Glossary

= Glossary - What does ISTC Stand For? Look Here to Find Out = = = Like any specialized career involving technology, technical communication has it's own lingo. Don't know what a CSS or a UI is? That's ok! Below are links to aid in developing your technical communication vernacular.

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TechScribe -

 This glossary explains terms that are related to technical writing and to software documentation. Possibly, the terms have other meanings in different contexts.

===  **Access key **- Access key has two meanings: ===  With Windows, an access key is a key that is related to an underlined character on a menu, a command, or a dialog box.  With websites, an access key is a character key that can be pressed to select a hyperlink or a field in a form.

**Accessibility - **Accessibility is a measure of how accessible a product is. Accessibility measures the level to which people with disabilities can use a product. (A product can be software, services, or buildings.) See also Section 508; usability.

**Aspect ratio - **An aspect ratio is the ratio of one dimension to a different dimension.

**Audience analysis **- Audience analysis is the identification of the requirements of users. See also task analysis; training needs analysis. Audience analysis is also known as  'user analysis' or 'audience research'.

**Authoring memory **- Authoring memory is software that helps technical authors to write consistently. Source text is stored in a database. When a technical author writes text <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> that is similar to text in the database, the software supplies the stored text to the technical author. If the stored text is suitable, the technical author can use <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> it. See also controlled language; controlled vocabulary; translation memory. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> Back to Top

**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Back matter **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">- Back matter is the American English name for end matter.

**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Bibliography **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">- A bibliography is a list of books, articles, web pages, or other documents. Usually, the documents in the list are related to the content of the primary document. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> For example, the documents contain background information.

**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Browse sequence **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">- A browse sequence is a navigation method in online documentation. A browse sequence is similar in concept to a wizard. Users click a button or a hyperlink to view the next topic or the previous topic in a set of topics. Usually, the topics are read in sequence. Back to Top

**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Callout **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">- A callout is text and a line that points to an area on a graphic.

**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Canadian binding **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">- Canadian binding is a type of binding for printed documents. The pages are held together with wire. The wire spine has a cover.

**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Caption **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">- A caption is a label for a graphic.

**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Cascading Style Sheet (CSS) **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">- A cascading style sheet is a set of rules that specify how a web browser displays an HTML page. The advantages of CSS instead of HTML formatting are as follows: The style is controlled in one location, and changes are automatically applied to all HTML pages. The file size of each HTML page is smaller (sometimes by 50% or more). Therefore, documents can be downloaded more quickly. Accessibility is improved. The international CSS standards are available from www.w3.org.

**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Comb binding **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">- Comb binding is a type of binding for printed documents. The pages are held together with a circular plastic comb.

**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Compiled HTML Help (CHM help) **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">- Compiled HTML Help is a proprietary help system from Microsoft. Compiled HTML Help is also known as CHM help, because of the file name extension. Compiled HTML Help is based on HTML.

**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Content management system (CMS) **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">- A content management system is software for managing digital content such as websites. See also document management system; help authoring tool.

**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Content strategy **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">- Content strategy is the process and the methods that are used to create effective content. Content strategy is applicable to all the content that an organization produces. However, for many technical communicators, the content strategy is primarily applicable to documentation. For more information about content strategy, see http://knol.google.com/k/content-strategy#.

**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Context-sensitive help **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">- Context-sensitive help is online documentation that has context sensitivity.

**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Context-sensitivity **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">- Context-sensitivity is the ability of online documentation to respond dependent on a user's interaction with the software. Usually, a user presses the F1 key or a help button to view help about the active dialog box. See also context-sensitive help.

**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Controlled language **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">- A controlled language is a language that has limits on how grammar and words are used. The purpose is to make text as clear as possible. See also ASD <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> Simplified Technical English; controlled vocabulary.

**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Controlled vocabulary **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">- A controlled vocabulary is set of terms that a technical writer is permitted to use. The purpose of a controlled vocabulary is to make text as clear as possible. See also ASD Simplified Technical English; controlled language.

**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Copyright **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">- Copyright is the legal right to publish a document. An author automatically has the copyright of a document, but the author can assign copyright. See the Patent <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> Office's Copyright section.

