European directives and… manuals
Almost all countries in Europe are member of the European Union, or are somehow affiliated to the EU. This has important consequences for setting up any manual. In the EU, the European directives on the safe use of a product also have something to say on the requirements for the accompanying manual. As such, a company can be held accountable if a manual is not in compliance with the relevant European directive.
Read moreMadcap Flare 11
As a technical communication service business we chiefly develop user manuals for our clients. Our primary focus is on generating high quality content. Of course, to be competitive, we need to create the output in a fast and efficient way. That’s why we use (and are an authorized reseller of) MadCap Software.
Read moreMadCap software
Whether you want to publish a manual using A5 or A4, or bring your working instructions online… specific software can do the job for you. We use software that is specifically tailored to the needs of technical writers. With MadCap, you can save your content to a central location. From then on, you can reuse it in whatever way you want. Manual writing software such as MadCap is ideal for planning multiple manuals in multiple languages.
Read moreContext Help
Context-sensitive help, or just “context help”, is a type of user documentation, which is smart enough to deliver the right content at the right moment. Often, this type of documentation is embedded into the application itself, rather than being a separate artefact.
Read moreMulti Channel Output
Multi-channel output is all about making content available through various channels. Users’ needs have shifted drastically and continue to do so, which is why multi-channel output is becoming more and more important. In this article I will outline the ten most significant advantages of multi-channel output.
Read moreResearch video instructions
As with nearly every creation, when making an instruction video one should first ask what the purpose of the video is. Is the goal to motivate people, instruct them or simply to demonstrate something? The goal of the instruction video largely determines the different elements and method of the video.
Read moreInstruction videos: a rewarding experience
An instruction video can be very effective indeed. People consider an instruction video to be an experience rather than an instruction. Such an experience takes away the feeling of ‘being told what to do’. Because an instruction video also is very close (if not, identical) to the actual situation in question, people are certainly inclined to give you their attention.
Read moreReaching out to your readers? Print!
Despite the fact that laptops, tablets and smartphones are commonplace these days, a lot of users of your product(s) are still not on the World Wide Web. If this is the case with your audience, a printed manual still is a very good option. Looking for a printed manual? Or a series of simular manuals, each in multiple languages? We can help you.
Read moreExamples of QSG
Quick start guides are becoming more popular by the day. This statement somehow suggests that quick start guides are still in their infancy. This, in turn, may imply that there are not that many examples of high-quality quick start guides around. Both assumptions do not do justice to the current situation regarding QSGs. Yes, one can find some fine examples of high-quality quick start guides in the outside world. And yes, this implies that quick start guides already have a proven track record. This article focuses on two distinctive examples of high-quality quick start guides.
Read moreQuick start guide
The word ‘quick start guide’ says it all: with a ‘QSG’ a user should be able to operate his newly acquired product within – say – the blink of an eye. As such, a quick start guide takes away the worries about a steep learning curve. After all, a full-blown manual can scare people off, especially if it consists of tens of pages. Here lies the reason that a quick start guide – quite often not more than a folded card – is becoming more popular by the day.
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