KR2 Design

2011-03-18T10:53:00.001-07:00

New website deal, starter websites @ $100 per page! Check it out! www.kr2design.com

2011-02-08T13:48:00.001-08:00

What has been is what will be,
and has been done is what will be done;
and there is nothing new under the sun.
Ecclesiastes, 1:9 visit Kopy Rite: http://ping.fm/l7VZs

2010-07-14T16:00:00.001-07:00

Technical writing tools of the trade http://ping.fm/4OJVA

Technical Writing Techniques and Tools

2010-07-14T15:33:00.000-07:00

Adobe FrameMaker and Microsoft Word are the most commonly used tools for tech writers. Here’s a run-down of what else is most used to write technical documents. Other tools that may be used for technical writing are Corel Draw, Flash, Dreamweaver, Epic Editor, and Frontpage.

Top Technical Writing Techniques and Tools:

Adobe FrameMaker
Perfect for so-called ‘long documents’. Adobe Framemaker is the tool you use to create manuals or ebooks. It is mostly used for large documents. Adobe FrameMaker is ideal for complex ‘books’ with graphs, tables, and diagrams. Unlike Word, it retains the settings and the master templates are a joy. The downside of FrameMaker is it’s harder to customize. Importing/exporting documents, even to PDF, can be problematic.

Microsoft Word
90% of technical writing is in Microsoft Word. Like it or not, this is the most popular technical writing tool on the planet. Adobe FrameMaker might get the kudos but MS Word is what most all engineers, testers, and other contributors use to write their document.

Camtasia
Good for creating movies, tutorials and screen recordings. Techsmith products are a delight and this is no exception. You can make movies, for example, of an application, add sound, annotations and then export it to HTML or Flash. Arguably a great tool.

Snagit
There are other cheaper and free screenshots tools out there Snagit this is best for taking screen grabs/screenshots. The price is not that much considering how much you get back in return. Also, again, Techsmith is very helpful.It can take screenshots with one click (you can add it to the web browser) and then crop, edit and modify the image in the editor. Other features let you batch edit images, for example, add your website address or add a nice border to all images.

Adobe Photoshop
As always, doing the graphics is a nice counter-balance to writing activities. The documents that look nice graphically are more appreciated than plainer ‘image-free’ documents.

Visio
The only tool for process mapping and diagramming process flow is Visio. Smartdraw is better priced but its nice to be able to get large diagrams into Microsoft Word (edit, paste special) quickly without destroying the document in the process. Learning how to create process maps (correctly) is good learning experience. Not the most intuitive of apps but wonderful when you get into it. Visio is software which helps in the creation of diagrams and flowcharts.

Epic Editor
DITA and structured authoring tool, it can be very unforgiving (unlike Word for example) but once you get the hang of it, you’ll really see its strengths. Expensive but worth the investment if you need a heavy-weight tech authoring tool. Ideal for creating content ‘chunks’, DITA maps and task type information.

Notepad++
Wordpad is fine and so was UltraEdit until it became a commercial tool somewhere along the way (nagware ads) so we moved to NotePad++. It re-opens your last tabs (i.e. files) so you can hit the ground running. The Line Counter is also a nice touch.

RoboHelp

RoboHelp is a help authoring tool which helps in creating Help files that you can find integrated with other software, for example, MS Word, Photoshop, Flash etc. You can create both HTML as well as a Flash Help with this software. You can also write tutorials with it and set the tutorial according to the proficiency level of the user. For creating help files and online documentation, it’s Doc-to-Help, which seems to have lost market share as RoboHelp has gone from strength to strength. Once Adobe bought it, it ploughed tons of resources into it, aligned it (somewhat) with Adobe FrameMaker and it’s now the defacto tool for HAT.

XML Spy
This tool has a nice UI that shows the tree structure of the tags and how they inter-relate. For someone with little XML experience, this is good to help get your teeth into the code, create the docs, and get out without mangling the application.

2010-07-06T10:33:00.001-07:00

Don't forget: Content is vital on the Web, and there are lots of ways to go about it... http://ping.fm/SycmC

2010-07-06T10:32:00.001-07:00

Content writing is now on sale, website package for 99, check it out http://ping.fm/frmt4

Design your way out...

2010-03-17T03:02:00.000-07:00

Eagles tune from Hotel California..."we are all just visitors here of our own device..."