**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Copywriter **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">- A copywriter is a professional writer who does copywriting.

**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Copywriting **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">- Copywriting is the art of creating content (or 'copy'). Usually, the term refers to writing in the literary sense, instead of the engineered language that technical <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> writers create. For example, copywriters create text for journals, magazines, brochures, and other types of marketing communications.

**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Crop (verb) **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">- To crop is to remove part of a graphic.

**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Cross-platform help **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">- Cross-platform help is online documentation that can be used on all software operating systems and all web browsers.

**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Cross-reference **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">- A cross-reference is a direction from one part of a document either to another part of the document, or to a different document. In a printed document, a <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> cross-reference usually contains a page number. In an online document, a cross-reference is usually a hyperlink. Back to Top

**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Desktop publishing **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> - Desktop publishing is the work of organizing text and graphics using software to create a document. Frequently, desktop publishing includes writing the text and creating the graphics.

**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Digital Accessible Information SYstem (DAISY) **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> - DAISY is a technical standard that is used to create accessible content. See the DAISY Consortium.

**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Digital printing **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> - Digital printing is a printing technology that does not use plate or film in the printing process, unlike litho printing. To compare these methods, see 'Digital printing for software manuals'.

**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">DITA (Darwin Information Typing Architecture) **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> - DITA is an XML schema that is used for structured writing. DITA uses the concepts of 'typed topics', which is similar to 'information types' in Information Mapping. See http://xml.coverpages.org/dita.html.

**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">DocBook **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> - DocBook is an XML schema that is used for structured writing.

**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Document management **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> - Document management is the management of electronic documents from their creation to their final disposal (destruction or archiving) in an organization. See also document management system.

**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Document management system **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> - A document management system is software for document management. See also content management system.

**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Documentation **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> - Documentation is information that helps people to solve problems, to make decisions, and to do tasks efficiently. See also online documentation; reference manual; user guide.

**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Documentation plan **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> - A documentation plan is a document that specifies the important parts of a documentation project. This term is equivalent to the term 'project plan'. Back to Top

**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">E ****<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">-learning **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> - E-learning is self-study training material that is supplied electronically. Usually, e-learning is supplied on the Internet. In the past, e-learning was known as computer-based training (CBT).

**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Easy English **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> – Easy English is a particular type of international English from Wycliffe Associates (UK). See also Global English; Globish; Special English; Specialized English.

**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Easy Read **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> - Easy Read is English that is written to help people who have learning difficulties. For guidelines that explain how to write in Easy Read, see 'How to use Easy Words and Pictures (Easy Read Guide)', first published by the Disability Rights Commission.

**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Electronic Performance Support System (EPSS) **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> - EPSS is an electronic system that is immediately available and that helps people to do their business tasks. Unlike online documentation for only one software product, an EPSS usually supports all of an organization.

**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Embedded help **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> - Embedded help is documentation that is part of the software. Embedded help appears directly on a window, a screen, or a tab. Readers do not click a button or move the mouse over a field to see the help text. Embedded help cannot be opened independently from the software. See also context-sensitive help.

**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Embedded index **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> - An embedded index is an index that is created as part of an electronic document. A technical writer marks index entries in the text, and the software automatically creates locators. See also 'Embedded indexing service for Word'.

**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">End matter **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> - End matter is supplementary information that comes after the primary text in a printed book. In the context of software documentation, end matter usually includes appendices, the index and glossary. See also front matter. Back to Top

**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">FlashHelp **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> - FlashHelp is a Flash-based online documentation format from Adobe. See also WebHelp.

**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Font **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> - A font is an instance of a typeface. For example, 'Times 12pt Bold' is a font.

**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Footer **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> - A footer is information that is repeated at the end of each page or online documentation topic. For example, the footers on the TechScribe website all contain a copyright statement. See also header.

