase in generic references Used in A UX documentation Use lowercase and spell out page numbers if you give them to distinguish from display pages zero page page one Use command or menu command in user manuals do not use menu option A menu command is in a menu not on a menu a menu contains commands See also command names Note capitalization Edit menu File menu and so on Note hyphenation pop up menu pull down menu tear off menu Refers to artificial terms that have meaning only in your manual and are to be replaced by a value or symbol In running text use italic regular text font when referring to a metasymbol and spell out the metasymbol just as it would appear in a syntax description Use plain style when using the name of a metasymbol in ordinary prose Correct Replace volume name with a name of up to 12 characters Correct The volume name may have up to 12 characters Incorrect The volume name may have up to 12 characters Do not use use mouse devices Do not use use disk Hyphenate before a word beginning with a vowel close up before a word beginning with a consonant mini assembler miniwindow minicircular connector Refers to a box appearing in some applicatio
142. yp ewd ean B44 54 Porting and Publishing the Online Books 0 00 teas 55 Overview of Online Porting 0 cette tees 55 Publishing the Online BOokS 0 55 Finalizing the Online Documentation Set 0 0 00 cece 58 Chapter 4 Terminology 00 0 aneao rererere 59 O tee Bo ogee be Eon 59 Bora aoe A MEENA oe eG ENA a REGN A REGS eva dthova we Edd ne ipa Eiane 64 Curai Pew Meh donde Rey edad hanya dag Meade Bees eb aM Boo ee ak MAR Lo eed Oe Aa nel ed 67 A E A E Wh ee Geeta ee a eee Be Rian ee 75 Bade be Eo Dd O a tle eed Sky arse CGR e eB Ge 80 Po a a ke A eR e 82 Gin Ah ees Mowe tak Oy pe ahd One daha y qu DAE ns tly aye nth aly a S e gf sande aa eE 85 Ha ERE AN ERRE DNA aud eee wee h sea eae es ME ee 86 lade tee Obed bee ee eae Cea ea a Abed See eee a bee Sede ie ee eee 87 J islet eer eae tees eo A Ar wae A ie ee a ie E 89 Ka e Ee RES Seda ed ck eee Vee eT ee ee ekg oo ee ed 90 A eRe tre eg eae gt re laa a ye ede doo awe beg Ranke ea dal Pemba Reade de he a Et alan Relies ge 91 Moe ods ened Wee oe SES PEE be ee ee OE en Ve ES eee SES we oe oe we eS 94 Nann ee oes A ee ee eee Pe ie tia ate ones 97 Ot Catania Wad ca whe Wale NE 99 Pi aa ga ket es E Keel Sw tok E AGW edd ay dos kama edie Rw M Keene wy dood AGS 2 aloo Ades ias 100 Contents V Oe tastes ate Gee a eae AA HE ee EE eas EE a 105 Prada Sot nen wine ROCs Wig Eo toe Wie iM Bintan Beh noah hth yee oo x oly E cd 106 OS a frees E a E ee
143. ystem User Guide lt Default 1 F ont gt International Carrier Settle ment System User Guide Chapter 1 General Doc Practices 27 Variable Definition Result BT Inventory Manage ment Guide lt talicAnventory Manage ment User Guide lt Default 1 Font gt Inventory Management User Guide BT Inventory Point of Sale lt talic gt nventory Point of Sale User Guide lt Default 4 Font gt Inventory Point of SaleUser Guide BT Inventory Pur chase Order lt talicAnventory Purchase Order User Guide lt Default 1 Font gt Inventory Purchase Order User Guide BT Inventory Transac tions lt talicAnventory Transac tions User Guide lt Default 4 Font gt Inventory Transactions User Guide BT Inventory War ranty lt JtalicAnventory Warranty User Guide lt Default 1 F ont gt Inventory Warranty Use Guide BT Letter Generation lt talic gt Letter Generation User Guide lt Default 11 F ont gt Letter Generation User Guide BT Line Equipment lt Jtalic gt Line Equipment User Guide lt Default 1 F ont gt Line Equipment User Guide BT Master Index and List of Figures lt talic gt M aster Index and List of Figures lt Default Y Font gt Master Index and List of Fig ures BT Payments User Guide lt talic gt P ayments User Guide lt Default 1 Font gt Payments User Guide BT Reports Reference Guide lt talic gt Repor
144. zation should agree with the directory listing the volume named PERSONNEL Note the treatment of these similar terms device name filename pathname user name Do not use use versus when absolutely necessary but rewrite to avoid the term when possible Handbook for Technical Writers 116 w W WWW World Wide Web Web we which whir wide area network WAN window word processing n word processing adj words as words work file workstation n adj write protect v adj write protected adj pred adj write protection n Aptis Refer to the World Wide Web as WWW or the Web as in your NetAnswer Web site Do not use first person rewrite in terms of the reader or the product Correct For best results your Macintosh should have at least 512K of RAM Acceptable It is recommended that your Macintosh have at least 512K of RAM Incorrect We recommend that your Macintosh have at least 512K of RAM Use only to introduce an unrestrictive clause clauses beginning with which are always set off with commas Compare that Correct The largest house in town which J ack s sister built is also the newest There is only one largest house the phrase which J ack s sister built although it provides more information does not restrict narrow the meaning of the sentence Correct This is the house that J ack built There are many houses the phrase that J ack built res

here - OoCities

Contents

Download Pdf Manuals

Related Search

Related Contents