Make sure you leave time in your life to enjoy it, design your way out of tedious day to day details by using our streamlined way to improve your business roi. Don't wait another second, contact your KR2 rep today... info@kr2design.com

2010-03-17T03:01:00.001-07:00

We r all just visitors here of our own device... http://kr2design.com/

Writing Web Content

2009-12-29T11:33:00.000-08:00

Writing and creating content for the Web requires a different approach than writing editing and design of content for print publications. Writing copy for the Web must grab the viewer's attention and get the results you want in only a few seconds!

Itakes special skill and attention, whether you're trying to sell products or services at a business or commercial site or you just want to let people know the latest at your personal site.

The resources below are annotated links to highly authoritative articles, tips and information specific to content writing, development, and preparation for Web sites. You'll also find where writers, editors, content developers, and publishers can find each other.

http://websitetips.com/webcontent/#tutorials

http://www.useit.com/papers/webwriting/

http://websearch.about.com/od/keywordsandphrases/a/goodcontent.htm

Social Networking- saving time and face

2009-10-02T09:01:00.000-07:00

With your account(s) set up and contacts entered, a small but growing network of individuals can now easily search your personal network for relevant business contacts. This may be as simple as entering a name of an individual you're seeking, or specifying a broad search for contacts within a specific industry. This ease of creating personal contacts and developing online business events makes the service much more efficient than the traditional (and often stilted) network mixer.

Although the number of these services available to entrepreneurs and businesspeople is growing, LinkedIn strikes me as the easiest to embrace, and the most effective. Typically, each service has formal sign-up steps that assist you in creating your online identity. This may include information relating to your current job, previous positions, and general interests. Some business networking sites enable you to publish you own "blog," or join specific community discussion groups.

Often, the key to using a business network successfully involves the creation of your personal friends — or business connections — group. The registration process is similar across the various social networking websites but LinkedIn boasts one of the simplest methods of inviting and maintaining your social network. By simply uploading an exported file from your contact manager, LinkedIn can immediately tell which friends of yours are members of the service. This method of contact maintenance and connection group development makes LinkedIn a breeze to start with, immediately enabling you to gain access to your contacts, without having to laboriously enter emails to discover if associates are already there.

Reading on the web is too much work!

2009-01-02T08:50:00.000-08:00

Reading from a computer screen tires the eyes. People read 25% more slowly on the web than they read print material.

That's why, web content has to be 50% shorter than print.

Readers on the Web scan text

According to a study by usability expert Jacob Nielson, 79% of readers on the Web tend to scan or skim text rather than read word for word.

Highlighted text (bold or color, also hyperlinked text) and bulleted lists aid scannability.

Use objective language to build credibility, rather than exaggerated claims or overly promotional words like "great", "tremendous" etc.

bulleted lists
highlighted text (bold or color, also hyperlinked text) for scannability
meaningful headlines and subheads, avoiding cute or clever lines
Write better web content.
Understand how people (don't) read on the Web

Readers on the Web are impatient

Readers on the Web are in a hurry to get the information they want, and move on.

They don't have the patience for obscure and complex text. They don't enjoy scrolling through masses of text either.

Since there are millions of alternative websites in cyberspace, they will quickly move to another site if they don't enjoy the information gathering experience on your site.

Attracting attention and retaining reader interest is a challenge, specially as you have just

10 seconds to grab attention with your web site content

55 seconds to develop an understanding of your company or product

To combat reader fatigue, make it easy for your Web users to get relevant information. Put the most important information at the top. Use clear and concise text.

Readers on the Web are skeptical

Credibility is a major factor in retaining reader interest on the Web.

Use objective language, write meaningful headlines and subheads and avoid marketing jargon or exaggerated claims to build credibility. Cute or clever lines could mean that the reader takes longer to get to the main point.

Hyperlinks to the sources of your information or to related information also add to credibility.

Readers avoid information overload

In an average workday, people suffer from information overload . They already have a large number of emails in their inbox to contend with, and several documents to read.

They don't want to spend time and effort reading content that they may not find useful.

Offer your readers information in bite-size chunks which are easily digestible. Use short sentences, short paragraphs, one idea per paragraph.

Use meaningful headlines and sub-headlines which help them nail the information they want, quickly and easily.