**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Front matter **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> - In a printed document, front matter is information that comes before the primary text. Usually, in software documentation, the front matter contains legal information, copyright information, and publication date. Usually, a table of contents comes after this information. See also end matter. Back to Top

**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Ghost-writer **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> - A ghost-writer is a professional writer who writes texts that are attributed to another person. Many copywriters are ghost-writers. Usually, a technical writer is not a ghost-writer, because documentation from one technical writer is not attributed to a different technical writer.

**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Global English **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> - Global English is particular type of international English.

**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Glossary **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> - A glossary is an alphabetic list of terms. Each term is explained. Essentially, a glossary is a small dictionary that helps readers to understand the meaning of the terms in a document.

**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Graphic **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">- A graphic is an item of art, for example, a screen shot, a diagram, a flow chart, or a photograph. Back to Top

**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Hard copy **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> - Hard copy is an alternative term for printed documentation.

**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Header **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> - A header is information that is repeated at the top of each page or online documentation topic. For example, headers in printed documentation show the chapter title and page number. See also footer.

**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Help authoring tool (HAT) **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> - A HAT is software that is used to create online documentation. See HAT Matrix.

**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Hot spot **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> - On a screen, a hot spot is an area on a graphic that responds to the pointer.

**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Hyperlink **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> - In online documentation, a hyperlink is a link from one part of a document to another part of a document or to another document. Usually, the link is coloured text, or a small graphic. A user clicks the link to view the new location. Back to Top

**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Idiom **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> - An idiom is a group of words that has a different meaning from the usual meaning of the separate words. For example, 'out of the blue' is an idiom that means 'unexpectedly'.

**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Index (compared with concordance) **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> - An index is an ordered list (usually alphabetic) of terms. Index entries contain cross-references to pages or topics in a document. An index and a concordance are both ordered lists, but functionally, they are different. A concordance contains only terms that are in a document. Usually, these terms are product names, technical terms, and acronyms. An index captures the meaning of the topics in a document. Possibly, some index entries do not appear in the primary text of a document. For example, an index entry for 'data output' directs readers to topics about reports and about saving data, but the term 'data output' does not appear in either of the topics.

**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Information architecture **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> - Information architecture is the structure of information. See also information design.

**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Information design **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> - For practical purposes, information design is an alternative term for technical writing. See also instructional design.

**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Information Mapping **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> - Information Mapping is a method for analysing, organizing, and presenting information. A type of structured writing.

**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Instructional design **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> - Instructional design is the design of instructional materials such as training courses, e-learning systems, and user guides. See also information design.

**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">International English **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> - International English is English that is optimized for an international audience. See also EasyEnglish; Global English; Globish; Special English; TechScribe's international English website.

**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">International reader **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> - An international reader is a person who reads English as second language.

**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Iinternationalized English **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> - Internationalized English is an alternative term for international English.

**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">I18n **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> - I18n is jargon for internationalization. The word internationalization has 20 letters. Between the first letter (i) and the last letter (n) are 18 other letters.

**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">ISO/IEC 18019:2004 **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> - 'Software and system engineering—Guidelines for the design and presentation of user documentation for application software'. This old international standard was replaced by ISO/IEC 26514:2008.

**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">ISO/IEC 26514:2008 **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> - 'Software and system engineering—Requirements for designers and developers of user documentation'. This international standard replaces ISO/IEC 18019:2004.

**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">ISTC **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> - Institute of Scientific and Technical Communicators. The ISTC is a professional organization for technical communicators. See also STC. Back to Top

**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Jargon **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> - Jargon is technical language that is used in a profession, or by a group of people. Jargon is suitable in some documentation. For example, in a reference manual for SQL programmers, terms such as 'table', 'entity', and '3rd Normal Form' are suitable. However, such terms are not good for the average user of business software.

**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Javadoc **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> - Javadoc is software from Oracle that uses comments in the source code to generate API documentation in HTML format.

**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">JavaHelp **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> - JavaHelp is an open source system from Oracle for creating online documentation. Back to Top

**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Keyword (or key word) **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> - A keyword is a word or a phrase that is related to an online topic. Keywords are specified by the technical writer. Users can search for keywords, and if that keyword exists, one or more topics are shown to the user. A keyword is the online equivalent of an index entry.

