From ann at annlwiley.com Mon Oct 1 14:58:43 2007 From: ann at annlwiley.com (Ann L. Wiley) Date: Mon, 1 Oct 2007 14:58:43 -0600 Subject: REMINDER: Call for Progression Session Speakers in Philadelphia June 2008 Message-ID: The proposal deadline is coming right up! Please email Dawnell this week if you would like to speak as part of the P&P/QPI/Multi-SIG progression! Be sure to include the following information: Your name and contact information. Working title for your topic. A four or five sentence abstract of your topic. Any further details about your topic such as an outline or graphics. A short professional bio about you, especially about any speaking or presenting experiences you may have had. Thank you to those who have volunteered to speak already! Dawnell K. Claessen mail at dawnell.com 321.373.4582 Joint SIG Progression Session Conference Proposal Call for Presenters in Philadelphia 2008 Dawnell K. Claessen, Co Manager, P&P SIG Next year's STC conference will be held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania June 1-8, 2008. The Policies and Procedures Special Interest Group (P&P SIG) will propose a "Progression Session" to the 55th Annual Conference Program Committee. P&P SIG is looking for presenters (and their topics) for this session. If you plan to attend the conference, and have an idea for a topic, we'd like you to develop your topic and present as part of our progression session. Subject matter for Topics Naturally, we will be looking for topics of relevance to members of our SIGs. But we will also be interested in related and relevant topics such as compliance, content management, career development management for those in our fields, documentation management, and the tools and technologies that we all use in our profession. Progression sessions in 2008 will likely be two hours long. So we will need more topics than we have had in our previous progression sessions. To meet this need, we will be seeking speakers from other SIGS that have members in common with the P&P SIG. This year, we hope to include speakers from other SIGs and from STC membership in general. We'd love our proposal to include members of the Quality and Process Improvement (QPI) SIG and the Environmental, Safety and Health (ESU) SIG. If you have an idea, don't hesitate to propose it. We can always put our heads together and tailor the topic a bit for our expected audience. How to join our proposal It is easy to present as part of our group. Just send an email to Dawnell Claessen mail at dawnell.com. Let me know as soon as you can that you are interested in presenting. Be sure to include the following information: Your name and contact information. Working title for your topic. A four or five sentence abstract of your topic. Any further details about your topic such as an outline or graphics. A short professional bio about you, especially about any speaking or presenting experiences you may have had. I will need your information no later than Friday, October 5, 2007. The STC deadline for submitting proposals is October 9, 2007 and I will need a few days to prepare the proposal and enter the information online. What is a "Progression Session" anyway? The "Progression Session" format is an educational session at conference that has many different speakers presenting on various topics simultaneously. Speakers will each host a table with a presentation on a topic from their own area of practice. Attendees hear a twenty minute presentation about one topic, and then move to another table to hear the next twenty minute presentation and so on. Sessions in this format are very popular and are among the best attended at the conference. Progression sessions are a great way to share a lot of information in a relatively short time. Veteran presenters and new speakers alike can hone their speaking and presenting skills as they present new topics and research. Any questions, do not hesitate to contact me. Dawnell K. Claessen mail at dawnell.com Co Manager, P&P SIG (321) 373-4582 From stcreg1dir at yahoo.com Mon Oct 1 23:35:13 2007 From: stcreg1dir at yahoo.com (stcreg1dir at yahoo.com) Date: Mon, 1 Oct 2007 22:35:13 -0700 (PDT) Subject: Yahoo! Auto Response Message-ID: <578658.41912.qm@web34312.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Hello. This email address is no longer in service. If you need to reach this person, please login in to the http://www.stc.org website and access the member directory to view the correct email address. Thank you. From simeon at packsysglobal.com Tue Oct 9 22:38:20 2007 From: simeon at packsysglobal.com (Simeon Lawrence) Date: Tue, 9 Oct 2007 22:38:20 -0600 Subject: Introduction to the list Message-ID: Hi, I am Simeon from PackSys Global (India), we prepare technical documentation for packaging machines. Presently catering only to our group companies in Europe and Asia Technical writing as of now is more prevalent in the software field, and there are very few people in specific domain like the one mentioned above. This has been my opinion till now! May be I am wrong. I am very much interested to join this group, and hope to get valuable information and share useful information with others..... Hope to learn and enjoy by joining this group.......... Kind regards Simeon From dgreen at associatedbrands.com Wed Oct 10 07:00:49 2007 From: dgreen at associatedbrands.com (Dori Green) Date: Wed, 10 Oct 2007 09:00:49 -0400 Subject: Introduction to the list In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Hello, Simeon! It is a small world -- I write technical documentation for people who use packaging machines at a dry foods