STC PMC Newsletter 2004-09

V olu me 38
Num b er 2
S ep t em ber /Oct ob er 2 0 04
Celebrating Our Chapter’s History
By Zyppora Goldberg
s a follow-up to the
Society for Technical
Communication’s
(STC’s) 50th
anniversary in 2003, our chapter
celebrated its own history at the
June meeting. The celebration
included a display of chapter
memorabilia, participation by
several long-term members, and
commentary by John Simons, a
veteran of our chapter since 1976.
He has been an active and
distinguished member, serving in
the past as chairman and vice
chairman (now called president and
vice president), manager of the
chapter nominating committee,
and general manager of the 1988
International Technical
Communications Conference
(ITCC), the former name of STC’s
annual conference.
John noted that the chapter,
then called the Delaware Valley
Chapter, was broke throughout the
1970s and averaged only about
three or four attendees at each
meeting. The catalyst for change
was the ITCC in Philadelphia, which
reenergized member participation,
fostered better involvement with
the national office, and brought in
needed income. John also pointed
out that the chapter itself ran the
conference completely, which is not
the current practice. Programs,
articles, and photographs from the
1988 conference were part of the
memorabilia on display.
The Chapter’s Beginnings
The exact date of our chapter’s
formation remains ambiguous.
There are official records of a
Delaware Valley Chapter of the
Society of Technical Writers and
Publishers (STWP), the
predecessor to STC, back to 1970.
It appears that the chapter was in
existence prior to that and may
have been preceded by a local
chapter of the Society of Technical
Writers and Editors (STWE), which
was merged into the STWP.
The name of the STWP was
changed to STC in 1971. The
Delaware Valley Chapter of the STC
became the Philadelphia Metro
Chapter in 1994.
Chapter Trivia
Three of our members have
been elected to the honorary ranks
of STC. Henri Lauer and R. John
Brockmann have been recognized
as fellows of the society, and John
Simons has attained the status of
associate fellow.
The chapter has hosted two
society-wide conferences in
Philadelphia: the 1962 Convention
of the STWP and the 1988 ITCC.
Our regional annual conference has
evolved from job fairs and career
days that started in the late 1990s.
Job announcements were
originally published in the chapter
newsletter and then in a special Job
Connection insert, which was
superseded by recordings on a
A
Contents
Celebrating Our Chapter’s
History __________________ 1
Director-Sponsor
Technical Communication:
A View from Below ______ 2
President’s Podium
Is This Worth It? ________ 3
Announcing the STC-PMC
Competitions for 2004/
2005____________________ 4
The Rewards of Peer Review 5
Member Spotlight
Donn DeBoard and Marc
Green____________________ 6
Tips for Using Visio
Efficiently _______________ 7
Crossword Puzzle ________ 10
Book Review
Mr. Beck’s Underground
Map ____________________ 11
(Continued on page 12)

NEWS & VIEWS 2 September/October 2004
NEWS & VIEWS
Submissions and Reprints
You may reprint original
material appearing in NEWS &
VIEWS, as long as you
acknowledge the source and
author and send us a copy of the
publication containing the
reprint.
ISSN 1078-9952. NEWS &
VIEWS, published six times per
year, is the official publication of
the Philadelphia Metro Chapter
of STC. We encourage letters,
articles, and other items for
publication. Note: By submitting
an article, you implicitly grant a
license to this newsletter to run
the article and for other STC
publications to reprint it without
permission. Unless otherwise
noted, copyrights for all
newsletter articles belong to the
authors. The design and layout
of this newsletter are copyright
STC, 2004.
Address submissions or
comments to Lori Corbett,
Managing Editor, NEWS & VIEWS,
834 Westridge Drive,
Phoenixville, PA, 19460,
phone (610) 382-8683;
email stcmember@comcast.net.
Toolbox
We produce News & Views
with Frame-Maker 6.0 and
Acrobat 6.0 on various Pentium
computers.
Newsletter Staff
Managing Editor
Lori Corbett
stcmember@comcast.net
Layout Editor
Rose Marie Sosnowy
(610) 792-4031
Associate Editor
Al Brown (856) 222-7427
Rebecca Richardson
rebecca.one@verizon.net
Mary Shaw
mary@ladywriter.net
Also Contributing to This Issue
Zyppora Goldberg
Zsolt Olah
Jane A. Phillips
Jill Cassidy Rolette
Mike Sharp
DIRECTOR-SPONSOR
Technical Communication:
A View from Below
By Jonathan W. Baker,
STC, Director/Sponsor Region 1
s August winds down, I
am struggling to put
some thoughts together
about the field of
Technical Communication. I don’t
know about you, but I am worn out
talking about the economy, the
changing technical
communications field, the war in
Iraq, terrorism, and just about
everything else. In fact I am so
bummed that I want a special SIG
set up for burnt out, fried, and
otherwise abused technical
communicators. Maybe we can call
it the Walking Wounded SIG or the
Burnt Up, Used Up, Dried Up SIG.
OK. I am trying to be funny. But
there is some truth to the idea that
this field is at least three years into
perhaps the worst downward spiral
we have experienced in 50 years.
And many of us are feeling less
than perfect, compared to how we
felt about ourselves a few years
back. I mean, don’t you just want
to have some fun, like back in the
good old days of 1999? Everything
was rock and roll, way back then.
Jobs were plentiful and if you didn’t
have one on Monday, you surely
would have a choice between two
or three jobs on Tuesday.
So, how do we go about feeling
better about our field and
ourselves? I would suggest that
this is a great time to go back to
school. Whether you take a course
in RoboHelp or Java, whether you
get into a degreed program or take
an evening school crafts course,
you will be doing something to help
yourself. Everything you learn
eventually adds value.
Last spring, I took a motorcycle
maintenance course. I thought this
wasn’t related to technical
communication, but then I learned
that there are technical
communicators out there putting
together the motorcycle service
manuals we used in class. It never
occurred to me that my skills could
be used in this business. Another
positive that came out of taking the
class was that it got me out of the
house and thinking about
something other than work. There
is LOTS of value in that.