**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Knowledge acquisition **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> - Knowledge acquisition is the strategies, the tools, and the methods for finding information, especially information that subject-matter experts know. Knowledge acquisition is one of the most important parts of technical writing.

**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Knowledge management (KM) **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> - Knowledge management is a superset of technical communication. Knowledge management is "doing what is needed to get the most out of the collective knowledge resources in a company". See the BCS article 'Working smarter not harder'. Back to Top

**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">L10n **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> - L10n is jargon for localization. The word localization has 12 letters. Between the first letter (l) and the last letter (n) are 10 other letters.

**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">LaTeX **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> - LaTeX is a typesetting system that is used to create documents that have high-quality typography.

**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Lay-flat binding **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> - Lay-flat binding is a type of binding for printed documents. The pages are held together with flexible adhesive tape.

**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Litho printing **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> - Litho printing is the 'traditional' method of producing printed documentation. For low print volumes, digital printing is a better option. For a comparison, see 'Digital printing for software manuals'.

**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Localization **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> - Localization is the process of converting a document from one language into another language. Translation of text is a large part of this. Analogies, symbols, icons, and colours must be evaluated and possibly changed, because their meanings can change across cultures.

**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Locator **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> - In a printed index, a locator is a page number that comes after a heading or a subheading, and which tells a reader where to find information about the heading or the subheading. In an online index, no page number exists. Instead, the heading or the subheading is a hyperlink. Back to Top

**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Machine translation (MT) **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> - Machine translation is the automatic translation of text using only software without the help of a translator. See also translation memory.

**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Marketing communications (marcomms) **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> - Marketing communications is an organization's methods of communication with its customers and prospects. Although some technical writers create documents for marketing communications, copywriting and technical writing are different, as we show in 'Copywriting and technical writing compared'.

**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Metadata **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> - Metadata is data about data. For example, metadata about a book includes the price, the name of the author, and the ISBN.

**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Minimalism, Minimalist **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> - Minimalism is an action-based and task-oriented strategy for producing documentation. Minimalism gives emphasis to what readers must do. A minimalist document contains only important information. The basic principle is task-orientation. Brevity is important, but only because brevity can help task-oriented activity. Minimalism has nothing to do with creating thin manuals by excluding important information. Carroll introduced the term 'minimalism' in the early 1980s. Carroll specifies the basic principles as: Choose an action-oriented approach; Anchor the tool in the task domain; Support error recognition and recovery; Support reading to do, study and locate.

**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Moiré **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> - Moiré is an interference pattern that appears in screen shots.

**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Multimedia **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> - Multimedia is the collective term for text, graphics, animation, and interactive content. Back to Top

**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Numbered list **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">- A numbered list is an ordered list that uses numbers to show the sequence of items in the list. See also bulleted list; unordered list; run-in list.

**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Online documentation **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> - Online documentation is documentation that is designed to be read from a screen. Usually, online documentation contains context-sensitive help. Online documentation is separate from the software, unlike embedded help.

**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Ordered list **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> - An ordered list is a list in which the sequence of items is important. An ordered list does not necessarily contain sequence characters. For example, an index is an ordered list, but an index is not a numbered list. See also bulleted list; unordered list; run-in list.

**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">PDF (Portable Document Format) **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> - PDF is a file format that Adobe developed. PDF is an open standard named ISO 32000. See 'Adobe Portable Document Format'.

**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Perfect binding **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> - Perfect binding is a type of binding for printed documents. The pages are glued at one edge.

**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Phrasal verb **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> - A phrasal verb is a type of verb that has two words. Usually, the meaning of the verb is different from the usual meaning of the separate words. Usually, the parts of the verb can be separated by a noun. For example, 'carry out' is a phrasal verb. "He carried his job out well" means "he did his job well".

**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Plain English **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> - Plain English is English that is written as clearly as possible. Plain English is primarily for people who use English as a first language. See also international English.

**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Pop-up window **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> - In context-sensitive help, a pop-up window is a small secondary window that appears when a user clicks a link.

