Technical communication blog
Technical communication blogWith bits of copywriting, content design, and other stuff too
Technical communication blog
With bits of copywriting, content design, and other stuff too
Welcome to the StrayGoat Technical Communication Blog.
Here, I’ll be posting technical writing advice, opinion pieces, recommendations, and explanations on how to achieve various tasks with different software tools. (The latter of which is going to be a reminder for me as much as anyone else!).
If you find the technical writing advice posts useful, please leave a comment.
Some of the older posts have some formatting issues, due to conversion problems when I upgraded the site theme. Sadly, the comments were lost in migration too.
Technical communication blog posts
General posts about technical communication:
Accordions – when should you use them in your content?
For years, I've avoided accordions in my content. But recently, I've changed my tune. What's made me change my mind? Read on to find out. What is an accordion? Before we go any further, let's make it clear what I'm talking about when I use the term "accordion". I'm...
What skills does a technical writer need?
Technical writers come from a variety of backgrounds and can have a diverse skill set. In this post, I'll look at some of the skills you should look for in a technical writer. (It may also help if you are a different kind of writer and are wondering if you could make...
Does a technical writer need to have a technical background?
Does a technical writer need to have a background in a technical subject? Technical writer Craig Wright explains the pros and cons of a technical background and why you might not need technical skills to thrive.
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Paligo – Information Typing
Information typing can help you organise your content so that it is easier to manage and reuse to scale. This post explains information typing in Paligo.
Paligo – Information types. An interview with Anders Svensson
UK technical writer discusses information types with Paligo CEO Anders Svensson. Find out what information types are and how they are used in Paligo and DITA
Paligo – How to create your own custom section
Do you want to recreate the note, caution, or warning styles in Paligo, but with different colours, icons, and text? Technical author Craig Wright explains how to do it with informal topics and a little CSS. Come and find out how it is done.
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Daily UX writing challenge. Day #4
As a technical writer, I know about creating user-centred content. But I've never worked as an out-and-out UX writer (although I have written microcopy for software as part of my tech writing work). I'd like to explore the world of UX writing, so I decided to do the...
Daily UX writing challenge. Day #3
In this series of blog posts, I'm exploring the world of UX writing by completing the Daily UX challenges set by https://www.dailyuxwriting.com. This post covers the challenge for Day #3.ScenarioThe user is trying to sign in to their account and has entered an...
Daily UX writing challenge. Day #2
In this series of blog posts, I'm exploring the world of UX writing by completing the Daily UX challenges set by https://www.dailyuxwriting.com. This post covers the challenge for Day #2.ScenarioA user is a working parent, and a big sports fan, in the midst of their...
Accordion Menu in MadCap Flare – Part Five
This is Part 5 of a series of posts on how to create the following layout, complete with accordion menu and slide-in drill-down menu, in MadCap Flare. If you missed the previous parts, here are links: Part One Part Two Part Three Part Four In this post, I'm going to...
Accordion Menu in MadCap Flare – Part Four
UPDATE - Thanks to Nita Beck for pointing out the WordPress-introduced weirdness in the script in this section. I've changed the content so that you can now download the script rather than create it from scratch. I still recommend that you read through this section so...
Accordion Menu in MadCap Flare – Part Three
This is Part 3 of a series of posts on how to create the following layout, complete with accordion menu and slide-in drill-down menu, in MadCap Flare. If you missed the previous parts, see: Part One Part Two In Part 3, we're mostly going to be looking at how to create...
DITA blog posts
Here are some posts about DITA. I rarely post about DITA, as I don’t use it, but sometimes post about how to achieve certain things.
Getting Started with DITA
Are you trying to learn DITA? Would you like some FREE instructions on how to get started and create a small DITA project? I know just the place to look... Learn DITA on Your Own at eXtreme Technical Writing Does this sound familiar to you? You work as a technical...
Review – Cherryleaf DITA e-Learning Course
"Cherryleaf are launching a DITA e-learning course" it stated in the e-mail to all ISTC members. Before Outlook had time to crash, I was fully paid up and waiting for the link to arrive. Yes, I was that keen and that quick. I'd been looking for a DITA course for a...
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MS Word blog posts
HELP! Microsoft Word’s Restart Numbering Doesn’t Work
Actually, it does. Sort of. Some of the time, anyway. But if Restart Numbering has you pulling you hair out (hey, at least you’ve got some to pull), here’s a handy work-around. I won’t say it works 100% of the time, but it has resolved most of my restart numbering...
Camtasia and Snagit blog posts
Tips and reminders for using TechSmith Camtasia and Snagit.
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Non-technical communication posts
Sometimes, I post things that are nothing to do with tech comm, but people might find useful. You’ll find those posts here.
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