RE: Trends in documentation delivery?

David, 

I noticed that some of IBM's newer manuals are being published in PDF format.  
I think you could open one and peruse it, or print it out to get an excellent 
feel for the style used.  Try: 
http://publib.boulder.ibm.com/pubs/html/as400/online/v4r1eng.htm

I often wish for documentation that tells you how to do the task you are 
interested in, rather than simply a reference work, which many of the IBM 
manuals seem to be, so perhaps IBM manuals aren't the _best_ for mimicing 
content, but the overall page style is very readable, IMO

Regards,
Rich

============================================
Rich Duzenbury
http://rich.dyn.ml.org
http://vpsolutions.com
============================================

> -----Original Message-----
> From: owner-midrange-l@midrange.com
> [mailto:owner-midrange-l@midrange.com]On Behalf Of David Gibbs
> Sent: Wednesday, December 16, 1998 11:56 AM
> To: Midrange Mailing List
> Subject: Trends in documentation delivery?
> 
> 
> Folks:
> 
> A techwriter in my office just asked me a question about trends in
> documentation delivery...
> 
> We understand that a lot of documentation is being deliveried as
> softcopy (HTML, PDF, Bookmanager, etc)... but we're interested in
> standards for HARDCOPY documentation (huh?  What's that?)
> 
> Does anyone know what style guidelines IBM follows for hardcopy
> documentation?  For example, fonts for keys a user types, information a
> user types (on a command line or parameter line) and so on.  What is the
> style usage for bolding, italicizing, quotation marks?  What style is
> used when referencing a field name or menu option in text?
> 
> Also, it's been so long since I've actually installed a new machine,
> what documentation does IBM actually deliver with a new system?  What's
> the current format of the softcopy documentation delivered?  Bookmanager
> still?
> 
> Thanks very much!
> 
> david (with Kathy looking over his shoulder)
> 
> --
> 
> David Gibbs
> Sr. Software Engineer
> Mortice Kern Systems US, Inc.
> 900 Oakmont Lane, Suite 400
> Westmont, IL  60559
> DID: (630) 734-5451
> http://www.mks.com
> work mailto:david.gibbs@mks.com
> home mailto:david@midrange.com
> 
> Opinions expressed are strictly my own and do
> not necessarily reflect those of my employer
> 
>  "I drank what???"
>   - Socrates
> 
> 

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