A few years back, I took a
Webmasters’ certificate program
from a local university. It gave my
career a good kick at a time I
needed it. Although I really never
became a Webmaster, employers
liked to see my interest in learning.
It showed that I was engaged and
willing to learn. If you want to stay
in this field for the near term,
maybe it is time to sign up for that
technical course to advance your
skills and differentiate yourself
from everyone else.
Personally, I believe that many
in STC want to be nothing more
than good technical
communicators. And that is a great
goal. Not all of us should move on
to other things like information
architecture, usability, or project
management. Some writers simply
want to be writers and some
editors want nothing more than to
edit. To stay in these areas,
advanced technical knowledge is
essential. The more you have; the
better. Some of us will go on to
those other disciplines, but it
doesn’t change the fact that we are
all communicators and need to
A

September/October 2004 3 News & Views
PRESIDENT’S PODIUM
Volunteering
By Steven Lungren
eople seem to be either
enthusiastically in favor
of, or stubbornly opposed
to, offering their own
time and effort to help others.
Have you ever considered how
many volunteers we have in our
country today? As many olunteers
as there are, it isn't enough.Think
for a moment about the many
different beneficial organizations
that depend on volunteers. Where
would they be without the large
numbers of people like you and me
donating a little bit of our time to
them?
Without volunteers, how could
they continue helping: the
homeless, the orphaned, the
battered, the aged, the impaired,
animals in need of
shelter and adoption,
youth activities,
and even technical
communication
professionals
seeking career
growth or
employment?
Do you volunteer? Perhaps you
help at a shelter or some other
organization for just a few hours a
month. Would you say that you do
it only to help others? I believe that
we also improve ourselves when
we're volunteering our help to
others. When we are able to
provide assistance to other
individuals or groups of our society
and their lives are improved, then
we all reap the rewards.
If you think that your
contributions are insignificant or
unimportant, you're wrong. Even if
it isn't immediately evident, the
small amount of your time that you
donate to benefit others is
compounded daily and pays great
dividends.
Volunteer Spotlight
If you know somebody who
volunteers time and effort to help
whether it is to help the
Philadelphia Metro Chapter, a SIG,
or a Society-level committee, you
have an opportunity to let people
know about it on a grand scale.
Intercom is seeking stories for a
new feature column, Volunteer
Spotlight.
From Cate Nielan, Managing
Editor of Intercom:
“As we currently imagine it, the
format will feature four brief
profiles, each written by a
volunteer from a different region of
the Society. In their profiles, which
will include photos, the
volunteers will
describe how they
have benefited
personally and/
or
professionally
from their
contributions to the
Society. The column will
run at least twice a year, to allow
us to feature a volunteer from each
Society region.”
“If you know a volunteer who
has displayed exceptional
commitment to STC and your
chapter, please forward the
volunteer's name, with a brief
description of his or her volunteer
work, to intercom@stc.org (subject
line: Volunteer Spotlight). We'll
contact the member for more
information. Considering STC's
large volunteer pool, we may not
be able to feature your
nominations(s).”
P
STC-PMC LEADERSHIP
Address correspondence for
the Philadelphia Metro chapter
of STC to
STC-PMC, P.O. Box 60069,
Philadelphia, PA 19102-0069.
SOCIETY FOR TECHNICAL
COMMUNICATION
Mission Statement:
Designing the Future of Technical
Communication
The Society for Technical
Communication (STC) is an
organization dedicated to advancing
technical communication.
Membership is open to those
employed in, interested in, or
concerned with the profession of
technical writing, publishing, or
associated disciplines. Contact STC
at 901 N. Stuart St., Suite 904,
Arlington, VA 22203,
(703) 522-4114 or http://
www.stc.org.
Chapter Officers
President
Steve Lungren (267) 620-2421
Vice President
Jane Phillips (856) 608-7200
Treasurer
Gary Samartino
(610) 701-0577
Secretary
Jill Cassidy (215) 590-9815
Immediate Past President
Nad Rosenberg (856) 484-6598
Region 1 Director/Sponsor
Jon Baker (978) 443-3049
Chapter Committee Managers
Employment
Giacomo DeAnnuntis
(215) 482-1255
Programs
Julia Margulies
(484) 344-2448
Membership
Mike Sharp (856) 854-2141
NEWS & VIEWS
Lori Corbett
stcmember@comcast.net
Nominating
Mike Sharp (856) 854-2141
Website
Lois Shank lbshank@ptd.net
Competition
Donn DeBoard (484) 595-6216
Marc Green (610) 358-0631
“. . . exceptional
commitment to
STC . . .”

STC-PMC CALENDAR
Unless otherwise noted, all
meetings follow this schedule:
Networking: 6:00 to 6:30
Dinner: 6:30 to 7:30
Program: 7:30 to 9
September 23
Using Personas to Connect
with Your Audience, presented
by Whitney Quesenbery.
Personas are a popular way to
encapsulate and share user
research to ensure good
usability. Learn how personas
help us communicate what we
know about the people who use
our products. Whitney
Quesenbery is an engaging
speaker and an expert in
developing new concepts that
meet business, user, and
technology needs.
October 9
A Trolley Tour of Center City’s
Murals, led by Robin
Eisenberg. For schedule and
registration details, please see
page 7 of the June/July/August
issue of News & Views. (Note
that the registration deadline is
October 1.)
October 21
XML as a By-product of
Structured Content, presented
by John Hawkins. Learn the
basic concepts for XML and
structured content. John
Hawkins will use real-world
examples to show how
structured content can be
created in various applications,
including Microsoft Word, XML,
and AuthorIT.
November 23
Changing Focus: Instructional
Design as a Career Path,
presented by Constance Bille.
Instructional design is one
path technical communicators
may have an opportunity to
follow. During this presentation,
you will learn how to assess your
own skill set against the skills
required for the instructional
design field. You will also learn
some strategies for acquiring
these skills.
