Use the Word macro code below to set every column in every table to the width of the corresponding column in the reference table.
Continue reading “Word Macro: Set all Columns to the Same Width in Every Table”
Flare: Thinking Outside the Box
If you have large figures, you can create a style that is larger than your normal margins by using a negative left margin. For example:
p.wideImage
{
margin-left: -35pt;
}
[Source: MadCap Forum]
Flare: Creating a Numbered Appendix
Refer to this page for help with the auto-numbering in Flare:
Or just use this in your CSS:
Welcome to Flare
I’ve jumped onto the MadCap Flare bandwagon. There’s sure to be numerous posts about tips for it.
Helpful links:
- MadCap Flare help: http://help.madcapsoftware.com/flare2017r3/Content/Flare/Introduction/Home-Flare.htm
- The MadCap forums: https://forums.madcapsoftware.com
- A helpful Slack group: madcapflareusergroups.slack.com
Modify PDF Metadata, Initial View, and more – for Free!
Do you need to do any of the following tasks in your PDF files:
- Edit the Title, Author, Subject and Keywords property fields
- Edit the initial view
How can you accomplish these tasks if you don’t have Adobe Acrobat?
Just install Debenu PDF Tools. They have a free version that installs a Windows menu command with these functions and more.
Note that for each change that you make it creates a new PDF with the changes.
[Source: gHacks]
Shades of Gray – Remove Shading
I recently encountered text that had shading on it that was difficult to remove. It looked like this example:
FYI: The text above was generated with the lorem shortcut.
It tried to remove it using the Text Highlight Color tool, but it didn’t remove it.
Ugly Lines in PDFs
You might have ugly lines in your PDFs, such as these:
The outline on 3 sides of the Note style are 1/2 point, so they should be nice and thin. (Note that the left side is thick by design.) Unfortunately, Adobe makes the lines look strange, and even different at each level of zoom.
Kill Them All! – From the Command Line
If you ever wanted to kill a process from the command line, there’s an easy way to do it.
First, show what processes are running using the tasklist command:
C:>tasklist
Second, use Taskkill to kill it by process name or process ID:
C:>Taskkill /IM firefox.exe /F
C:>Taskkill /PID 26356 /F
The /F flag forces the process to quit.
[Source: Tweaks]
Plurals in English, by George Carlin
This may or may not have been written by George Carlin. Since there’s no profanity, he probably didn’t write it. But, it’s still funny.
George Carlin: The English Plurals
We’ll begin with a box, and the plural is boxes,
But the plural of ox becomes oxen, not oxes;
One fowl is a goose, but two are called geese,
Yet the plural of moose should never be meese;
You may find a lone mouse or a nest full of mice,
Yet the plural of house is houses, not hice.
Know Your Organization
Technical Writers work with just about every department within a company. They get a feature description from a Product Manager, an implementation detail from R&D, and the terminology spin from Marketing. They may also deal with Support, Deployment, and whatever other deparments exist in their companies.
When dealing with all these different groups, especially when working in a large company, it helps to understand how the groups work together. This knowledge helps the TW more efficiently deal with his or her tasks, avoid hitting management walls, and know who they need to talk to. Unfortunately, it is only gained after working for the company for a long time.
Some illustrations, like the one below, of different org types were posted over at Bonker’s World.
Which one is your current company most like?
[Source: Bonker’s World]
Phlogtastic 