[Book Cover]

Read Me First! A Style Guide for the Computer Industry, 1/e

Sun Technical Publications, Mountain View, California

Published December, 1996 by Prentice Hall PTR (ECS Professional)

Copyright 1997, 272 pp.
Paper
ISBN 0-13-455347-0
$29.95


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 [Preface]





The must-have reference for every technical writer, editor, and documentation manager. Circle-I stands for information, and Read Me First! provides all the information you need if you face the challenge of documenting hardware, software, or other computer products. Written by award-winning documentation experts at Sun Technical Publications, Read Me First! is the most comprehensive guide to creating documentation that is clear, consistent, and easy to understand. Read Me First! is a complete style reference. It compiles grammar and punctuation guidelines, typographic conventions, and pointers on creating a bibliography, including how to reference online source material. There's even practical guidance on indexing. It also covers how to document software running under a graphical user interface — something that is ignored in traditional style guides. If you're responsible for managing documentation, you'll find Read Me First! invaluable. It provides guidance on creating international and online documentation, working with illustrators, organizing the review process — even satisfying the lawyers. It's all here: hiring writers, working with printers, developing realistic schedules, and much more. You will immediately improve the way you write or manage documentation using the following:

  • Checklists and forms for editing, tracking manuscripts, and verifying production status.
  • Ready-to-use FrameMaker document templates.
  • Tables of technical abbreviations, acronyms and units of measurement.
  • Table of typographic conventions recommendations.
There is no better book on writing, editing, and managing documentation for computer products. If you're involved in documentation in any way, Read Me First! will be the most useful book you ever own.


@ CD-ROM contains the entire book in searchable FrameViewer and HTML format.

Author Bio

THE MEMBERS OF SUN TECHNICAL PUBLICATIONS are senior editors and writers at Sun Microsystems, Inc. who have won numerous awards, notably in various regional and international competitions sponsored by the Society for Technical Communication.



    1. Understanding Style.

      Why Is Style Important? Some Stylistic Principles. Write Simply, Directly, and Accurately. Avoid Humor. Avoid Jargon. Be Consistent. Anticipate a Reader's Questions. Avoid Sexist Language. How to Improve Your Style. Study Good Writing. Work With an Editor. Attend Classes and Training.

    2. Working With an Editor.

      Role of an Editor. Types of Editing. Developmental Editing. Copy Editing. Proofreading. Planning Ahead for Editing. Submitting a Document for Editing. Creating a Style Sheet. Editing Marks.

    3. Working With Illustrations.

      Working With an Illustrator. Illustration as Design. Using Illustrations. Planning Placement of Illustrations. Writing Captions for Illustrations. Adding Illustrations to a Document. Illustration Formats, Styles, and Types. Illustration Formats. Illustration Styles. Illustration Types. Callouts. Writing Callouts. Aligning Callouts. Arranging Callouts. Avoiding Callout Taboos. Leader Lines. Inserting Leaders. Determining Leader Length. Aligning Leaders and Callouts. Multiple Leaders. Avoiding Leader Taboos.

    4. Writing for an International Audience.

      Cultural and Geographic Sensitivity. Illustrations and Screen Examples. Definitions and Use of Terms. Grammar and Word Usage. Numbers and Symbols.

    5. Legal Guidelines.

      Copyrights. What Should You Copyright? Copyrighting Your Work. Registering Your Copyright. Trademarks. Types of Trademarks. Proper Use of Trademarks. Common Nouns Used With Trademarks. Proper Use of Third-Party Trademarks. Proprietary Information. Protecting Proprietary Documents. Protecting Electronic Communication.

    6. Mechanics of Writing.

      Capitalization. When to Capitalize. When Not to Capitalize. Contractions. Numbers and Numerals. Spelling Out Numbers. Using Numerals. Punctuating Numbers and Numerals. Using Fractions. Punctuation. Apostrophe. Brackets. Colon. Comma. Dash (Em Dash). Dash (En Dash). Ellipsis Mark. Hyphen. Parentheses. Period. Quotation Marks. Semicolon. Usage of Common Terms in Computer Documentation.

    7. Technical Abbreviations, Acronyms, and Units of Measurement.

      Abbreviations and Acronyms in Text. Punctuation of Abbreviations and Acronyms. Units of Measurement. List of Abbreviations and Acronyms.

    8. Constructing Text.

      Section Heads. Writing Heads. Capitalizing and Punctuating Heads. Numbering Heads. Lists. Introducing Lists. Capitalizing and Punctuating Lists. Writing Unnumbered Lists. Writing Numbered Lists. Steps and Procedures. Introducing Steps. Capitalizing and Punctuating Steps. Writing Steps. Tables. Writing Text for Tables. Determining the Type of Table to Use. Writing Text for Jump Tables. Code Examples. Error Messages. Cross-References. Fonts, Punctuation, and Capitalization. Writing Cross-References. Endnotes, Footnotes, and Bibliographies. Writing Endnotes and Footnotes. Writing Bibliographies. Notes, Cautions, and Warnings. Writing Notes. Writing Cautions. Writing Warnings. Part Dividers. Graphical User Interfaces. Using GUI Terminology. Writing About Windows, Menus, and Dialog Boxes. Common GUI Verbs. Typographic Conventions. Assigning Conventions to Text. Working With Conventions.

    9. Indexing.

      What Is an Index? Style and Format. Nested Entries. Page Number Style. "See" and "See Also" References. Capitalization. Punctuation. Special Typography. Creating an Index. When an Index Is Needed. Time Required to Create an Index. Deciding Which Parts of a Document to Index. Selecting Topics to Index. Describing a Topic. Double-Posting Entries. Creating "See" and "See Also" References. Avoiding Indexing Problems. Editing an Index. A Global Index. Formatting a Global Index. Editing a Global Index.

    A. Recommended Reading.

      Writing Standards. Editing Standards. Project Management. Reference Books. Indexing. Platform Style Guides. Legal Issues. Internationalization and Localization. User Interfaces. On-line Publishing. Typography. Graphics and Illustration. Desktop Publishing. Printing. Info Mapping. Standard Generalized Markup Language (SGML). World Wide Web (WWW).

    B. Developing a Publications Department.

      Establishing a Publications Department. Establishing the Value of the Department. Funding the Publications Department. Determining the Roles of the Publications Team. Hiring Contract vs. Permanent Staff. Scheduling. Estimating Task Times. Developing a Project Schedule. Documentation Process. Writing a Documentation Plan. Coordinating With Product Development. Writing Process. Editing Process. Illustration and Graphics Design. Technical Review. Internationalization and Localization. On-line Documentation Considerations. Writing Issues. Content Issues. Management Issues. Final Print Production. Deciding on a Strategy. Printing Methods. Binding Methods. Packaging. Working With Outside Vendors. Post- Production Considerations. Handling Post-Production Revisions. Maintaining Project Continuity.

    C. Checklists and Forms.

      Manuscript Tracking Chart. Request for Editing. Editing Checklists. Developmental Editing Checklist. Copy Editing Checklist. Proofreading Checklist. Editorial Style Sheet. Artwork Request Form. Technical Review Cover Letter. Authorization to Produce Document. Print Specification. Index.

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