Jakob Nielsen warns us that users hate change. He recommends that “it’s best to stay with a familiar design and evolve it gradually. In the long run, however, incrementalism eventually destroys cohesiveness, calling for a new UI architecture. ”

You often hear design team members (or their management) say, “We need a fresh design.” This usually gets redesign projects off on a wrong footing, with the wrong goals and strategy.

Typically, a fresh design will be a worse design simply because it’s new and thus breaks user expectations. A better strategy is to play up familiarity and build on users’ existing knowledge of how a system works.

Let’s consider Microsoft Office. The suite was introduced in 1989 as an incremental packaging of older stand-alone apps like Word (from 1983) and Excel (from 1984). By 2000, the underlying UI architecture was 17 years old, and MS Office was creaking at the edges. I frequently complained that the old approach was a muddled set of thrown-together features — and that the ever-more complex set of menus and dialog boxes made it hard for users to find most of them.

Read Jakob Nielsen‘s Alertbox, September 21, 2009

This article explains how to convert large files between Microsoft Word and Adobe FrameMaker.In this tutorial, the source file is the file being converted (Word) and target file is the file that it will be converted into (in this case, a FrameMaker file).

Our goal during this process is to reduce the Word document into an (almost) plain-text document — but keeping its style names, as these will be used to match styles and tags later in the FrameMaker document.

The overall process involves three stages:

• Preparing the Word file for conversion.
• Refining the FrameMaker file in line with the Style Guide.
• Creating the PDF file.

Note: Before you start, print out the Style Guide and use it as a reference during the overall process. This saves you time moving between files and also helps you become more familiar with the Style Guide’s format and presentation as it sits on your desk and is more accessible.

Preparing the Word file

The first step is to prepare the Word file so that its contents will convert more easily into FrameMaker. This involves deleting all formatting that is unique to Word, such as Text Frames.

For example, FrameMaker has very powerful Table of Contents generation features, so you can rely on this rather than trying to import Word’s or hard-coding it to match the FrameMaker format.

To start the process, delete all the Word constructs that need to be removed before the conversion process can start. This involves the following steps:

• Deleting the Table of Contents (TOC)
• Deleting headers and footers
• Deleting local paragraph overrides
• Deleting local character overrides
• Deleting text frames
• Deleting ALL Word specific features
• Deleting linked graphics

The next section explains what needs to be deleted in Word, and provides some information on why we use this approach.

Table of Contents

As FrameMaker has very advanced Table of Contents (TOC) functions, it is much simpler to delete the TOC in Word and then rebuild it in FrameMaker.

In Word, select the TOC and delete it. Save the file.

Note: If you’ve used bookmarks in Word to generate a TOC, delete them as well. The effort it takes to import them into FrameMaker is not worth the effort. FrameMaker can do it quicker.

Headers and Footers

Both Word and FrameMaker have a different approach to Headers and Footers. In FrameMaker, these are setup in the Master page and controlled from there. Trying to import Word’s header and footers into FrameMaker will only confuse it.

In Word, open the header and footer option. Select each one and press Delete. Save the file.

Local paragraph overrides

This involves deleting any formatting in paragraphs (which should have been formatted with Body styles) which has been done manually — rather than formatted with a Word style.

If you import these local paragraph overrides into FrameMaker, they will confuse the tag settings. It’s much simpler to delete them in Word and then rebuild in FrameMaker.

In Word, select the entire document and press Ctrl+Q. Save the document.

Local character overrides

An example of local overrides is when, for example, in Word a paragraph is entirely Times Roman except for the 3rd word, which is in italic. If the italic was set using a character style, the FrameMaker file may assign that style to the 3rd word AND to the remaining words in the paragraph—not what you want!

My suggestion is to delete all local character overrides in Word.

In Word, select the entire document and press Ctrl+Spacebar. Save the file.

Later, in FrameMaker, you will use the Paragraph Designer to modify the style correctly.

Word specific features

All Word specific features have to be deleted as they cannot be interpreted in FrameMaker. Even worse, if you do not do this, they may corrupt the FrameMaker document.

In Word, delete all borders, WordArt, callout boxes, arrows, text frames, etc. Save the file.

