Unlocking Password Protected PDF Files And More

August 31, 2006 Blog No Comments

Don’t you hate it when people password protect PDF documents? How about when you add the password protection, but are unable to remember the password you selected? Or, when you discover that a former employee added password protection to important business content, but neglected to share those passwords with those who replaced them. For these situations and many more, you might try using ElcomSoft’s Distributed Password Recovery tools. As you can imagine, Adobe is not very happy with ElcomSoft’s approach and has made this fact widely known. Nevertheless, the password-cracking …

In Review—XML: Problem – Design – Solution

August 30, 2006 Blog No Comments

In XML: Problem – Design – Solution by Mitch Amiano, Conrad D’Cruz, Kay Ethier, Michael D. Thomas (Worx – Wiley Publishers), the four accomplished XML gurus walk their readers through the process of building complete, functional, end-to-end XML solutions. In short, they spell out a problem and help readers solve it, providing step-by-step guidance and the XML code as download from the book’s companion website. The “problem – solution” approach is a good one as it enables readers to understand how XML markup facilitates the sharing of data across applications …

Implementing a Content Management System: Interview with Dr. JoAnn Hackos

August 29, 2006 Blog No Comments

Implementing a content management system may seem a little outside the purview of the technical writer. But, according JoAnn Hackos, technical communicators and other content creation and delivery specialists can indeed play a pivotal role in the success of a content management project. In this exclusive interview, Scott Abel chats with Hackos about how to prepare for a move to content management and who needs to be involved in the process. SA: JoAnn, thanks for allowing me to interview you today. For my readers that have yet to discover you …

OpenOffice Offers Free Alternative To Microsoft Suite

August 28, 2006 Blog No Comments

If you’ve been contemplating a move away from the Microsoft Office suite of software applications, check out Open Office, “a multiplatform and multilingual office suite and an open-source project. Compatible with all other major office suites, the product is free to download, use, and distribute.” Download.

TypeTester: A Web Content Designers Font Comparison Tool

August 25, 2006 Blog No Comments

The folks at The Typetester have developed “an online application for comparison of the fonts for the screen.” Select a few fonts and see what they look like side-by-side. Cool and useful, Typetester utilizes AJAX to provide users with an experience that feels more like a desktop application than a web-based tool. Test drive it today!

Adobe FrameMaker 2006 Chautauqua Travels To Austin, Texas – Are You Ready For What’s Next?

August 24, 2006 Blog 3 Comments

The second annual Adobe FrameMaker 2006 Chautauqua will take place November 8-10, 2006 in Austin, Texas. The event promises to be the largest international gathering of FrameMaker users this year. A wide variety of presentations will be offered covering hot topics like localization, DITA, and Controlled English as well as practical sessions covering FrameMaker basics, structured content development, HTML, XML, XSLT, and Help. FrameMaker users will not want to miss this must-attend event, during which Adobe will be announcing the release of … oops, we’re not allowed to tell you …

Google Maps: Who’s Visiting TheContentWrangler.com?

August 23, 2006 Blog No Comments

You’ve likely visited websites that provide information about how many visitors are online at the very same time as you. Usually these sites break the site visitors down into two types: “guests” and “members”. Now, thanks to Google Maps, your website or blog can also provide location information about each site visitor. Now we’ll not only know how many folks are online at a given time, but “where” they’re coming from. At 6:00 am today, TheContentWrangler.com had visitors from several continents—see the map below for details. Editor’s Note: At the …

Too Many Documentation Departments Lack Formal Processes

August 21, 2006 Blog No Comments

According to a recent survey of documentation managers by TechCom Manager, 37.5% of respondents said their organization had “no formal documentation process”. Editor Steve Capri wrote of the results: “I was very surprised that almost 40 percent of respondents claim they don’t use a formal process at all. Could it be that some of us follow a formal process without even knowing it? Or could it be that many of us still need more guidance in this arena?” We venture to guess it’s the latter. What do you think?

And The Winners Are – Tech Doc Book Drawing

August 19, 2006 Blog No Comments

Last week, TheContentWrangler.com held a drawing for four sets of free book bundles—one for Tech Writers, one for FrameMaker users, one for Content Consultants, and one for Web Content jockeys. Each set was valued at hundreds of dollars retail. Over 2,000 entries were received from readers in 16 nations. The winners of the drawing: Tech Writing Bundle – Zsuzsanna Nagy of Dusseldorf, Germany FrameMaker Bundle – Ness Diwan of Dulwich, London, UK Content Consultants Bundle – David Orr of Fairview, North Carolina, USA Web Content Bundle – J. Paul Kent …

Digging Deeper Into the Deep Web

August 17, 2006 Blog No Comments

The Web contains tremendous volumes of information. But you’ll have a hard time finding most of it. It’s hidden from view in the Deep Web, the part of the Web that, according to Internet Tutorials, “is not fixed, and is served dynamically on-the-fly, and is far larger than the fixed documents that many associate with the Web.” How much larger? Estimates vary, but suffice it to say your Google search is only skimming through a tiny portion of the Deep Web. Soound interesting? Learn more by visiting the Deep Web …