The Technical Editors' Eyrie Newsletter

Newsletter Issue 46, 11 March 2001

ISSN 1442-8652

Editor: Jean Hollis Weber
jean@jeanweber.com
http://www.jeanweber.com

In this issue...

Microsoft Word: Cross-referencing to material in another file
Editing web sites: some design guidelines
Framing a web site: some potential copyright problems
ISO 8601: International standard date and time notation
Adobe Acrobat Distiller compression settings
Updating copyright notices
Reader comment on grammar resources
Question time: Compiling on-line glossaries
Scheduled publishing delay
Australasian Online Documentation Conference
New book - Taming Microsoft Word
Still available - Editing Online Help
Still available: Electronic Editing
Subscription information

Microsoft Word: Cross-referencing to material in another file

Writers using Microsoft Word to create large or complex documents usually break them into smaller files. To compile a table of contents and index, or to create cross-references to material in other files, writers then need to use fields to extract the necessary information. This article looks at the use of fields in cross-referencing.

If writers are not familiar with Word's fields, or are in a hurry, they will usually type in the cross-references, which then won't update if the text or page number of the referenced material changes. As an editor, you need to be alert to these problems and, if necessary, tell the writer how to fix them.

If you're editing on paper, you may not be able to tell whether a cross-reference is hard-coded, unless it doesn't match the referenced material.

If you're editing on screen, you can check whether the cross- references are fields. One easy way is to use the View tab on the Options dialog (Tools > Options), setting Field Shading to Always. (This setting also helps you see immediately whether figure and table captions have been inserted as fields.) I find field shading distracting, so I turn it on to check for fields and cross-references, then turn it off again when editing for other features, including reading the text.

The following is an extract from my new book, Taming Microsoft Word. See later in this newsletter for more about the book.

Cross referencing to material in another file

If you're working with a large document broken into several files, you may need to cross-reference from one file to headings, figures, page numbers, or other elements in other files.

Before you can cross-reference from one file (A) to another (B), you need to do some preparation:

Create bookmarks in file B, as described below in "Using bookmarks for cross referencing." Include anything you want to reference from any other file: headings, captions, page numbers.
Make a list of bookmarks in file B, to use as a guide when you're inserting the cross-references in file A, or leave file B open with bookmarks showing (Tools > Options > View tab > select the Bookmarks checkbox).

Using bookmarks for cross referencing

Word's cross-reference dialog recognizes a variety of items to which you can create references. The most versatile reference type is the bookmark. You can create a bookmark for anything you want.

To create a bookmark:

Highlight the text to be bookmarked.
On the Insert menu, choose Bookmark. On the Bookmark dialog, type a meaningful name for the bookmark, then click Add.

To prepare for cross-referencing from file A to a page number in file B, do this:

On the appropriate page in file B, press CTRL+F9 to insert a field code {PAGE}.
Select this field code and create a bookmark for it.
With the field code still selected, format it as hidden text (Format > Font > select Hidden checkbox).

To create a cross-reference to another file:

In file A, position the insertion point where you want a cross-reference to appear, press CTRL+F9 to insert a blank field, then type the following field code between the curly brackets:
Includetext c:\\path\\B.doc Bookmark_name \! \* Mergeformat
where path is the folder where file B is located, B.doc is the name of file B, and Bookmark_name is the name of the bookmark.
If the bookmark is to a {PAGE} field (which you set as hidden text in file B), select the whole field code, then press CTRL+Spacebar to make it visible in file A.
Repeat for each cross-reference required.

Note: if you cross-referenced any {PAGE} fields in file B, be sure to update fields in file B before updating fields in file A, to make sure that the page number is accurate. If you have several files all cross-referencing to each other, you may need to update each of them in turn several times before they all come out correct.

Editing web sites: some design guidelines

Web sites have many usability issues in common with any other software product. If your brief as website editor goes beyond the content, you'll want to comment on the overall design and usability of the site. Having some authoritative sources to back up your comments can be very useful. Here's an excellent source: IBM's page on Ease of Use/Design Basics, Principles that form the foundation of good design: http://www-3.ibm.com/ibm/easy/eou_ext.nsf/Publish/6

Follow the links to more information on the issues raised in that summary - far too much good material to summarize adequately here.

Framing a web site: some potential copyright problems

If your web site uses frames, and it provides links to other web sites, you need to be aware of some potential copyright problems. Depending upon how a frame is used, a web publisher could face potential trademark, copyright or other claims. For the background on this topic, see the article on GigaLaw.com, Web Site Framing: Trademark and Copyright Issues: http://www.gigalaw.com/articles/2000-all/kubiszyn-2000-04-all.html

In general, if your links to someone else's material opens their page in such a way that it looks like their material is yours, you have a problem unless you have obtained permission from the other site -- just as if you were quoting large amounts of text or reproducing their graphics.

Simply linking to another site is generally okay, particularly if the link opens in another window or has some indication that the reader is leaving your site to go somewhere else.

ISO 8601: International standard date and time notation

Markus Kuhn has a good summary of ISO8601 here: http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/~mgk25/iso-time.html

The paragraphs below are extracted, slightly edited, from that page.

ISO 8601 specifies numeric representations of date and time. This standard notation helps to avoid confusion in international communication caused by the many different national notations and increases the portability of computer user interfaces. Authors of Web pages and software engineers who design user interfaces, file formats, and communication protocols should be familiar with ISO 8601.