Text Frames — Word uses text frames to create what FrameMaker calls a side-head, i.e. text that appears in the left margin column. To recreate the Word text frame in FrameMaker, create a tag in FrameMaker called ‘TextFrame’ and design this in accordance with the style guide.

Linked graphics

Some Word documents ‘link’ graphics (Insert | Picture | From File) to the document rather than using the traditional cut/paste approach.

For a Word to FrameMaker conversion, this means that when you open the RTF file in FrameMaker the graphic file have to correctly link to the same folders as those in Word. In theory, this should work, but in my experience, this does not always work. Instead, follow these steps:

In Word, select each graphic file, save it with a unique name, e.g. Architecture.gif etc, and store it in the project folder. Once this is done, delete all graphics, and Save the file.

Note: In FrameMaker, you will import all these graphics back into the document.

Once all these steps are completed, you then need to modify different parts of the Word file, depending on how it was created.

Note: This does not involve deleting content as we have done above, but modifying how it is constructed, for example adjusting how the number and bullet lists are formatted in Word so that they can be imported into FrameMaker with less data corruption.

You don’t need to delete these constructs, but you do have to adjust their presentation otherwise they will create confusion in the FrameMaker file, for example you could end up with two bullets for every list entry rather than one.

For the conversion project, this involved managing the following areas:

• Master Pages and sections
• Headings
• Numbering
• Bullets
• Cross-references
• Artwork
• Spanned Columns
• Books and master documents
• Styles and tags

Master Pages and sections

FrameMaker uses Master Pages; Word uses sections.

In Word, sections are often used to insert different headers and footers throughout the document. FrameMaker’s approach is totally different.

Figure 1 – How to access FrameMaker Master Pages (View | Master Pages).

In Word, delete all section breaks. You can search for ^b to find all occurrences. Save the file.

Headings

FrameMaker doesn’t care how headings are named. Because of this, you don’t have to modify the style names in Word before the conversion — unless you want to change the style names to reflect the target template.

However, it’s recommended that you delete all redundant headings, and other redundant styles, as they hold no value.

In Word, delete all redundant headings (Format | Styles and Formatting) and save the file.

Figure 2 – In Word, delete all redundant styles and headings

Numbering

If your Word document uses automatic numbering and styles, you’re in luck! However, if the numbering has been done manually, delete the numbers (but not the styles) in Word.

Then, when you open the file in FrameMaker, you can attach a style with numbering applied. You will probably have to do some resetting to 1 and so on, but this is straightforward process in FrameMaker.

In Word, search for all numbers applied manually. Delete the numbers, but not the styles. Save the file.

Bullets

Like numbering, Bullets were done hopefully with styles and not manual overrides. If styles were used, then keep the style names but delete the bullet from the definition.

In Word, search for all bullets applied manually. Delete the bullet. Save the file.

Figure 3 – In Word, select pre-defined bullets and numbers

Note: If the bullets were done by hand in Word, you may find numbered paragraphs in FrameMaker with two bullets—one defined by the FrameMaker tag, and one kept from Word during the import. The quickest way to fix this is to delete the unnecessary bullet by hand. When you open the file in FrameMaker, the bullets should appear correctly as a result of FrameMaker‘s numbering system.

Cross-references

In Word, you can only cross-reference within the same file; by contrast, FrameMaker can cross-reference among other files within a Book. When FrameMaker reads a Word file with cross-references, it finds obscure marker such as “_Ref565989”. These are of no use to FrameMaker and need to be deleted.

In Word, delete all cross-references and re-create them in FrameMaker by hand. Save the file.

Artwork

Any artwork that was cut and pasted into a Word file can be imported directly into FrameMaker. However, there are two issues to consider:

1. The quality of ‘Cut and Paste’ files that you bring into FrameMaker often degrade, i.e. lose quality. Though it may be time-consuming, it’s recommended that you re-create these in PhotoShop and then import them into FrameMaker.

2. Linked graphics in Word files will not work in FrameMaker as the link settings affect what happens on the FrameMaker side. As discussed earlier, delete these files, save them individually, and then import into FrameMaker (File | Import | File).

Spanned Columns

In Word, delete spanned columns. These could open in FrameMaker as one pica wide and confuse FrameMaker’s setting. Delete the spans and re-build them in FrameMaker.