Announcing the STC-PMC Competitions
for 2004/2005
he 2004/2005 STC-PMC
Competitions are
underway. This year,
along with the Online
Communication Competition, we
are bringing back the Technical
Publications Competition. The
deadline for submitting entries is
October 1, 2004.
What Can Be Entered?
Entries in all categories
must:
❏ Contain sufficient technical,
scientific, medical, or similar
content to qualify as technical
communication
❏ Have been produced or substan-
tially revised within 24 months
preceding September 1, 2004
❏ Have been originally prepared for
and accepted for publication by a
client, employer, or publisher
All entries are subject to the
restrictions listed on the entry
form.
What Awards Are Given?
Three levels of recognition are
awarded in each competition
category. The awards, in
descending order, are:
❏ Distinguished Technical Commu-
nication (DTC)
❏ Excellence
❏ Merit
One Best of Show award may be
presented for each competition.
Winners of the DTC and Best of
Show award in each category
qualify for automatic submission to
the STC International
Competitions.
Fees and Forms
Entries must be received by
October 1, 2004.
Fees for each entry are as
follows:
❏ $75 (STC Members)
❏ $95 (non-STC Members)
❏ $45 (students)
Complete details and rules are
available on the Competition Entry
Form (doc or pdf).
You Be the Judge!
Another rewarding way to
participate in the STC-PMC
Competitions is to be a judge.
Judging lets you join other
technical communication
professionals to compare notes on
what works and what doesn't work
in Online Communications and
Technical Publications. This year,
we are once again trading entries
with the Middle Tennessee Chapter
in Nashville.
Judges will receive entries
around the middle of October. Our
Judge's Meeting will take place on
November 13, 2004 at Vertex in
Berwyn, PA (just off of US 202 near
Chesterbrook and the King of
Prussia Mall). As in past years, we
expect this will be an enjoyable
chance to mingle, network, and
learn from each other.
If you'd like to join us or have
any questions, send an e-mail to
Marc Green by September 24,
2004. Please indicate if you'd
prefer to judge Online
Communications or Technical
Publications (or both).
T

STC AND RELATED EVENTS
AROUND THE WORLD
September 15, 1–2:30 p.m.
STC Phone Seminar,
Cascading Style Sheets:
Learning the Basics (Part I),
presented by Char James-
Tanny. For more information go
to stc.webex.com.
September 20–24.
The Human Factors and
Ergonomics Society (HFES) will
hold its 48th
annual meeting at
the Sheraton New Orleans Hotel.
For more information, contact
HFES at info@hfes.org or visit
the Website at www.hfes.org.
September 20–30.
International Conference on
Technical Communication
Management (LAVACON) at
Chateau Sonesta Hotel in New
Orleans. For more information,
visit the Website at
www.lavacon.org.
September 28–October 2.
The Association for Machine
Translation in the Americas will
hold its sixth conference at the
Levy Conference Center on the
Campus of Georgetown
University, Washington, DC. For
more information, contact
Laurie Gerber at
lgerber@languageweaver.com or
visit the Website at
www.amtaweb.org/AMTA200.
September 29, 1–2:30 p.m.
STC Phone Seminar,
Cascading Style Sheets:
Learning the Basics (Part II),
presented by Char James-
to stc.webex.com.
The Rewards of Peer Review
By Jane A. Phillips
n my former life as tourism
director for a seaside resort, I
had the opportunity to woo
and host the statewide
preliminaries for the Miss America
competition. The experience
introduced me to an oft-repeated
phrase: “It’s not a beauty pageant;
it’s a scholarship program!” In a
similar vein, when you consider
participation in the STC
competitions I think it’s important
to remember: “It’s not a
competition; it’s peer review!”
Yes, peer review. My software
documentation always earns
“oohs” and “aahs” from my family
members. (After all, these folks still
use refrigerator magnets to display
everything I ever accomplished in
kindergarten.) However, “attaboys”
from Mom and Dad don’t really
qualify as constructive criticism.
For that, I rely on the STC
competitions.
“Competition” is probably a
misnomer for the true STC
experience. Most competitions try
to rank a field of competitors
against each other. However, each
entry in the STC competitions
stands or falls on its own merit,
measured by industry standards of
excellence in technical
communication. All—or none—
could receive recognition.
Recognition by your peers is
very satisfying, but I believe that
the true value of the STC
competitions lies in the feedback
from the judges who review your
work, even when you don’t earn an
award. (STC guidelines ensure that
everyone who enters the
competition receives copies of the
judges’ evaluations.)
If you are an independent
contractor or you work in a small
documentation department,
probably you understand my
appreciation for the benefits of this
sort of peer review. I document
multiple software applications and
typically, the documentation review
cycle is compressed by competing
schedules and priorities. I prevail
upon harried subject matter
experts to verify accuracy during
technical reviews. However, it’s a
little more difficult to find qualified
reviewers to evaluate design,
usability, and appropriateness for
the target audience.
That’s where my peers at STC
come in.
The first time I entered the
Philadelphia Metro Chapter’s
annual competition, I submitted
the same software manual in two
categories. Because it was a new
book, I wanted a professional
assessment of its overall usability.
STC chapters trade judging with
other chapters to ensure
objectivity, so it turned out that the
Chicago Chapter evaluated my
book’s overall design (Technical
Art) and STC Israel evaluated its
organization and content (Technical
Publications).
I thought the judges’ written
comments about my book were
objective, constructive, and above
all, generous. They let me know
what worked, and what didn’t.
Some made suggestions for solving
problems. The STC Israel judges
educated me about the use of
imperatives with international
audiences. By entering the
software manual in two categories,
I realized that I had added six
technical communications
professionals to my review team.
I

STC and Related Events
Around the World (Continued
from page 5)
September 29–October 2.
The Professional
Communication Society of the
Institute of Electrical and
Electronics Engineers (IEEE/
PCS) will hold its International
Professional Communication
Conference at the Radisson
Hotel Metrodome in Minneapolis.