ISO 8601 only specifies numeric notations and does not cover dates and times where words are used in the representation. It is not intended as a replacement for date notations such as 24 December 2001 or February 4, 1995. ISO 8601 should however be used to replace notations such as 2/4/95 and 9.30 pm.

Adobe Acrobat Distiller compression settings

Having trouble with compression settings when creating PDF files using Acrobat Distiller? This article from Adobe Magazine explains the different compression and sampling settings, with examples. It doesn't go into detail on specific settings, but it does show clearly the difference between the two types of resampling (downsampling and subsampling) and the various compression choices, and when you should use each choice. Although the article was written for Acrobat 3, it is still relevant for Acrobat 4. http://www.adobe.com/products/adobemag/archive/pdfs/98spqaac.pdf

Updating copyright notices

One question that comes up often when editing revised documents is: what do you do with the copyright notice?

The TECHWR-L web site's "Ask the Lawyer" column answers this question in an item written by an intellectual property attorney: http://www.raycomm.com/techwhirl/magazine/writing/lawyer_copyrightnotices.html

Here's an extract: "... the commonly accepted practice is to include multiple years in the copyright notice, indicating the various years in which material in the overall work was first published. So, if the manual was originally published in 1998 and new copyrightable content was added in 2000, the year portion of the copyright notice might be '1998, 2000.' If new material was added in 1998, 1999, and 2000, the year date might be '1998, 1999, 2000' -- or, more simply, '1998-2000.' "

There's more in the article, plus some references to further information.

Reader comment on grammar resources

Deena Madnick, Copywrite Technical Writing & Editorial Services, Copywrit@aol.com, writes:

"As a retired high school English teacher with more than 30 years service and a technical writer and an editorial consultant, I found your last newsletter's Resources: Grammar and Diagramming Sentences links inviting and then somewhat disappointing. I looked for updated sources and found at least two problems.

"The references [Mary K. McCaskill] may now be out of date: The Chicago Manual of Style, 14th edition has been available for some time. McCaskill used the 13th edition.

"In the last few months, the U.S. Government Printing Office released a new edition of Government Printing Office, U.S., 1984: Style Manual.

"I think the correct address for diagramming sentences [is]: http://cctc2.commnet.edu/grammar/diagrams2/diagrams2.stm "

Question time: Compiling on-line glossaries

Naomi Eichenlaub neichenlaub@hotmail.com wrote to ask,

"I am hoping that you might be able to direct me towards some info that I am just not finding. I am a library school student who is working on compiling an on-line glossary for one of my projects this term. I have been fruitlessly searching for some kind of guidelines or style guide or specifications for the compilation of glossaries, but to no avail. Do you know of any info of this type? I would greatly appreciate any leads."

I suggested that general references such as the Chicago Manual of Style have information on glossaries, but (as I've not had any need to deal with them in many years) I don't know of any online resources or of any references specifically about compiling glossaries for us online. I'm sure such references are out there, so if any readers can point me in the right direction, Naomi and I would both appreciate it.

Scheduled publishing delay

The next issue of this newsletter will appear in June 2001. I will be travelling, without computer, from late March until mid-May.

Australasian online documentation conference

The 4th Annual Australasian Online Documentation Conference will be held at Rydges Lakeside, Canberra, Australia 28-30 March 2001.

AODC 2001 is for everyone involved in hypertext development, corporate documentation, technical writing or Web authoring. Cost is $1095.

Call Penny Bradley at HyperWrite on +61-(0)3-9853-3666, pbradley@hyperwrite.com.au, or register online at http://conference.hyperwrite.com.au

New book - Taming Microsoft Word

Hot tips and cool tricks for business and technical documents

by Jean Hollis Weber
ISBN 0 9578419 2 2
Published February 2001

A quick reference for writers, editors, and others who need to use some of Word's more advanced features. This book is an expanded and updated version of Chapters 3 and 4 in my first book, Electronic Editing.

Why another book about Microsoft Word?

Available books fall into three main groups: thin books for beginners, fat books for beginner-to-intermediate users, and huge books (up to 1,500 pages!) for intermediate-to-advanced users. At 116 pages, Taming Microsoft Word is quick to read, yet packed with essential information. With this book, you can become an instant expert on:

Setting up Word to work your way
Editing and reviewing documents
Controlling page layout
Using templates and styles effectively
Getting the most from fields
Working with large or complex documents
Working with graphics
Writing and editing HTML files in Word
Creating PDF documents from Word

A full contents list and information on downloading the PDF file and paying for it are available here: http://www.jeanweber.com/books/tameword.htm

Still available - Editing Online Help

by Jean Hollis Weber
155 pages
ISBN 0-9578419-0-6
Published October 12, 2000

For students, writers, and editors who are developing online help for computer software, and for their managers and clients.

Supplements tool-specific instruction by presenting the basics of help content development, regardless of the operating system running the application, the type of help being produced, or the tools used to produce it.

More information here: http://www.jeanweber.com/books/olhbk.htm

Still available: Electronic Editing

by Jean Hollis Weber
248 pages
ISBN 0-646-38037-0
Published October 1999

A quick start guide for editing students, experienced editors making the switch from paper to online, and anyone who needs to write or edit electronically.

More information here: http://www.jeanweber.com/books/e-edit.htm

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© Copyright Jean Hollis Weber, Technical Editing Consultant
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Last updated 26 September 2002