Books and master documents

Word has a Master Document feature that can be used for managing complex long documents. However, I strongly advice against using this feature; it is very unreliable and prone to corrupting documents. In turn, FrameMaker uses the concept of a Book to assemble project files and is very stable.

Figure 4 – FrameMaker’s Book feature

For the test conversion project, we use three files to create the overall ‘Book’; cover sheet; table of contents; main user guide pages. When working in FM, note that each of these files has a different master page and you need to update each master page where necessary.

Styles and tags

Wherever possible, use similar-named styles in both applications, for example, Copyright style; the only exception is when matching Word’s default Normal style with FrameMaker’s default Body tag.

Note: The fewer styles/ tags in FrameMaker, the easier it is to manage. Delete all redundant styles or tags and merge those that are similar.

Saving the RFT

After completing all these steps, save the Word file in Rich Text Format (RTF).

You can now open it in FrameMaker and refine it in accordance with the style guide.

Figure 5 – In Word, save the file as Rich Text Format

Preparing the FrameMaker file

You now have a modified Word file, saved as RFT, with all Word-specific features removed. The next phase involves:

• Returning the content deleted from the Word file, such as Artwork, headers, footers.
• Updating cross-references, indexes, TOC etc.
• Matching the file with the Style Guide.

To start the process:

In FrameMaker, in order to open the RTF file:

• Select File | Open | File Types | All Files (*.*).

Figure 6 – Select All Files (*.*) to view the RTF file.

• In the Unknown File Type pop-up window, select Microsoft RFT and click Convert.

Figure 7 – Select Microsoft RTF and click Convert

This opens the RTF file, though the format and presentation will be modified slightly from the Word version.

Save the file with a .fm extension. The next stage involves returning all Word content that was deleted (or modified).

Importing Graphics

You have two options when bringing graphics into FrameMaker. You can either:

• Option A – Cut and paste from Word or
• Option B – Cross-reference to a project directory.

Option A usually results in large file sizes as the file has to hold the graphics, whereas in Options B they are cross-referenced from their respective location.

The problem with using Option B is that you have to include the graphics folder when sending the FrameMaker files to other users.

However, the good news is that when you need to update any graphic file in the document (or documents) instead of manually going through each page, you simply update the relevant graphic – and all files are updated automatically!

Figure 8 – Option B – Import files by reference

Unwanted Tags

After you’ve opened the RTF in FrameMaker, you may find that you’ve gained a character tag called Default Paragraph Font.

The only way to delete it is to select the text, choose Default ¶ Font, and re-assign it.

Custom table ruling and shading

To delete custom table settings from the entire FrameMaker document, do the following:

• Select the document.
• Choose Table | Custom Ruling & Shading.
• Select both of the ‘From Table’ settings, and select all check boxes.
• Click Apply.

Updating the Header and Footers

As mentioned earlier, both Word and FrameMaker have a different approach to Headers and Footers. In FrameMaker, these are setup in the Master page.

FrameMaker provides default settings for each document’s headers/footers. Use the Paragraph Designer to modify them and, when finished, select ‘Update All’. You can then return to the Body Pages.

Note: when a Book is comprised of several files, you need to set the page numbers so that there is consistency between each file. To do this, open the FrameMaker file:

• Select Format | Document | Numbering | Page.
• Enter the start page number and Save.

Updating the Table of Contents

This process has 2 options depending on whether you want to integrate your TOC in the main document or you want to create a standalone TOC. For the Klariti project, I used Option B as outlined below.

• Option A – this places the TOC within the main FrameMaker file. This option makes sense when you have a small file that is easy to update.
• Option B – this involves creating a standalone TOC that will form one part of a large FrameMaker book. In this project, we used Option B as the main file was very large and other sections used different master pages, styles etc.

To create the TOC, follow these steps:

• Open the FrameMaker Book.
• Add files where necessary.
• Click Add | Table of Contents.

Figure 9– How to create a Table of Contents

This creates a standalone TOC file. Open this and check that it matches with Style Guide. To update the design/layout, open the Master pages and make the required amendments.

PDF Setup

Before you create the PDF document, you need to define the conversion settings in FrameMaker. To do this, go to:

• Format | Document | PDF Setup.
• In Settings, select Print and for Page Range, select All.
• In Bookmarks, check Generate PDF Bookmarks, and for Include Paragraphs add Chapter Title and Headings 1, 2, and 3.
• In Tags, check Generate Tagged PDF.
• Click Set to finish.