For more information, see
www.ieeepcs.org.
October 6, 1–2:30 p.m.
STC Phone Seminar,
Communicating with Older
Audiences, presented by Dana
Chisnell and Am Lee. For more
information go to stc.webex.com.
October 13–16.
The American Translators
Association (ATA) will hold its
annual conference at the
Sheraton Centre Hotel in
Toronto. For more information,
write to conference@atanet.org
or see www.atanet.org.
October 20, 1–2:30 p.m.
STC Phone Seminar, A Brief,
Comprehensive Indexing Primer,
presented by Seth Maislin. For
more information go to
stc.webex.com.
October 21–24.
The Intermountain Chapter
STC will host the 2004 STC
Region 5 Conference at the
Wyndham Hotel in Salt Lake
City. The conference theme is
“Ascending the Summit: A
Technical Communication
Expedition.” For more
information, contact Marj
Hermansen-Eldard at
meldard@legato.com.
November 10, 1–2:30 p.m.
STC Phone Seminar,
Introducing Windows ‘Longhorn’
Help, presented by Char James-
to stc.webex.com.
MEMBER SPOTLIGHT
Donn DeBoard and Marc Green
By Jill Cassidy Rolette
Friendly Competition
Would you describe
yourself as
competitive? Do you
have a hard time with
the saying, “It's not whether you
win or lose, but how you played the
game”? Do you find yourself
seriously trying to win a pick-up
game of basketball against your 8
year old? Do you still squabble with
siblings regarding rules and
guidelines for your post-
Thanksgiving family football game?
Have your friends or family ever
refused to play Monopoly with you?
If you were able to answer “yes” to
any one of these questions, then
you need to be become involved in
the 2004/2005 STC-PMC Technical
Communications Competition!
This year, our chapter will once
again be exchanging competition
entries with the Middle Tennessee
Chapter, and for the first time in
five years will accept entries in
both online communications and
technical publications. There are
many wonderful reasons to the
competition, so I asked Donn
DeBoard and Marc Green, our
chapter competition co-chairs, to
share some of their thoughts
regarding the impact of the
competition, and what members
can hope to gain by entering or
participating as a judge this year.
Marc Green
Marc, a member of our chapter
since 1992, has been in the
technical communications field for
almost 20 years, starting fresh out
of college as an editor of
automotive electrical
troubleshooting manuals then
moving to Japan to work as a
translation editor. In the early
1990s he experienced a slight
career shift towards software
documentation and courseware, a
shift that led him to Vertex, Inc.,
where he has worked for the past
five years.
Marc has been actively involved
with the competition for the past
six years, judging entries for the
first three years, and managing the
competition as well as judging for
the past three years. He has
received two Merit Awards for his
own work in the technical
publications portion of the
competition. He finds that judging
helps to make him “a better
technical communicator…it gave
[him] a chance to give a critical
look at many different types of
technical communication. It was
always interesting seeing how
others found ways to reach their
users.” Marc attended the 1998 and
2000 STC Annual Conferences, and
would find that he was drawn to the
display of International
Competitions winners (Entries that
receive a reward for Distinguished
Technical Communication at the
chapter level advance to the
International Competition. The
winners of that competition are on
display each year at the annual
conference.)
Feedback, feedback, feedback.
It’s so important to have a
benchmark for what we do and how
we do it, and Marc points to the
valuable feedback that competition
entrants receive as one of the most
important reasons to take a chance
and enter. In our regular working
environment, rarely do we have the
opportunity for “teams of technical
W

Tips for Using Visio Efficiently
By Mike Sharp
isio, one of the Microsoft
Office suite of products,
lets you create diagrams
that look crisp and
professional. Learn the basics and
you’re on your way. However,
getting your work to look exactly as
you want can take lots of time, time
that you may not have if you’re
under a tight deadline.
Some recent projects have
required that I use Visio to
flowchart business processes. The
current project requires me to
create the diagram while a
facilitator conducts an interview
with a subject matter expert. In
this case, I have to be fast with
Visio. And, I’ve learned some
practices that help me to keep up
with the discussion and turn out
diagrams quickly.
Looking at The Basics
First, I’ll review some basics of
using Visio for those who may not
be all that familiar with the
program. If you’re impatient to get
to the tips, skip to the next section.
Visio’s magic lies in its extensive
collection of drawing shapes, or
objects, already created, that you
can use to create a diagram. The
default working interface presents
a fairly large working area on the
right and a smaller area on the left
for shape storage.
Shapes are stored in files called
stencils. You can load different
stencils to suit your needs into the
left-hand stencil storage area. To
use the shapes, click on an icon in
the storage area and drag it onto
the working space. The working
space represents a page that you
can size and orient to suit your
needs. When you drag a shape onto
the workspace, it remains selected
(highlighted) until you click
somewhere else. When a shape is
selected, it shows little handles that
you can use to resize it. Some
shapes are blocks that can
represent functions, decisions, data
storage, report output, etc. Other
shapes are lines that connect the
blocks to show a sequential flow of
activity or a particular type of
relationship.
Visio stores shapes in stencils
according to the type of shape. You
can see the variety of shapes
available to you by selecting
Stencils… from the File menu
(for Visio 2002—for Visio 2003,
select File:Shapes…). A sub-
menu appears that lists the various
categories.
Almost every object and
connector in Visio can display text
that you type in for labels,
explanations, etc. You can format
the text just as with any other text
editor. So much for a brief review of
Visio basics—now, on to the tips.
Using Templates
To me, the basic concept of using
a template is to spend time once
creating something, then copy
what you have created, and change
the copy to generate the next
something. This process of
replication can happen at several
levels. All Microsoft Office
applications, including Visio,
provide the ability to create a
template file that is usually “read-
only” and from which you can make
copies, but cannot alter unless you
open it for editing. However, you
can use the same concept at the
file, or more detailed levels.
