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Writing an instruction manual
Writing an instruction manual is a serious business. More often than not, the first experience for a customer is not with the product itself, but with its instruction manual. In order to to make a customer journey as pleasant as possible, the instruction manual should be an integral part of any product experience. This implies that any company selling hardware or software, should plan the production of an instruction manual as early as possible. This is the best guarantee that the manual will be up to standard. What ‘up to standard’ means, should become clear in this article.
Read moreHow to write a technical manual
What is technical manual writing? This all boils down to the question: what is a technical manual? ‘Technical manual’ is a term for any manual with a technical character. You could think of a manual (or set of manuals) for a complicated machine like an airplane. You could also think of technical manuals to run a complete industrial installation.
Read moreUser documentation: what is the best choice?
User documentation’ is a very general term indeed. What does it mean? Actually, it means quite a lot. And here lies the problem. If the choice for the right mix of user documentation is so overwhelming, how does one make the right choice? This is up for discussion. At any rate, it is important to keep any door open to any form of user documentation. First, there are the user documentation types. Second, there are the output channels for these documentation types. Let’s start with the user documentation types.
Read moreHow to write technical documentation
When writing technical documentation, please take at least three principles into account. But before applying these principles, it is important to know which legal requirements should be met in your manual.
Read moreWhat does a good technical writer look like?
What does a good technical writer look like? At any rate, a technical writer should not only be… technical. Of course, he has to feel comfortable with everything that has to do with mechanics and electronics. Building on this foundation, any specific product should hold no secret for him when he starts writing. It is here where social skills come in. After all, you have to ask the right questions to the right people… the right way.
Read moreChecking your documentation on STE
Simplified Technical English (STE) is an international standard for using English in technical documentation. By standardizing both terminology and grammar, an unambiguous version of English gives instant clarity to anyone operating a specific machine or product – or a series of similar machines/products
Read moreCreating a manual in 10 steps
A manual is intended to convey information from a product to its user. Products include machines, software, appliances and consumer products. Any hazards not mitigated by the product itself - or by additives to the product - are described in the manual. In addition, the manual explains all aspects such as use, installation, assembly, transportation and maintenance. Manualise is happy to give you an overview of how to create of a manual.
Read moreWriting instructions that work
Writing instructions is a craft. Although one might prefer clear-cut illustrations instead of written instructions, this is not always possible. At first glance, writing technical instructions does not seem to be that difficult. But the writing rules in question are often forgotten. Technical writers should embrace these rules wholeheartedly.
Read moreWriting instructions that work
Writing instructions is a craft. Although one might prefer clear-cut illustrations instead of written instructions, this is not always possible. At first glance, writing technical instructions does not seem to be that difficult. But the writing rules in question are often forgotten. Technical writers should embrace these rules wholeheartedly.
Read moreWriting a user manual without a hick-up?
How to write a user manual? Although this question is not that hard to answer, end results indicate that the rules for setting up a user manual are not always adhered to. This is unfortunate, because simple writing rules are a real compensation for complex projects, like creating multiple manuals in multiple languages. Not only do we know how to make a user manual, we also know how to reduce the complexity of any project that involves user manuals.
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