**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Preferred term **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> - A preferred term is a term that is used in preference to another equivalent term. For example, TechScribe uses 'user guide' instead of 'user manual'. Therefore, the preferred term is 'user guide'. See also controlled vocabulary.

**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Preliminary matter (prelims) **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> - Preliminary matter is an alternative term for front matter.

**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Print on demand (printing on demand) **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> - Print on demand is a method for printing a small number of documents only when the documents are needed. Usually, printing on demand uses digital printing.

**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Procedure **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> - A procedure is an numbered list of steps that tells a person how to do a task. See also process.

**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Process **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> - A process is a description of a system. Possibly, none, one, or many users are involved. The focus is on how the system operates, not on what people do. See also procedure.

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**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">QuikScan **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> - QuikScan is a format that makes printed documents and online documents more usable. QuikScan uses numbered list items for summaries in the document. The numbers are related to numbers in the primary part of the text. See http://quikscan.org.

**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Reference manual **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> - A reference manual is a document that explains the parts of a product. Usually, for a software reference manual, each dialog box, screen, field, tab, and button is explained. A reference manual answers the question, "what is x?". See also user guide.

**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Run-in list **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> - A run-in list is a list in which the list items are part of a sentence. See also bulleted list; numbered list; ordered list; unordered list.

**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Saddle stitch **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> - Saddle stitch is a type of binding for printed documents. The pages are stapled together.

**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Sans serif (compared with serif) **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> - A serif is a small projection on a character. Many traditional typefaces have serifs. A sans serif typeface is a typeface that does not have projections. Usually, for online documentation, a sans serif typeface is better than a serif typeface, because serifs do not display well with current display resolutions. For printed documentation, either serif typefaces or sans serif typefaces are satisfactory.

**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Screen shot **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> - A screen shot is a copy of the content of a screen. Frequently, a screen shot is cropped to show only the important parts of the screen. See also graphic.

**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Section 508 **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> - Section 508 is a US law that came into effect in June 2001. Section 508 requires that all IT products (including their documentation) that are sold to US government organizations are accessible to people with disabilities.

**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Serif **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> - See under sans serif (compared with serif).

**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Simplified English **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> - Simplified English can mean one of many types of controlled language, such as ASD Simplified Technical English and Wycliffe Associates' EasyEnglish.

**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Single-sourcing **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> - Single-sourcing is a method of creating documentation. Single-sourcing can be used when more than one item of documentation is necessary for a product. The components of all the documents are written in one source file. The writers of the source file specify which components are required for each item of documentation.

**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Special English **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> - Special English is a particular type of international English from Voice of America. See also EasyEnglish; Global English; Globish.

**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Specialized English **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> - Specialized English is a particular type of international English from Spotlight Radio. Specialized English is almost the same as Special English. See also EasyEnglish; Global English; Globish; Special English.

**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">STC **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">- Society for Technical Communication. STC is a professional organization for technical communicators. See also ISTC.

**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Structured writing (structured authoring) **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> - Structured writing is a method of writing that applies engineering principles to documentation. Information is 'typed' (for example, 'fact', 'concept', 'data value', 'procedure'). Rules specify the structure of a document. See also controlled language; Information Mapping; XML.

**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Style guide **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> - A style guide is a set of rules and guidelines that tell authors how to write documents. A style guide usually contains information about the sentence style, layout, typefaces, captions, headers, and other parts of a document. See also style sheet.

**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Style sheet **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> - A style sheet is a set of rules that specify how a computer system displays the content of an electronic document. See also Cascading Style Sheet; style guide.

**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Subject-matter expert (SME) **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> - A subject-matter expert is a person who has detailed knowledge about a subject. Possibly, the knowledge is tacit knowledge.

**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Syntactic cue **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> - A syntactic cue is a part of language that helps a reader to identify parts of speech and to analyze the structure of a sentence. Back to Top

**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Table of contents **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> - A table of contents is a list of chapters or sections that are in a document. In **printed documentation**, a table of contents is a list of chapters and subheadings with their related page numbers. The sequence of the list is the same as the sequence of the headings in the document. The table of contents is usually at the front of the document. In **online documentation**, a table of contents is a list of topics with hyperlinks to the topics. Usually, the topics are put into groups of related information, and there is a hierarchy of expandable and collapsible headings. Usually, the table of contents appears as a navigation pane on the left side of the help window.

