Although I have learned a lot of tools, there are always new ones to learn. That's fine, because I come up to speed very quickly.
If you don't find a tool on this list and are wondering whether I can learn to use it well, the answer is an unqualified “Yes!”
Software Tools
The following list is a sampling of the tools I have used and learned; I’ve learned many more than what is listed here. This includes learning the applications I’ve documented. I've used many of these tools for a very long time; others I haven't used in a while, but could quickly come up to speed with.
- Desktop publishing, word processing, graphics software, and online help: FrameMaker, Photoshop, Acrobat, InDesign, Madcap Flare, MediaWiki, WebWorks Professional, RoboHelp, Microsoft Word for Windows, Ventura, Visio, Corel Draw, Corel Capture, SnagIt, Illustrator. Some familiarity with Mif2Go.
- Databases and spreadsheets: Paradox, Access, Approach, Excel, Quattro Pro (designed specialty spreadsheets and wrote a book on it; which, yes, was published).
- Project management, source control systems, and bug databases: Project Scheduler, Microsoft Project, Rational’s ClearCase, Microsoft Visual SourceSafe, Perforce, Test Director, Bugzilla.
- A host of others, including HTML editors (Dreamweaver, HomeSite), FTP clients, terminal emulation programs, Microsoft Office, Internet Explorer, indexing software (Sky Index, IXGen, Index Tools Professional), and so on.
- Microsoft Outlook, OpenOffice, Skype, and other communication tools
Platforms and Hardware
- Apples and Macintosh with various operating systems
- IBM PCs with Microsoft operating systems (DOS, Windows 3.1, 95, 98, 2000, NT, XP, and Vista)
- Mainframes (VAX, DEC); mainframes and workstations with UNIX and Linux (including PINE, Elm, and vi); X-Windows
- Novell and Microsoft networks
- Postscript and LaserJet printers, scanners, etc.
Style Guides
For writers, a style guide is an essential tool for ensuring consistency and clarity. When a company I am working for does not have an in-house style guide, I recommend the following style guides:
- The Chicago Manual of Style, 15th Edition. The CMS, which is the standard of the publishing industry and has a long and venerable history, is a well-loved manual that I've used through several editions. If you only have one style guide, this is the one to have. The CMS is available in hardcover, on CD, and as an online, subscription-based version. When a new edition comes out, I geek out and read through it to see what might have changed.
- Microsoft Manual of Style for Technical Publications, Third Edition. (Currently out of print.) For computer-related terminology, I've used the Microsoft Manual of Style as a supplement to the Chicago Manual of Style since the early Windows days. Some of the approved terms have changed (even flip-flopped) since those early days, and I only recently (2008) switched to the third edition, so you may note older style choices in my writing samples. However, I am always consistent, whichever style I follow.
- As an alternative to the Microsoft Manual of Style, some people prefer to use Sun's Read Me First! A Style Guide for the Computer Industry.
- For Apple-based software, there's the Apple Publications Style, which is free to view on the Web.
There are other style guides for general or specific purposes, such as Skillin and Gay's Words Into Type, Strunk & White's Elements of Style, and so on. I've read most of them, but the CMS and the MS Manual of Style are my favorites—though I have a life-long fondness for Fowler's acerbic wit in A Dictionary of Modern English Usage (now just Modern English Usage).
Creating Style Guides
I started writing my own first style guide in 1988 at Borland, where I asked a co-worker to present my idea of a Borland Technical Publications Style Guide (with my outline and some preliminary sections written) to the publications group. The idea was seized upon eagerly and followed through with gusto, so it immediately became a group project that everyone was proud of.
I have since written a number of smaller style guides for various companies that did not have their own; my policy is to not repeat what is already in my favorite two style guides, but to instead supplement them with style choices that were specific to that company. (“Smaller” is relative; one of them was approaching 300 pages, was written, formatted, and indexed as a complete book, and covered everything from word usage to FrameMaker templates to policies and procedures for the publications group.)
It is pleasant to note that some styles I determined for myself and have been following for a very long time have crept into the software industry style guides. For example, I never liked such wording as “The software allows you to perform this action,” and have always instead used more respectful wording like, “Using this software, you can perform this action.” I'm not claiming credit for this; I just think I was ahead of the curve.