Figure 10 – In PDF Setup Settings tab, select Print from the drop-down menu.

Figure 11 – In the Bookmark tab, add the Chapter Title and Headings

Creating the PDF file

The final step involves converting the FrameMaker files into PDF.

In this test conversion project, we have used 3 FrameMaker files which together form a FrameMaker Book. A book, as the name implies, is a master file that controls the relationship between the files that it contains.

To do this, follow these steps:

• In FrameMaker, open the Cover Sheet FrameMaker file.
• Click the Print Option (File | Print). Select the PDF prnit driver from the Print drop-down menu, for example, Adobe PDF.
• In the options screen, select All and Convert PDF Data.
• Click OK.

Follow the same steps for the other two FrameMaker files. You now have three PDF files based on the FrameMaker files. After all files are converted, close FrameMaker and open Adobe Acrobat.

The next step is to create a master PDF file that will contain the 3 PDF files in the correct sequence. To do this, open the Cover Sheet, and add the other two files as follows:

• Open the Cover Sheet pdf.
• Click Edit | Insert Pages and Add the TOC pdf file.
• Click Edit | Insert Pages and add the Klariti.pdf file.
• Once all files have been added, choose File | Save As and save the file.

You now have the entire FM file in PDF format. The next step is to create hyperlinks for the main headings.

Creating Hyperlinks

In FrameMaker, when you add a table of contents, there is an option to create hyperlinks automatically. However, during this project, this option failed to work. An error message stated that it required additional fonts in order to compile. Therefore, the table of contents file did not create hyperlinks to the chapter titles and headings.

Nonetheless, in Adobe Acrobat, you can manually create these links. To do this, you select the heading and cross-reference it to the relevant page in the file.

Figure 12 – The Link tool in Adobe Acrobat

To do this, follow these steps:

1. In Adobe Acrobat, open the master PDF file, e.g. UserGuide.pdf.

2. Select Window | Bookmarks to display the bookmarks. This option shows the Chapter Title and H1/H2/H3 headings.

3. Navigate to the section of the document where you want to create a link.

4. Select the link tool.

5. Create the link rectangle in one of the following ways:

• Drag the mouse to create a marquee.

• Press Ctrl (Windows) and select the target text with the I-beam. This allows you to fit a link rectangle exactly around the selected text.

6. In the Create Link dialog box, choose a rectangle type.

7. Select a highlight option for when the link is selected.

8. Choose an action type.

9. Choose a magnification option.

10 Click Set Link.

Complete this step for all headings in the TOC.

Figure 13 – The Link Properties option in Adobe Acrobat

This process will create hyperlinks from all headings to their respective sections in the PDF document.

Security Settings

In Adobe Acrobat, there are various security options available. The most relevant for this project is to ensure that unauthorized personnel cannot modify the document.

In particular, you want to disallow unauthorised personnel from copying text from your PDF into their documents, for whatever reason.

Figure 14 – The Document Security option in Adobe Acrobat

To do this, follow these steps:

• In Adobe Acrobat, go to File | Document Security.
• Choose Adobe Standard Security from the drop-down menu.
• Under Permissions, check the four options, e.g. No Printing etc.
• Click OK. Click Close and then File | Close to save the settings.

Figure 15 –Security options in Adobe Acrobat

When you re-open the file, these settings will apply.

Matching the Style Guide

To get the styles to match, review the styles/tags in the FrameMaker file against those in the Style Guide.

For example, if the Style Guide’s Body style is Arial 10 etc, and the FrameMaker file has it set to Times Roman 11, you need to correct this as follows:

• Open FrameMaker and select all content marked as Body.
• Open Paragraph Designer and update the Body fields.
• Select ‘Apply to All’. This updates all occurrences of the Body style in the document.

To stop other technical authors from using the wrong styles, delete ALL redundant styles. For example, the RFT file may have several body styles, e.g. Body, Body + Left, Body + Indent. In FrameMaker, delete all of these otherwise future authors may use these inadvertently.

What do you think?

This approach has worked well for me when converting Microsoft Word documents into FrameMaker. I should add that the latest versions of Adobe FrameMaker offer a more streamlined approach to converting the docs.