Copy and Change. If there is
a file that almost fits what you want
to create, then you can copy the file
and then alter the information in it
that needs to be changed. This is
particularly handy with any Office
document for which you have
already configured the page layout,
heading design, and logical
structure. The original file becomes
a template for the new file. The
concept also works for smaller units
of information such as chapters,
sections, or paragraphs.
Use CTRL-DRAG. In any MS
Office application, you can select
an element, hold down the Control
key, and drag a copy of the
selection to a new location. This
feature is particularly useful in
Visio, as it allows you to place one
element, say, an activity box,
format it the way you want, and
then use [Ctrl]-drag to create as
many copies as you need.
Therefore, you need to do the
formatting only once. I often set up
a flowchart by dragging boxes onto
my worksheet, entering the
appropriate text into them, but
leaving out the connectors. When I
am finished entering text, I connect
the boxes by dragging one
connector onto the page and
placing it. Then I replicate it with
[Ctrl]-drag to place all the other
connectors.
Repeating Designs. For
standard text and graphics that
appear on every page, Visio
provides the standard header and
footer functions. (View:Header and
Footer...). Moreover, it has a
feature in the Page Setup dialog
box that lets you put repeating
graphics or text anywhere on the
page. For example, you could put a
company’s logo at the top right or
left of the page, place a large,
company-related logo in the center
of the page (screened so that it
V

News & Views 8 September/October 2004
becomes a soft background), and
then put a bar across the bottom of
the page that contains the
company’s contact information. To
do this, you create a background
page.
Open the Page Setup dialog box
and then click on the Page
Properties tab (File:Page
Setup...|Page Properties).
Notice the first property, Type:,
has two radio buttons—
Foreground and Background.
Click the Background button to
set the page as one that repeats on
every other page in the document.
Now, for all the other pages, open
the Page Properties dialog box and
make sure that the Type: field is
set to Foreground. In the next
field, Name:, you can change the
name to something other than
“Page-n.”
The next field is important for
every foreground page—for all
existing pages, you need to set the
Background: field to the page
name of your background page.
Subsequent new pages that you
insert will already have the
background page selected. Yes,
Virginia, you can have more than
one background page in a drawing.
When you insert a new page, the
Page Properties dialog box appears,
letting you verify the Foreground-
Background setting, change the
page name from the default, and
select a background page from the
drop-down menu.
My Favorites Stencil. You
can also create your own,
personalized stencil of shapes and
groups that you have built and use
often. Visio 2003 presents this
functionality as the My Favorites
stencil. Visio 2002 presents it in the
New Stencil... command. Either
one enables you to create your own
blank stencil, open it for editing,
and then drag shapes, groups, and
text from a drawing onto the
stencil. Thereafter, when you work
in a document, you can open the
new stencil that you created and
drag your frequently used shapes
or groups from it onto the working
area of a Visio page.
Flowchart Shapes Icon. On
the Basic Flowchart Shapes
stencil there is an icon titled
Flowchart Shapes. When you
drag the icon onto your working
space, you see a rectangle for an
activity box. If you right-click on
the shape, you can change it to the
symbol for a report, a decision, or
data input. Once placed, the shape
cannot be changed to another; but
this is a quick way to set up four of
the most common shapes used in
flowcharting.
Styles
Word, Excel, and to a limited
extent, Access and PowerPoint,
enable you to apply styles to
certain elements. A style is a group
of formatting characteristics that
can be applied in one operation to
an element. Visio also lets you
define and use styles, but you must
apply one style to lines, another to
fill areas, and a third to text. This
lets you combine different sets of
formatting characteristics to each
of these three design elements.
However, I would also like to have
the option of assigning all three
types of styles to a drawing object
in one operation. Assigning styles
to an object three times is a little
more time-consuming; so I have
found a way to assign styles that is
faster and more convenient:
creating an object that has the
style I want on the My Favorites
stencil and then using the Format
Painter function. (Its icon appears
as a paintbrush in the toolbar.)
Assume, for example, that you
want to use specific formatting
characteristics for an alert box to
signal a dangerous condition or
activity. For that style, you could
choose a heavy, red box border
with red, bold text in a font
different from the rest of your text.
Also, the fill (background) of the
box is pale pink (so that it won’t
compete with the text if it’s printed
out on a black-and-white printer).
Create a box you want in your
drawing and then drag it onto the
My Favorites stencil. When you
want to assign that style quickly to
a number of objects, drag the
object onto your working drawing,
leave it selected, and double-click
the Format Painter (paintbrush)
icon in the toolbar. Every object you
click on the page will take on the
characteristics you defined. In less
than a minute, you can have
assigned a style to all objects on
the page that need it.
Using AutoCorrect
You may have used this feature
extensively in Word. It also works
in Excel. If you haven’t, I
recommend it. The same
translation database feeds all Office
applications, including Visio. Here’s
how it works. At the AutoCorrect
dialog box (Tools:AutoCorrect
Options…), type an abbreviation
for a word that you use frequently;
say, for example, “mgt” for
“management.” In the Replace...
field, type the abbreviation (in our
example, mgt) and in the with...
field, type the expansion of the
abbreviation (management). Now,
every time you type “mgt” in the
document, it automatically
expands to “management,” as long
Tips for Using Visio Efficiently (Continued from page 7)

as it’s followed by a space,
punctuation element, or return.
You don’t need to restrict yourself
to single words. You could type a
company’s address on three lines,
select the entire address, and then
paste it into the with… field after
typing an abbreviation such as
coaddr.
Working Efficiently with
Connectors
Dynamic connectors are perhaps
the most bewildering feature of
using Visio. When you drag a
dynamic connector onto the
workspace and then connect each
end of the line to an activity box,
the ends of the line will glue
themselves to the shapes to which
they connect. Each “handle” on a
shape (the ones you drag to re-size
the shape) also functions as a glue
point. You know that the connector
has glued itself when it flashes red
on the computer display. With each
end glued to a shape, the connector
will stay attached to the shape if
you should move the shape, thus
maintaining the logical
relationship. When you have placed
the first connector in your diagram,
you can connect other shapes using
the CTRL-DRAG operation
described above.