**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Tacit knowledge **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> - Tacit knowledge is knowledge and experience that a person (usually, a subject-matter expert) has, but which has not been captured, and therefore, is not explicit. See also knowledge acquisition.

**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Task analysis **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> - Task analysis is the process of finding and specifying the tasks that people do when they interact with a (software) system. See also audience analysis; knowledge acquisition.

**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Task-based documentation **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> - Task-based documentation is documentation that is about the tasks that users must do in the context of their work, unlike documentation that explains the features of software. Frequently, task-based documentation is supplied as a user guide. See also reference manual.

**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Technical author **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> - Technical author is an alternative term for technical writer.

**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Technical authoring **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> - Technical authoring is an alternative term for technical writing.

**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Technical communication **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> - Technical communication is the communication of a technical message. Sometimes, the term is used as an alternative for technical writing, but technical communication includes all forms of technical instruction, such as technical illustration, multimedia design, and e-learning.

**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Technical writer **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> - A technical writer is a person who does technical writing.

**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Technical writing **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> - Technical writing is the communication of a technical message, primarily using text-based information. Technical writing is also known as technical authoring. See also technical communication.

**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Term **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> - A term is one or more words that have a specified meaning. See also preferred term.

**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Training needs analysis (TNA) **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> - Training needs analysis is an analysis of the needs of people who will be trained. See also audience analysis.

**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Translation memory (TM) **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> - A translation memory is a database that stores translations of different languages. See also translation memory system.

**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Translation memory system **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> - A translation memory system is software that helps human translators. Software shows previous translations to a translator. The translator can use the translation or change the translation. The translations are in the translation memory.

**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Typeface **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> - A typeface is the name of the design for a set of fonts, for example, 'Times New Roman'. The terms font and typeface are not synonyms. See 'Microsoft typography' and 'Choosing & using type' Back to Top

**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Unordered list **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> - An unordered list is a list in which the sequence of items is not important. Sometimes, an unordered list is a bulleted list. See also numbered list; ordered list; run-in list.

**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Usability **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> - Usability is a quality attribute that assesses how easy user interfaces are to use (according to Jakob Nielsen). Usability is specified by five quality components: learnability, efficiency, memorability, errors, and satisfaction. See also accessibility.

**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">User analysis **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> - User analysis is an alternative term for audience analysis.

**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">User assistance (UA) **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> - User assistance is the techniques and technologies to make working with software a better experience. These technologies include online Help, wizards, websites, printed documentation, and improvements to the application user interface (based on text supplied by WritersUA/WinWriters).

**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">User guide **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> - A user guide is document that explains how to use software to do procedures. A user guide answers the question, "how do I…?" See also reference manual; task-based documentation.

**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">User interface (UI) **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> - A user interface is the parts of a system that a person sees and uses to interact with the system. A user interface includes hardware such as a keyboard and a mouse. Frequently, the term user interface means the content that appears on a screen. Back to Top

**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">WebHelp **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> - WebHelp is cross-platform online documentation system from Adobe. It has similar functionality to compiled HTML Help. See also FlashHelp.

**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">White paper **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> - A white paper is detailed or authoritative report. For excellent information about white papers, see www.thatwhitepaperguy.com.

**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">White space **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> - White space is an empty area on a page or on a screen. White space does not always have a white colour. The defining feature of white space is that white space does not contain text or graphics.

**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">WinHelp **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> - WinHelp is an early type of online documentation from Microsoft.

**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Wire binding **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">- Wire binding is a type of binding for printed documents. The pages are held together with a coil of wire.

**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">XML **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> (Extensible Markup Language) - XML is a markup language that is used for structured writing. See http://xml.coverpages.org/xml.html.

**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">XML schema **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> - An XML schema specifies the structure of an XML document. See www.w3.org/standards/xml/schema and www.w3schools.com/schema/. Popular XML schemas are DITA and DocBook. Back to Top

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