packaging plant. I wish our machines already had documentation, but most of them do not (or it's stored in a desk drawer somewhere and I haven't found it yet). We have 22 different packaging lines preparing more than 800 different products here, under at least 60 different brand names. Welcome to the list! Dori Green Technical Writer Associated Brands, Inc., Medina NY Facility From lhanna at hidcorp.com Wed Oct 10 10:24:40 2007 From: lhanna at hidcorp.com (lhanna at hidcorp.com) Date: Wed, 10 Oct 2007 10:24:40 -0600 Subject: Laurie Hanna Introduction Message-ID: Hello, My name is Laurie Hanna and I have been in publications of one sort or another for about 20 years. My career has spanned several industries, including Aviation, Computers, Public Safety Software, Election Software and Hardware, Telecommunications, and Access Control. I have held positions as a Technical Illustrator, Technical Writer, Instructional Developer, created Online Help, and coordinated localization. Plus, I am a "lone" writer, and am looking for avenues to gain peer knowledge. Cheers, Laurie This e-mail is confidential and may be privileged and/or proprietary. If you are not the intended recipient, any review, disclosure, copying, or use of this e-mail is prohibited. From ann at annlwiley.com Sat Oct 20 19:18:15 2007 From: ann at annlwiley.com (Ann L. Wiley Consultants Inc.) Date: Sat, 20 Oct 2007 21:18:15 -0400 Subject: DcoQment updated Message-ID: <20071021011815.OEXZ26917.mta9.adelphia.net@ACERTMate> I've just updated DocQment, our QPI SIG website/newsletter, with items of interest to technical communicators in the quality professions. DocQment is at http://stc-on.org/quality You can subscribe by RSS so you don't have to check the site to see if there are updates, or wait for email notification. Are there any topics you'd like to see addressed? I would look for information on those topics and post, and I invite you to do the same. Please register on the site, and send me an email if you'd like me to make you a Contributor so you can post. Activating our SIG is as easy as collaborating on DocQment, so please join in the collaboration. If you're planning to attend the 2008 STC Annual Conference, I hope you've responded to Dawnell Claessen with a proposal for our joint progression with the Policies and Procedures SIG. If you have an idea for a SIG project, or would like to have SIG conference calls, please send me an email and I'll work with you and our SIG manager, Sharon Lynn, to make it happen. Ann Ann L. Wiley Ph.D. Ann L. Wiley Consultants Inc. 157 East Genesee Street Auburn, NY 13021-4130 315.252.2086 ann at annlwiley.com Fellow, Founder, Immediate Past Manager QPI SIG From pplatt at epicor.com Tue Oct 23 09:57:12 2007 From: pplatt at epicor.com (Peggy Platt) Date: Tue, 23 Oct 2007 11:57:12 -0400 Subject: A question for FrameMaker Users regarding Books Message-ID: We are currently re-writing our standards and procedures for developing and publishing documentation for our merchandising/retail-oriented software products. Base documentation is produced using FrameMaker 7.1. I have previously worked in an environment that set up books with individual .fm docs for each chapter in addition to the a title page .fm doc, TOC, LOF, Index, etc. My co-worker prefers to set up just the title page doc, TOC, and 1 massive .fm that includes all of the chapters. I have not been able to convince him that it would be better to break this up into individual chapters. I would appreciate your comments on either practice. What do you consider the advantages and disadvantages of either method? Perhaps I'll be willing to change my preference or at least come up with a better argument for why he should modify his. We need to establish a standard on document design/layout so that we are in sync. Let me know if you need more information. Thanks for your input. Best regards, Peggy Platt STC Senior Member -------------------------------------------------------- This e-mail is for the use of the intended recipient(s) only. If you have received this e-mail in error, please notify the sender immediately and then delete it. If you are not the intended recipient, you must not use, disclose or distribute this e-mail without the author's prior permission. We have taken precautions to minimize the risk of transmitting software viruses, but we advise you to carry out your own virus checks on any attachment to this message. We cannot accept liability for any loss or damage caused by software viruses. From mberry at salesforce.com Tue Oct 23 10:16:56 2007 From: mberry at salesforce.com (Mysti Berry) Date: Tue, 23 Oct 2007 09:16:56 -0700 Subject: A question for FrameMaker Users regarding Books References: Message-ID: <341E19E15D9D5242ABDC28902F61026B053F509E@exsfo-mb07.internal.salesforce.com> Here are some ideas: 1. If you ever have to make different books with some of the same chapters, it's a lot easier to build a book that references the whole chapter as opposed to pulling in hunks of stuff. Really easy. 2. How do you get "first page of chapter looks different" the way he does it? 3. Easier for multiple writers to work on the same book if each can "own" a chapter or three. 4. In the old days, memory limits would cause errors in large files. This may no longer be an issue? 5. Restructuring a document is a lot easier if you are re-arranging chapters in a book file as opposed to cutting and pasting hunks of text in a single file. 6. Chapter divisions help enforce writing in chunks from the top down. Very important if you are ever going to convert the FM to HTML and distribute online. Although chunks CAN be broken down at non-chapter levels when converting, it's always seemed easier with chapter sized chunks. 