With that said, you’re still going to have to clean up the Adobe FrameMaker docs to some extent regardless of how well the converter works.

Over the next few weeks, I’ll look at conversion software and work on the latest version of Adobe FrameMaker, which I’ve now got my hands on.

Let me know if you’ve come across better ways to convert these docs or maybe some of the issues you’ve had in converting these docs.

Thanks.

The Normal template opens in the background whenever you start Word.

It includes default styles, AutoText, macros, toolbars, and other customizations that determine the basic look of your document.

The Normal template is a global template that you can use for any type of document. You can modify this template to change the default document formatting or content.

If this gets damaged or corrupt, here’s how to fix it:

1. On the File menu, click Open, and then navigate to C:\Documents and Settings\user name\Application Data\Microsoft\Templates.

Tip: If no templates are listed in the Open dialog box, click the arrow next to the Files of type box, and then click Document Templates.

2. Double-click the Normal.dot file to open it.

To be certain that you’re working in the default template, check to see that Normal.dot appears in the Word title bar.

3. Make any changes you want, using the menus and dialog boxes just as you would to change default settings for a document.

BUT remember that any changes you make to Normal.dot will be applied to documents that you create in the future.

4. When you have finished, on the Standard toolbar click Save.

Note. If Normal.dot is renamed, damaged, or moved, Word automatically creates a new version (i.e. and uses the original default settings) the next time that you start Word. The new version will not include any customizations you made to the version that you renamed or moved.

If you have any problems, please drop me a line.

Ivan Walsh is a technology writer based in Shanghai, China.
Learn how to save time, make money and develop digital products.

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ivanwalsh/
Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ivanwalsh/
Web: http://www.klariti.com & http://www.ivanwalsh.com

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Business Process Design Templates

Originally uploaded by Tech Writer Boy

Klariti has published an 8 part Process Design Tutorial

Part 1 starts with What is a Business Process?

‘If you search around this site, you’ll notice that we’ve been talking about business process modeling for the last few weeks. Some of you have written in asking for more background on what is business process modeling. So, let’s start at the top. ‘

http://www.klariti.com/business-process-design-template/Business-Process-Design-Tutorial-Part-1-What-is-Business-Process.shtml

MS Word can be interesting at times. What I’d like to show you today is how to minimize (ie remove) the amount of metadata in your Word documents.

Whenever you create, open, or save a Word document, it creates metadata. Metadata is used for a variety of purposes to enhance the editing, viewing, filing, and retrieval of Office documents.

Here are some examples of metadata that may be stored in your documents:

• Your name
• Your initials
• Your company or organization name
• The name of your computer
• The name of the network server or hard disk where you saved the document
• Other file properties and summary information
• Non-visible portions of embedded OLE objects
• The names of previous document authors
• Document revisions
• Document versions
• Template information
• Hidden text

Metadata is created in a variety of ways in Word documents. As a result, there is no single method to remove all such content from your documents.

I spent most of this afternoon developing a set of process design templates (more of that tomorrow) and got to thinking about the main activities involved in process definition. I’m mentoring graduates business analysts and walking them through the ABCs of process design. It’s baby steps for now. Here’s what we came up with this afternoon.
Depending on the nature of the project, the process definition lifecycle will involve several of the following steps:

1. Identifying high-priority process tasks – This is based on analysis of process requirements and by identifying who is best qualified to create the processes.

2. Analyze Process Requirements – Maintain a clear understanding of what the process is intended to do, how it should be done, and how it should be expressed, for example in MS Word process narratives or in MS Visio flowcharts.

3. Create the Process Architecture – Define and/or refine the organization’s current process architecture.

4. Define the Processes – Add, refine, restructure, and/or delete the processes.

5. Perform the Defined Process(es) – Test the defined processes, and gather measurements as well as identifying process improvements.

6. Assess Results & Identify Improvements – Use the test results to analyze the accuracy of the process. Recommend process improvements if appropriate.

Once the process is completed, the next step is to implement the process and start the knowledge transfer activities.

This involves training and raising awareness amongst staff, partners, and clients depending on the scope of work involved.

I know this isn’t everything.

What did I miss?

This Training Plan template outlines the steps required to design, develop and deliver a training program.

