Tools in Technical Writing (Contd..)
Let us have a brief introduction and usage of Technical
Writing tools.
Microsoft Word
The first and most used tool for writing is Microsoft Word.
It is a word processor designed by Microsoft. It is the most user friendly tool
for creating, editing and publishing documents.
Main Features of Microsoft Word includes:
- User Interface, technically called Fluent User Interface with user friendly ribbons and menu styles.
- Wide variety of formatting styles.
- Tables and graph features with different format and pre-defined designs.
- Shapes and Smart Arts for creating images as scientific diagrams, flow diagrams and data flow diagrams.
- Screenshot option to take a screen shot of available windows for a document.
- Bookmark and Cross-reference options to navigate easily through large documents.
- Different Page Layouts and designs for designing the document.
- Options like Mail merge and Envelops and Labels to maintain database of addresses and to draft a mail accordingly.
- Dictionary and Thesaurus with updated information and live spelling and grammar check useful for writers to check thoroughly the entire document.
- Macros to make lots of manual steps easier.
- Publishing to different file types as PDF or XPS and exporting to HTML easily.
- Auto save and Versioning option.
With all the above mentioned Features and Functions, Word is
a favorite tool for writers who work with small documents and simple diagrams.