7. Chapter divisions help structure the doc around large user tasks. All of these can be done with a single content file except #3, but it's so much harder. If there's more than one writer, you really need chapters to both be able to work on the same book. You'll end up hating life if not. Good luck! Mysti -----Original Message----- From: bounce-stcqsig-l-278594 at lists.stc.org [mailto:bounce-stcqsig-l-278594 at lists.stc.org] On Behalf Of Peggy Platt Sent: Tuesday, October 23, 2007 8:57 AM To: STC Quality and Process Improvement SIG Discussion List Subject: [stcqsig-l] A question for FrameMaker Users regarding Books We are currently re-writing our standards and procedures for developing and publishing documentation for our merchandising/retail-oriented software products. Base documentation is produced using FrameMaker 7.1. I have previously worked in an environment that set up books with individual .fm docs for each chapter in addition to the a title page .fm doc, TOC, LOF, Index, etc. My co-worker prefers to set up just the title page doc, TOC, and 1 massive .fm that includes all of the chapters. I have not been able to convince him that it would be better to break this up into individual chapters. I would appreciate your comments on either practice. What do you consider the advantages and disadvantages of either method? Perhaps I'll be willing to change my preference or at least come up with a better argument for why he should modify his. We need to establish a standard on document design/layout so that we are in sync. Let me know if you need more information. Thanks for your input. Best regards, Peggy Platt STC Senior Member From davidovic.milan at gmail.com Tue Oct 23 10:22:08 2007 From: davidovic.milan at gmail.com (Milan Davidovic) Date: Tue, 23 Oct 2007 12:22:08 -0400 Subject: A question for FrameMaker Users regarding Books In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <23d299f50710230922n43a1eff4q414913c217a0802@mail.gmail.com> On 10/23/07, Mysti Berry wrote: > 2. How do you get "first page of chapter looks different" the way he > does it? With a "first page of chapter" master page, I would imagine. But otherwise, these look like good reasons. -- Milan Davidovic http://altmilan.blogspot.com http://stctorcomp.blogspot.com From mberry at salesforce.com Tue Oct 23 10:27:29 2007 From: mberry at salesforce.com (Mysti Berry) Date: Tue, 23 Oct 2007 09:27:29 -0700 Subject: A question for FrameMaker Users regarding Books In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <341E19E15D9D5242ABDC28902F61026B053F50BC@exsfo-mb07.internal.salesforce.com> Right, but with everything in the same .fm, doesn't he only get one of those? Sorry if I'm being dense... Mysti -----Original Message----- Subject: [stcqsig-l] RE: A question for FrameMaker Users regarding Books On 10/23/07, Mysti Berry wrote: > 2. How do you get "first page of chapter looks different" the way he > does it? With a "first page of chapter" master page, I would imagine. But otherwise, these look like good reasons. -- Milan Davidovic http://altmilan.blogspot.com http://stctorcomp.blogspot.com From davidovic.milan at gmail.com Tue Oct 23 10:37:21 2007 From: davidovic.milan at gmail.com (Milan Davidovic) Date: Tue, 23 Oct 2007 12:37:21 -0400 Subject: A question for FrameMaker Users regarding Books In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <23d299f50710230937r432b0bd0l7f32e624ebd0c770@mail.gmail.com> On 10/23/07, Mysti Berry wrote: > Right, but with everything in the same .fm, doesn't he only get one of > those? Sorry if I'm being dense... No problem -- legit question. You set up the master page, then use Format > Page Layout > Master Page Usage to apply it to the pages that need it. The Framers list is a good place for getting top-notch advice on this sort of thing: http://lists.frameusers.com/mailman/listinfo/framers -- Milan Davidovic http://altmilan.blogspot.com http://stctorcomp.blogspot.com From DJones at zebra.com Wed Oct 24 07:02:29 2007 From: DJones at zebra.com (Jones, Donna) Date: Wed, 24 Oct 2007 08:02:29 -0500 Subject: A question for FrameMaker Users regarding Books In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <56BB7301E340C54291D9728333B94F090DBE7BC5@03s03exch02.zebra.lan> Hi Peggy, Setting up a book in one massive file limits what you can do with the content. It's common nowadays to break things down by topic so you're more prepared for possible future XML and single-sourcing ventures. Short-sighted people will say "we don't do that" and not bother thinking into the future and what might be better then. We have our files broken down by level 1 headings and link those together into books. Each file can be shared in a multitude of books without having to use conditional text. As soon as we find the time to quit actually updating content and to have time to manipulate the files, we plan to take things into Structured Frame. I'll add one more things to Mysti's list. Sometimes a Frame file or a portion of it becomes corrupted. If everything is in one file, it's very difficult to troubleshoot when that happens, and you could wind up dead in the water. Donna --------------- Senior Technical Writer Zebra Technologies, Inc. Vernon Hills, IL - CONFIDENTIAL- This email and any files transmitted with it are confidential, and may also be legally privileged. If you are not the intended recipient, you may not review, use, copy, or distribute this message. If you receive this email in error, please notify the sender immediately by reply email and then delete this email.