Also, notice that when you drag
the midpoints of the lines, they
move their section of the line in
either of two directions--up-down
(if line section is horizontal) or left-
right (if line section is vertical).
Sometimes, though, you need to
put another corner into a connector
so that it will weave through the
spaces between objects. To do this,
hold down CTRL as you drag the
midpoint. You will need to
experiment with this function in
Visio to become adept with it.
Lining Things Up Neatly
Visio has two features that help
you to keep objects in straight
lines--horizontal and vertical rules
that you can drag onto the page
and use to align objects, and the
grid background.
Rules. By default, Visio opens
new documents with a vertical and
horizontal ruler displayed. If you do
not see rulers on your drawing, pull
down the View menu and make
sure that the Rulers option is
checked. When you place the
cursor in either the horizontal or
vertical ruler and then left-drag
onto the workspace, you will see a
blue line (rule) that follows the
cursor to wherever you drop it. You
can use a rule to align the top,
bottom, left, or right edges of a
series of objects—or, the middles.
In building flowcharts, most people
stick to the standard flow of left to
right and top to bottom, which
means that you build a row of
objects, then a row under the first
one, and so on until you have filled
the paper. To give the flow chart a
pleasing appearance, you need to
align the objects in each row,
usually at their midpoints. Rules
are the quickest way to do this.
An alternate way to align shapes
that is almost as fast is to select all
the objects you want to align, then
execute the command
Shape:Align Shapes... The Align
Shapes dialog box appears,
providing six different ways to align
the selected shapes. A related
command that lets you distribute
shapes with equal spaces between
them is to execute the command
Shape:Distribute Shapes...
The Distribute Shapes dialog box
appears, providing six different
ways that you can distribute the
shapes you selected.
The Grid Background. By
default, when Visio opens a new
drawing, the blank page displays a
quadrille grid of light blue lines that
synchronize with the measurement
units on the rulers at the top and
left side of the page. Often, these
are all you need to align objects
properly. If you don’t see the grid
on the page, pull down the View
menu and make sure that the Grid
option is checked.
These aren’t the only tricks to
using Visio quickly and effectively,
but they should give you a strong
start at becoming more efficient
with the application.
Editor’s Note: This is the first in
what I hope becomes a regular
column feature of News & Views. If
you would like to write a tips or
review article about a software
application that you use, please
send it to me at
stcmember@comcast.net. Some
possibilities might be PhotoShop,
Paintshop Pro, FrameMaker,
Dreamweaver, etc. The list is
practically endless. I’m looking
forward to receiving some great tips
and reviews!
Tips for Using Visio Efficiently (Continued from page 8)

Crossword Puzzle
By Zsolt Olah
Solution on page 15
1
G
2
O
3
O
4
G
5
L E
6 7
R
8
O
9
I
10
N
11
A P R O N
12
B E Y
13
O N D
R
14 14
F L O N
15
B
16
N
17
D R
18
I
19
L L
20 21
S
22
O A R E
21 23
C E L
24
L G
25 25
I O
26
T N E
27
O N S
28
O
29
T
30
S T E
31
G U P
32
M T O
33
E P
34
Y
35
A M O R T C W
36
C
37
O O K
41
A
38
P H O N E
39
Y
40
B
41
A S
42
I L
43
O F
44
E R S H R I N K
ACROSS
1 Elevated seat
9 It starts inside
11 Ticket category
12 Girl, uninterrupted. While
speaking foreign.
14 Boring list
15 The sad part of the airport
20 EM
22 Ghostily
23 HRA
24 TII
25 Shorter than optimal
26 GOFR
27 Eruption of pimples or pustules,
especially on the face
28 Lies in the middle of stupidest
30 Meet participle
31 Commonly shared work
32 Resting place
34 DN
35 Indicates atmospheric
pressure. Not only in election
year
36 One of the tiers
38 In communism: a person, who
wants more. In capitalism: a
person, who wants more than
he/she can handle
40 NOWNO
43 OE
44 A writer’s make believe
personal identification.
DOWN
1 Hands-on the ground approach
2 Identification
3 Life threatening point in time
and space
4 HL
5 CTERKO
6 Not Royal Air Force
7 ILFRY
8 Kings do it
9 Causes interference
10 Not without “o.”
13 EA
ACROSS
16 British focal point
17 AO
18 Unknown source of wisdom
19 Last
21 The dom of extreme sufferers
23 Best-known town
29 Not a polite request
32 Credit holders
33 TE
35 Common cursing word in the
media
37 Browser
38 Moving boardgame
39 YE
41 Double O
42 State
DOWN
GUIDELINES:
Not your typical crossword. Some of
the definitions may be vague,
associative, even funny. A single word
CAPITALIZED (e.g., across 40) is your
guide. Use it ‘as is’.

BOOK REVIEW By Al Brown
Mr. Beck’s Underground Map
Ken Garland, 1994. Harrow Weald,
Middlesex, U.K. Capitol Transport
Publishing. [ISBN 185414-168-6.
80 pages. £12.95.]
My mother-in-law, a
Manhattan-born
transplant to central
Maine, once stopped
to ask a farmer whether she was on
the right road to Skowhegan. He
replied, “Nope,” and returned to his
fieldwork. This variant on the
classic Down East “you can't get
there from here” story points to a
fundamental but tricky aspect of
information design: How do you
show somebody how to get from
point A to point B without giving too
much or too little information?
One of the most elegant and
influential solutions is the diagram
of the London Underground
system, whose development Ken
Garland chronicles in Mr. Beck’s
Underground Map. London is a
notoriously difficult city to
navigate; it lacks the Cartesian grid
of Center City Philadelphia or the
radial pattern of Paris. Its subway
system, like that of New York,
began as independently managed
lines, which changed and
converged over time. Early maps
(ca. 1906) showed these routes
superimposed on a surface map.