It allows you to outline the objectives, needs, strategy, and curriculum to be addressed when training users on a new or enhanced system.

This  training plan template pack includes an 20 page MS Word template, as well as 14 MS Word/Excel forms, checklists, questionnaires, and spreadsheets that capture the scope, requirements, evaluation, delivery method, strategy, dependencies / constraints / limitations, schedule, resources, materials, and training security.

It allows you to outline the objectives, needs, strategy, and curriculum to be addressed when training users on a new or enhanced system.

Download Now for $9.99 – Buy Here!

Other Training Plan Documents

Training Curriculum Form

Training Curriculum Spreadsheet

Training Program Spreadsheet

Training Budget Spreadsheet

Training Plan Table of Contents

The Training Plan template (MS Word) contains the following sections:

1 Introduction

1.1 Background

1.2 Scope

1.3 Objectives

1.4 Assumptions

1.5 References

2. Training Requirements

2.1 Audience

2.2 Roles and Responsibilities

2.3 Training Evaluation

2.4 Delivery Method

2.5 Materials

2.6 Duration

2.7 Size

2.8 Facilities

2.9 Instructor Evaluation

2.10 Updates

2.11 Staffing

3. Training Strategy

3.1 Training Sources

3.2 Pilot Training

3.3 Dependencies / Constraints / Limitations

4. Training Schedule

4.1 Training Program Activities

4.2 Foundation / Pre-requisite Activities

5. Training Resources

6. Training Environment

6.1 Software Requirements

6.2 Hardware / Network Requirements

6.3 Trainer Requirements

7. Training Materials

7.1 Updating Training Materials

8. Training Security

8.1 Access to Training Material

8.2 Access to Training Environment

What’s included in the Training Plan template pack

The templates included in this pack are in Microsoft Word and Microsoft Excel format. You can download all templates online for only $9.99.

The template pack includes the following documents:

Training Plan Template (Color)	20 pages
Training Plan Template (Standard)	20 pages
Template (Word 2007)	20 pages
Template (Word 97-2003)	20 pages
Word Training Forms:1. Estimated Training Time 2. Instructor Evaluation Form 3. Needs Assessment Questionnaire 4. Trainee Assessment Form 5. Trainee Requirements 6. Training Course Evaluation Form 7. Training Curriculum	7 Forms
Excel Training spreadsheets:1. Training Curriculum 2. Training Program 3. Training Assessment 4. Training Budget 5. Training Request 6. Training Record 7. Training Action Log	7 s/sheets

Download Now for $9.99 – Buy Here!

UK-based Intelligent Editing Ltd has developed PerfectIt, a Microsoft Word add-in that helps professionals writers edit and refine their documents.

You can access PerfectIt in the same way you run PDF conversion tools or Snagit’s screen capture in Microsoft Word.

PerfectIt is targeted at technical writers, editors, and other business users who:

• Write collaborative documents
• Edit complex technical, legal or medical documents

How it works

It works by highlighted each location in the document that could be an error and allows you to inspect them before making changes.

There are 6 main areas it focuses on:

1. Abbreviations

PerfectIt checks that abbreviations are:

• Presented consistently
• Defined in their first usage
• Defined only once
• Used after they are defined

It then generates a table of abbreviations automatically from your document.

2. Capitalization

It searches text for irregular capitalization and flags:

• Inconsistently capitalized words and phrases
• Capitalization of bullets and lists
• Heading capitalization
• Capitals used in tables

Tip: you can also set it to check your house style.

3. Hyphens and dashes

Ok, we all know that while style guides differ on the correct use of hyphens, hyphenation within a document must be consistent.

PerfectIt checks hyphenation by searching for:

• Words used with and without a hyphen
• Phrases used with and without hyphenation
• Consistent hyphenation of compounds, numbers, fractions and directions

As there are instances when it is correct for words to appear both with and without hyphenation, PerfectIt lets you review each location and decide on a case-by-case basis.

4. Punctuation

PerfectIt runs checks for:

• Punctuation in lists
• Punctuation in bullets
• Punctuation in tables

5. Spelling and typing mistakes

This add-in for Microsoft Word looks for typos, such as:

• Common typing mistakes
• Individual words spelled in more than one way
• Numbers in text

6. Table / figure numbering

PerfectIt automatically detects table and figure numbering in order to look for:

• Tables and figures in the wrong order
• Missing table / figure headings
• Consistent labelling of tables and figures

It highlights possible errors and lets you decide whether these should be corrected or ignored.

