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This course begins with a general focus on FrameMaker in which you learn basic and book-building skills, along with some formatting and writing exercises. After the FrameMaker segment of the course, we move into the major documentation-project segment in which you develop user guides either solo or as part of a team, including the documentation proposal and plan, prototypes, templates, tags, and multiple drafts. As time permits, we will get an introduction to FrameMaker XML, FrameScript, tools for converting FrameMaker documents to XHTML/CSS with WebWorks, and tools for converting FrameMaker documents to help files. Note: In 16-week semesters, you would do both the practice and the quick-ref assignments as a way of getting lots of exposure to FrameMaker. In this 11-week summer semester, having you do both assignments may be a bit impractical. To cut down on the workload, I've combined the practice and quick-ref assignments. It's an experiment, though. Let me know how it works for you. See the Course Calendar for a calendar-style view of semester due dates. (Click to enlarge.)
Fill out the questionnaire—due May 31 FrameMaker basics. Use the FrameMaker basics tutorial to get familiarized with basic tasks such as creating and saving files, making text italics or bold, changing fonts, changing tabs and margins, applying standard tags (such as for headings or numbered lists).
FrameMaker basics tutorial: tutorial—due June 3 Personal memo in FrameMaker. Use what you've learned about FrameMaker so far to write a personal memo. (You can use the same text you posted out on our class website.) FrameMaker personal memo—due June 3 FrameMaker paragraph and character tags. You'll learn how to apply tags in FrameMaker and how to modify them as necessary.
FrameMaker tags tutorial: tutorial—due June 7 FrameMaker tags project—due June 10 FrameMaker tables. In this unit, use the FrameMaker table tutorial to learn how how to create tables in FrameMaker. (You'll need to use tables when you do the book-design project in one of the next units.)FrameMaker tables tutorial: tutorial—due June 7 Readings in documentation. Read about theory, process, and format related to documentation.
ReadMe 1 (writing mechanics): ReadMe 1 Quiz—due June 10 Templates in FrameMaker. Review how to apply templates in FrameMaker, and learn how to create your own. FrameMaker templates tutorial:
templates—due June 14 FrameMaker master-pages tutorial: tutorial—due June 14 FrameMaker formatting project. Use graphics and unformatted text supplied by your instructor, create a well-designed technical document using FrameMaker and FrameMaker tags that you have specified. FrameMaker formatting project—due June 17 Readings in documentation. Read about theory, process, and format related to documentation.
ReadMe 3 (writing style): ReadMe 3 Quiz—due June 17 Basic page design. Study some of the standard specifications for headings, lists, notices, cross-references, tables, highlighting, simple typography and layout issues, and other. Explore what is common or standard, focusing particularly on page design concepts for written instructions and rhetorical strategies for writing effective instructions.
Page Design
FrameMaker anchored-frames tutorial: tutorial—due June 21
FrameMaker cross-reference tutorial: tutorial—due June 21 Brief procedure project. Get started on the brief procedure in which in 2 FrameMaker pages you provide some instructions. Brief procedure documentation project—due June 24 Autonumbering and variables with FrameMaker. Learn how to automate any numbering stream in a FrameMaker book, how to enable versions of the same documents, and how to create variables for rapid updating.
FrameMaker autonumbers, variables, and version control tutorial: tutorial—due June 28
FrameMaker book-building and TOC tutorial: tutorial—due June 28 Basic book design. Study or review the standard components of a user guide, from front cover to back cover. We'll explore what is common or standard, look at your user guides, and develop specification grids for decision making.
Book Design
ReadMe 5 (links): ReadMe 5 Quiz—due July 1 Reference pages with FrameMaker. Learn how to use FrameMaker reference pages to store frequently used graphics that must be positioned consistently throughout a document, to hold boilerplate material or clip art that you can copy and paste on body pages (for example, symbols for cautions and notes), and to maintain hypertext commands, formatting information for generated lists and indexes, definitions of custom math elements, and mappings for converting to XML and HTML.
FrameMaker reference-page tutorial: tutorial—due July 5
ReadMe 14 (indexing): ReadMe 14 Quiz—due July 8 Book-formatting project with FrameMaker. Your project will be to build a book—complete with automated page numbers, cross-references, tables of contents, indexes, headers, and footers—from text supplied by the instructor. FrameMaker book-formatting project—due July 15 FrameMaker book-formatting project—due July 15 Readings in documentation. Read about theory, process, and format related to documentation.
ReadMe 7 (international): ReadMe 7 Quiz—due July 15 Brief procedure 2. Find another relatively simple task you are familiar with, and then document that task using FrameMaker and FrameMaker tags that you have designed. Brief procedure documentation project 2—due July 22 Readings in documentation. Read about theory, process, and format related to documentation.
ReadMe 9 (document types): ReadMe 9 Quiz—due July 22 Project development. You can either work solo or build a team. In either case, describe your project on your solo or team project website.
Project milestones. Set up your solo or team project page, list team members if you are working as part of a team and describe the project and design details.
Set up your project page using the following links: Readings in documentation. Read about theory, process, and format related to documentation.
ReadMe 11 (illustrations): ReadMe 11 Quiz—due July 29 Project details. Don't forget! Details about your projects, its audience, design, and outline are due this week. See requirements. Readings in documentation. Read about theory, process, and format related to documentation. ReadMe 13 (glossaries): ReadMe 13 Quiz—due Aug. 5 Continue developing your project. Continue your work in learning the product you are writing about, designing your FrameMaker tags and templates, and developing your prototype documents.
First draft—due Aug. 12
End of semester. Prepare the final draft. Receive your instructor's review and revise as necessary. Final draft—due Aug. 16
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