The result was too much
information. Finding a scale that
presented the whole system while
showing the dense central areas
with clarity proved to be a usability
nightmare.
The solution came from Henry C.
Beck, a young engineering
draftsman. Apparently influenced
by electrical schematics, Beck
reduced the Underground system
to its essentials. He made no
attempt to depict relative
distances, just relative positions.
The only surface feature was a
highly stylized representation of
the Thames, depicted in straight
lines and angles. The result was
successful from its introduction in
1932.
From this point the book
chronicles the evolution of the
Diagram, as the author more
accurately calls it. The changes in
the Underground system are
explained at a level of detail only a
native Londoner would understand
or appreciate. He describes Beck’s
increasingly obsessive tweaks.
Eventually, inevitably, Beck was
gently shoved aside and younger
bureaucrats conveniently forgot
the verbal assurances of
permanent editorial control over
the Diagram. The author's close
personal relationship with and deep
admiration for Henry Beck strongly
flavors this part of the narrative.
Garland does not seem to have a
firm grasp of the principles of
graphic design, let alone
information design. Thus he
describes Beck’s attempts, even
into his forced retirement, to
render clearly the increasingly
complex interchanges as lines were
added to the system, but without
fully understanding the issues
involved. Over the years, Beck
experimented with various ways of
representing stations using circles,
triangles, and so on; color coding of
lines; the use of straight lines and
angles, and the like. Garland
details these changes with the
loving obsession of a book collector
expounding on the differences
between various states of a first
edition, but without understanding
the design issues Beck wrestled
with. The casual reader, preferably
equipped with a magnifying glass,
would be hard pressed to follow the
changes in the many versions of
the Diagram reproduced in this
handsome volume.
As a basic history of an iconic
piece of graphic design, Mr. Beck’s
Underground Map shows how a
fundamental insight changes the
way we see things. That insight has
come into the mainstream, as a
look at the subway maps of New
York, Philadelphia, and the Paris
Metro confirms. It forms the basis
for the notion of “wayfinding,” the
concept behind the urban
pedestrian signage in Philadelphia
and elsewhere, which Amy Gendler
described last April at an STC
meeting. And I have no doubt that
Richard Saul Wurman's pioneering
ACCESS city guides also owe a debt
to Mr. Beck's Underground Map.
This book, as thorough as it is,
doesn’t look at Beck's diagram
from the point of view of
information design. Nor, as
admiring as it is of Beck’s
achievement, does it analyze its
considerable influence. This will
have to wait for a different book;
perhaps Ms. Gendler will write it.
Note: Thanks to Dave Harkins
for calling my attention to this book
in his response to a survey of
members’ favorite and most-
consulted books several years ago
(“The STC Bookshelf: What We
Like,” News & Views, March 2001).
M

dedicated telephone line called the
Job Hotline.
News and Views has been the
name of our newsletter since it was
first published. Current STC
President Andrea L. Ames was the
editor of News and Views in 1988
when she was a student member of
our chapter. Her successors, Cheryl
Lockett Zuback, Alan Muirhead,
Deb Sellers, and Lori Corbett, have
developed the newsletter into a
consistently award-winning
publication.
In the 1970s and 1980s, our
chapter participated in the Science
and Engineering Technology (SET)
program for high school students
interested in technology careers.
Our chapter also sponsored its own
student writing competition.
Transitioning to the
Future
We’ve come a long way from a
handful of guys in the dingy
Engineers Club at 13th and Locust
to filled dining rooms at the
Plymouth Meeting Doubletree
Guest Suites. This mirrors the
transition from IBM strike-on
typewriter masters to desktop
publishing, online help, and XML;
the development of technical
communication into a profession;
and the emergence of a number of
chapter members as nationally
recognized figures in the field.
And we’re nowhere near the end
of our growth. With the volunteer
efforts of so many of our members,
the STC-PMC has the opportunity to
accomplish many great things in
the years to come.
keep our skills—both technical and
communication—fresh.
If you haven’t been back to
school in the last three years, it is
time for you to give it serious
thought. The STC website (http://
www.stc.org/academic.asp) lists
some educational programs that
are meaningful to our field, but
don’t forget to check out your local
colleges and universities. So the
message is to get out there and
turn over some stones to find some
of the neat things going on in your
own community.
I am about to embark on my
next learning adventure—a Masters
of Science, Human Factors in
Information Design. I recommend
that you do the same.
On the STC front, the
transformation is progressing. If
you haven’t heard about the
transformation or aren’t clear on
what is happening with the
transformation, contact me or the
Director of your choice for further
information. If we don’t have the
answers, we probably know
someone who does. Be sure to
check out the transformation pages
on the STC website - http://
www.stc.org/transformation/
default.asp. The website is the
authoritative source. There are still
lots of transformation activities
underway and the Board will be
reporting out on the current status
of our efforts soon after the
September Board meeting. In
addition, we are already planning
sessions on the transformation for
our annual conference in May. If
there is something you want to see
or hear from us, let us know.
Look for some changes in your
membership renewal forms this
year. We are beginning to roll out
the new membership packages—
Classic, Limited, E-Membership,
and others—this fall. Again, if you
have questions about these
packages, contact me or another
Director. In addition, the office will
be able to answer any questions
about the membership packages.
Finally, it is September. That
means your chapter is about to get
into full gear. I’ve chatted with
many of the Region 1 chapter
presidents and you have a great
group of people working on your
behalf. Get out and support them
by attending chapter events. It is a
great way to network and keep up
with your local technical
communications community. In
fact, volunteer! Most chapters will
welcome you with open arms. And
chapter work is extraordinarily
rewarding. So jump in and see
what happens.
Celebrating Our Chapter’s History (Continued from page 1)
Director-Sponsor (Continued from page 2)

EDITOR’S VOICE
Where Would I/You/We Be?