What happened when we tested PerfectIt

As mentioned above, PerfectIt runs tests to check the accuracy of your document. While Microsoft Word has similar features, PerfectIt goes one better and checks the integrity of your material at a deeper level.

You get the feeling that this was designed by people who read and write for a living and know what professionals writers want when testing their documents.

To run the application, install it as an Add-Ins in Word. The Add-Ins option in Word 2007 is towards the right of the main menu.

Save the document you’re working on before you start. This makes things simpler to undo if you want to roll-back you changes.

If you want to experiment, give it a test name, eg userguide-perfectit1.0, and then start with the testing.

In the Settings pane, click the options to save the document before starting and for Balloon Help tips as you correct. These are best to get you going but once you have the hang of how it works, you won’t need these and you can plough ahead.

1. Click Start.

PerfectIt starts to check the document and work its way through the text. As it finds an error, it will make a recommendation and suggest the types of changes you can make.

2. PerfectIt displays a progress bar which shows you what it’s found in your documents.

Each time it finds an error, you can click Fix (to fix it, or course) or Next to move to the next error is has encountered.

What I liked was that you can click Fix to fix errors as it works its way through the document or, if you’re satisfied with the test, click Fix All and it will update the entire document.

Proofreading software for technical writers

3. At first, I used Fix but once I understood how it worked, it started to use Fix All.

4. Be careful, though! No application is fool-proof.

Check each mistake it finds, especially when checking someone else’s documents or material you are not familiar with.

5. Once the test is complete, PerfectIt runs several tasks, such as:

• Generate Table of Abbreviations
• Accept all tracked changes
• Remove all comment boxes
• Update the table of contents
• Update cross-references

How to customize PerfectIt

So far it’s just like Word? Well, to a degree Yes, but it goes one better by letting you configure the settings so you can focus on specific areas.

What do you mean, Ivan?

Give me an example!

Ok. Say you are doing a test on hyphens and dashes in the document. You know words like ‘y’know’, ‘you’re’, ‘x-box’. Maybe you want the dashes – maybe you don’t. The point is that they are not errors.

And this is where PerfectIt adds some real value.

6. In this example, I have told it to ignore the phrase ‘can’t’.

You can configure PerfectIt so that it finds other such examples and them adds them to its dictionary.

Once you’re finished, click Save and Exit and you can check your revised document. At first, you might want to test the app by using dummy text or sample documents for experimentation purposes.

Once you understand the nuances of how it works, then go ahead and start to use it on your business reports or technical documentation.

Strengths

It’s a light-weight tool so there are no performance issues – something to consider if you run multiple apps at the same time.

My favorite feature?

The option to update cross-references makes it worth the entrance fee alone. Instead of having to check these, it does it dynamically and it does it correctly. I’ve had some negative experiences with other grammar-checking software, so my expectations were fairly low. As it turns out, it did a great job.

This one small feature saved me hours at the weekend.

Weaknesses

The weak link in the chain is probably me.

Because this is an add-in, it doesn’t appear on the menu by default (at least for me in Word 2007). This means make the effort to find it and then check the text. Sometimes I forgot it was there. Mea cupla!

I do the same thing with SnagIt. I forget it’s already in Word and ‘go out’ to the Programs menu to find it. So, there is no real criticism to make.

Use it and your documents will improve. Simple, really!

Verdict

This is the first release of the product, so it’s a bit light on features. But what it does, it does very well. My hope is that it will grow into a more substantial product.

One thought would be a web version of the app, which would stop me before I mistype words into my blogs. Native grammar checkers on most blogs are fairly limited.

Many of the features, or flavors of such features, are in Word. But, it’s a more intelligent application and understands what you, as a writer, are trying to do.

You can wrestle with Word if you want and it will do a fine job – but, this gives that little bit more.

For such a competitively-priced product, this is a real lifesaver if you write words for a living.

Download it now and take the 30 day trial version for a run.

