Copywriter, technical writer, translator (FR>EN, ES>EN, IT>EN), journalist

Posts Tagged professional document design

Five Word Styles Lawyers Need to Know

Have you ever spent hours fine-tuning a Microsoft Word document to ensure a consistent “look and feel” throughout? If so, I suspect you don’t want to do that again. You especially don’t want to repeat the experience when someone asks you to change the fonts and spacing

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Thinking about design can go a long way

People with heightened design sensibilities will tell you that a law firm’s documents — everything from brochures to business cards to contracts to invoices — create an impression from the moment clients see them. Paul Cahill, a partner at Will Davidson LLP, has become more sensitive about aesthetics since

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Why writers should use mind maps

I don’t experience writer’s block. That isn’t a boast. I’ve developed tactics that enable me to write a decent first draft without much difficulty. The main tactic: I use a mind map.

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Creativity in user manuals

I worked as a technical writer full-time for years at a software development company, and I continue to do so on contract for various companies. Yet I kept on thinking manuals need to be one of the following: on paper PDF HTML Windows Help The following video reminds

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Handle content marketing as a white paper

If white papers sound to you like a relic of an earlier time, you’re partly right. White papers have been around since they were first used in Britain’s parliament more than a century ago. At some point, other organizations co-opted white papers to champion ideas beyond politics. They’re still around

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Keyboard shortcuts in Microsoft Word

Back in August, I explained how to assign keyboard shortcuts, both inside one program and to menu items across several programs. Meanwhile, I was trying to get a macro to work properly so that I could turn on one setting in a dialog box without affecting the

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Automated editing assistants

Earlier this year, I reviewed software that plugs into Microsoft Word (for Windows only, not available for Mac) to help writers sharpen their prose. (Editors at the magazine I wrote this for came up with a witty title for the resulting article.) I could accomplish similar ends using features built into Word and

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Putting word counts in Word documents

As a freelance technology writer, I get magazine and blog post assignments in which clients ask I stick to a specific word count, or word count range (e.g. 400-600 words). I track word count using both the bottom frame of the Word window and a word count

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Create useful keyboard shortcuts

Few computer users could get along without common keyboard shortcuts. The ubiquitous Ctrl-C (copy) and Ctrl-V (paste) are but two common examples. We probably do this instead of using the mouse to go to menus since it takes less time and makes us more efficient, helps us

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The power of Preview

Sometimes software developers cram more features into their products than most people know about, and they don’t think to go looking for them. Take the humble PDF reader. Not something to get excited about, right? Well, maybe I can change your mind on that.

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