Lone Star Community STC News for September 4, 2007--Newsletter, Meeting & Workshops

[R. Dale Erickson]

Lone Star Community STC News for September 4, 2007--Newsletter, Meeting &
Workshops
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This announcement contains two messages:
Technically Write Online
September 6 Meeting: Structure Authoring Without Frame or DITA
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Technically Write Online

The September issue of Technically Write is now ready for your reading
pleasure.

http://www.stc-dfw.org/newsletter/current/index.html

You'll find:

* Feature article from Doug Dow, complete with photos, about his
conference experience in Minneapolis

* September meeting and workshops with Neil Perlin

* Next round of articles from the UNT students who participated in the
newsletter redesign competition last year (three more groups to come)

* Columnists Louellen Coker tells you about PhotoShop CS3 and Alan Oak
talks about Freelancing on the Web.

* LSC News

* and much more

As always, I' d like to hear your comments about Technically Write, so
e-mail newsletter at stc-dfw.org.

NEXT DEADLINE: September 18

Until next issue...

Jackie Damrau
Editor, Technically Write 

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Meeting and Workshops Scheduled for FIRST WEEK in September (THIS WEEK!)

Neil Perlin--Captivate, Madcap, and Flare expert and speaker
extraordinaire--will speak to STC Lone Star Community THREE TIMES this
week!

Sept. 6: STC Dinner Meeting: Structure Authoring Without Frame or DITA
Neil will explain why structured authoring is important, and then he'll
look at three definitions of structured authoring that don't involve Frame
or DITA. He'll discuss the cultural, political, and strategic issues that
will drive your selection of one of those definitions, and end by
discussing, at a high level, a process for moving to structured authoring.

Registration
Register online by noon Today, September 4, and get a discounted dinner
price! With timely online reservations, the dinner and program cost is $20
for STC members and students with student IDs, and $25 for guests. Without
timely reservations, the dinner and program cost is $25 for STC members
and students with student IDs, and $30 for guests.

The cost for program only attendance with timely online reservations is $5
for STC members and $10 for guests. Without timely reservations, the
program-only attendance is $10 for STC members and $15 for guests.
Program-only attendance is free for students with valid student IDs.

SIN SIG
If you are shy, inactive, or a newcomer, don’t miss another intriguing SIN
SIG session, hosted by Jeanne Foster. SIN SIG meets at 5:45 PM in the same
room as the dinner meeting.

Location:
Crowne Plaza North Dallas/Addison Hotel
14315 Midway Road
Addison, Texas

Agenda:
5:45 PM--Registration and Networking, Newcomer (aka SIN) SIG
6:15 PM--Announcements and Dinner
7:00 PM--Program
8:00 PM--Wrap-up
8:15 PM--Additional networking

For more information, go to http://stc-dfw.org/pages/meet_monthly.htm.

Register online at http://www.stc-dfw.org/pages/meet_reserv.htm by noon,
Tuesday, September 4.

For menu information, go to
http://www.stc-dfw.org/pages/meet_monthly.htm#menu.

We hope you can join us. If you have any questions, please contact
programs at stc-dfw.org.

Sept. 7 AM Workshop (8:30-Noon) Adobe Captivate 2-Tricks with Advanced
Features

An intense, hands-on workshop for those who have either taken a course in
Captivate basics or are self-taught and experienced. Neil will look at the
advanced and hidden features and give you hands-on practice with them.
This workshop is structured into three areas:

* Taking Captivate beyond software movies by creating role-playing
simulations.

* Customizing the output by using the skin editor and modifying the
auto-caption text feature.

* Working with audio and closed captioning. 

You will need to bring your computer. Please refer to the web site for
required hardware and software configurations.

For more information: http://www.stc-dfw.org/pages/events_main.htm 

To register: http://www.stc-dfw.org/pages/perlin_reserv.htm

Sept. 7 PM (1:00-4:30 PM) Workshop: Comparison of RoboHelp and Flare

So, were you one of those who thought that RoboHelp was left for dead by
Macromedia? Seduced by the new kid on the block, MadCap Flare? Should I
stay with Macromedia? Make the change? Should I switch to another
alternative altogether? This presentation will answer all of those
questions!

Neil starts by discussing the changes affecting tech comm – XML, CMS,
DITA, structured authoring, single sourcing, and others – in order to
provide a context for the tool-specific discussion. He then looks at Flare
3 and RoboHelp 6 to compare their design philosophies.

This workshop is lecture- and demo-based. Familiarity with online help and
documentation authoring is helpful but not necessary.

Neil is a certified trainer for both RoboHelp and Flare. However, this
workshop is not a sales pitch for either tool and he may wind up
recommending other authoring tools in some cases.

Workshop Location:
Crowne Plaza North Dallas/Addison Hotel
14315 Midway Road
Addison, Texas

Workshop Costs: 
For STC members (reserve before noon, Sept. 4): 
     One Workshop: $50 
     Both Workshops: $85 

For Non-STC members (reserve before noon Sept. 4): 
     One Workshop: $65 
     Both Workshops: $100 

Optional Pre-Paid Buffet Lunch (includes drink and dessert): $18.95 
Walk-ins (day of workshop): $75 per workshop 

For more information: http://www.stc-dfw.org/pages/events_main.htm 
To register: http://www.stc-dfw.org/pages/perlin_reserv.htm

Neil Perlin is a 28-year veteran in technical communications with 22 years
in training, consulting, and development for various online formats and
tools. He's certified by both MadCap and Adobe, and he's a columnist and
frequent speaker for the STC, IEEE, and other professional groups. Neil is
an STC Associate Fellow and the principal of Hyper/Word Services.

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©2007 Lone Star Community of the Society for Technical Communication
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