You can embed a TrueType font in a Word document so that you can view and edit the font. You can do this even on a computer on which the font is not installed.
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To embed a TrueType font in a saved document Microsoft Office Word 2003, follow these steps:

1. On the Tools menu, click Options.
2. Click the Save tab.
3. Select the Embed TrueType fonts check box.

To embed a TrueType font in a saved document in Microsoft Office Word 2007, follow these steps:

1. Click the Microsoft Office Button.
2. Click Word Options.
3. On the Save tab, click to select the Embed fonts in the file check box.

Note: Embedded fonts will increase the file size of your document by approximately the size of the TrueType font (.ttf) file.
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In Word, you can create table styles with formatting, such as stripe patterns. This article describes how to create a new style that applies a stripe pattern to your Word tables.
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To create a new table stripe pattern style, follow these steps:

1. On the Format menu, click Styles and Formatting.

2. In the Styles and Formatting task pane, click New Style.

3. In the New Style dialog box, in the Name box (listed under Properties), type a new style name for your table stripe pattern. For example, Stripped Table.

4. Change the Style type box to Table.

5. To include a table border, under Format, check that the Apply formatting to list box is set to Whole table.

6. Click Format and then click Borders and Shading.

7. Select the type of shading you want on the Shading tab, click to reselect the type of table border you want (for example Grid) on the Borders tab, and then click OK.

9. Click OK.

Tip: to make your table stripe pattern style available to all new documents based on this template, select the Add to template check box before you click OK.
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Word 2003 accepts both standardize and standardise as correct spellings in the same document. But I want to avoid the American spellings as my document will be sent to a UK company. How can I get around this?

Each Word document is made up of different sections. Each sections can have a different dictionary applied to it!

So, if you wanted, you could have 5 chapters, each with a different dictionary setting.

Most people don’t want this.

However, you may have accidentally changed you docs language settings when you cut and paste from another document with a different language setting that your own.

To fix this:

1. Select the entire document. Ctrl + A.

2. Click the Language option. (on the bar at the bottom of the page)

3. Select the language you want, for example, UK English.

4. Click OK and make it the default if you want ALL documents you write to be in this language.

More Word tips here: http://www.klariti.com/technical-writing/index.shtml#Tips

I created Word files using a trial version of Word 2007. The trial period has expired and now I can’t open the files. Is there a way around this without having to buy it?

It depends on the file format you saved them in.

If you saved them as .doc files, you should be able to open them with MS Word.

However, if you used one of the Word-specific formats, I’d ask a friend to download the trial version, open the files and then resave them as .doc files.

You could also try to download another trial version to a different PC and reformat the files there.
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I used to be able to see e-mail and web addresses as hyperlinks when I used Word 2007. But now they are gone. What do I need to do to see these again.?
Hold down Alt and F9 to switch between the two formats.

You probably did this by accident when using the Alt key for something else.
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To remove a heading from the Table of Contents, apply a new style to the marked text:

1. Select the marked text.
2. Click the drop-down arrow in the Style box on the Formatting toolbar
3. Select the heading that you want. Click Normal to remove the heading style.
4. Click Update TOC on the Outlining toolbar to update the TOC

Note: In Word 2007, click Update Table in the Table of Contents group on the References tab.

5. In the Update Table of Contents dialog box, click Update Entire table, and then click OK.

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Have you ever wanted to include PowerPoint slides, notes, or outlines in a Word document? Here is a simple solution:

1. Open the PowerPoint presentation you wish to convert to Word

2. Select File from the pull-down menu

3. Choose Send to

4. Choose Word to open the Send to Microsoft Word dialog box

5. Select the page layout for your Word document

Paste link your slides if you want to continue to change them in PowerPoint and have the changes displayed in Word

You can change the orientation of text from horizontal to vertical in a few quick clicks.

To do this, the text must be inside a text box, shape, callout, or table. You can’t change the orientation if it’s on a regular paragraph.

vertical text

To change the direction of the text, for example, inside a table:

1. Select the text you want to change.
2. On the Format menu, click Text Direction.
3. Select the orientation you want.

If you want to change this back to the previous settings, press Ctrl+Z to undo your last action.

If you don’t want the page number to appear on the first page of your document:

1. Click Insert and then choose Page Numbers.

hide page 1 on your word document

2. Uncheck the Show number on first page checkbox.

This stops Page 1 being printed on the first page. The second page of your document will displays Page 2 in the footer.

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