By Lori Corbett
ave you noticed a
certain theme in the
articles this month? I
have. Starting with
the history of our chapter to taking
advantage of educational
opportunities and working with
software applications to learning
about STC events and
volunteering, and last, but not least
meeting a couple of our chapter’s
dedicated volunteers in the
Membership Spotlight, this issue
pretty much sums up most of the
reasons I’m involved with STC.
All this information brings to
mind the question about where I
(or we) would be without the
opportunities and information
provided by the STC and STC-PMC
in particular. STC has been part of
my life throughout my professional
career as a technical
communicator. And I think we have
helped each other. STC has helped
me keep abreast of current trends
in our profession and I’ve enjoyed
the opportunities I’ve had to help
my fellow members in whatever
way I could.
I know my life would have to be
different if it
weren’t for STC.
Who knows, if
STC wasn’t
around when I
started as a technical
communicator, I might not have
stayed with this career choice.
Thinking back on all the volunteer
opportunities I’ve been able to take
advantage of reminds me of that
old Frank Sinatra song where he
sings, “I’ve been a puppet, a
pauper, a pirate, a poet, a pawn
and a king.” (I certainly hope I’ve
quoted correctly.)
So, I guess I really don’t know
where I’d be without STC, where
we would be without STC, or where
STC would be without us. Now is
the time to ask yourself, “Where
would you be without STC?” There
isn’t a better time than the present
to become more involved in STC as
it continues its journey of
transformation.
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Member Spotlight (Continued from page 6)
communicators to evaluate the
usability, design, and effectiveness
of your work. You get objective
opinions of experienced
communicators who explain what
worked for them and what didn't”.
Participating as a judge in the
competition is not without its
rewards either, “competitions are
good for STC members because
they enable us to identify the best
examples of technical
communications. Seeing these
examples helps make us all better
at what we do.” He's enjoyed
seeing how the entrants have used
technology such as audio, video,
animation, and tools like Flash to
reach their users. Not that all razzle
and dazzle makes for a winning
entry, according to Marc, “too much
technology sometimes gets in the
way of the content. It's very
important to find the appropriate
level of technology for your user.”
He notes that reviewing entries and
constructing his feedback for those
entries provides him with a fresh
perspective on his own work,
offering up more valuable
experience that he can bring back
to his desk at Vertex.
Donn DeBoard
Donn is a well-credentialed
Senior Information Developer, also
with Vertex, Inc. with about 18
years experience in technical
communication, ranging from small
start-ups to large organizations. An
STC-PMC member since 1986,
Donn received an Achievement
Award in the 1996 print
competition for the Vertex
Quantum for Payroll Tax
Programmer's Guide. Along with
Marc, Donn has been a judge for
our chapter competition for the
past 6 years and a co-chair of the
competition for the past 3 years. He
searched out the opportunity to get
involved with the chapter
competition by judging in order “to
see how other people approached
information design issues similar to
the ones [he] was facing. [He
enjoys] seeing a fresh or different
perspective presented in other
people's work.” After judging for a
few years, he knew that he wanted
to co-manage, figuring that when
the work was divided among a few
people the individual effort was
distributed pretty evenly.
Donn targets some incredibly
important reasons for entering the
chapter competition, “Where else
can you get constructive feedback
from your peers in the technical
communication industry for a
nominal entry fee? It is like having
a staff of consultants critique your
efforts.” He echoes Marc's
cautionary sentiments regarding
the technology that “can do flashier
effects in a much shorter time
frame,” saying that “sophisticated
technology needs to be used
appropriately in an entry.
Otherwise it is just high-tech frills
that detract the reader from finding
the information they need.” He also
breaks down the benefits to
becoming involved in the
competition, as an entrant and/or
judge, as well as the benefits for
the STC as a whole. Competitors
can expect to benefit “from the
constructive feedback they receive
from judges…people speak
glowingly about the comments they
received and how those comments
dramatically improved their
documents. Plus, entrants can
point their bosses to a competition
award as a point of reference that
recognizes their expertise as
communicators.” Judges get to see
a variety of different entries and
benefit by getting “fresh ideas in
information design by critiquing a
variety of entries. Judging
stimulates the creativity and
imagination of the reviewer…they
get to speak constructively and
candidly about an entry, yet
offering avenues for improvement.
Hopefully, the entrant who receives
the comments in one year will
return the favor as a judge in the
next year's competition.” For the
STC as a whole, “the competitions
raise the visibility of the work
created during the course of a year
in the technical communications
industry. This collective whole, as
demonstrated by the high quality of
the entries, showcases the skills
and expertise of technical
communicators.” Finally, Donn
stresses the amazing feedback you
receive when you enter the chapter
competition, “When you work
closely on a document for an
extended period of time, you often
get too close to it to evaluate it
properly. The competitions are a
great way to get a variety of
perspectives about your document
to expedite its growth and
evolution into a polished product.”
Exercise your competitive spirit
in a healthy way, and don't miss the
chance for valuable feedback from
peer review, a fresh perspective
and approach to documentation
challenges, and the chance to
receive an award that enters you in
the International competition, by
becoming involved with our chapter
competition today. Please visit our
website, www.stcpmc.org for more
detailed information on how to
become judge or submit an entry to
the online communications or
technical publications competition.
And just maybe your kids will let
you play whiffle ball with them
again…

My book earned an award of
merit for its design, but it didn’t
quite make the grade in the
Technical Publications category. I
learned a lot from the judges’
comments though, and I was able
to put this knowledge to good use.
The following year I incorporated
the judges’ suggestions when I
updated the software manual.
I confess that it is bliss to
receive an award from your peers,
but it’s also rewarding to receive
compliments about the usefulness
of an updated software manual
from your international customers.
Since my first foray into the STC
competitions several years ago, I
have earned additional recognition
and I have continued to learn from
a jury of my peers. This year I’ve
volunteered to help with judging
entries from other chapters so that
our chapter can expand the
competition to include more
categories.
The Philadelphia Metro Chapter
kicks off the first level of the STC
competitions this month with a call
for entries (see “Announcing the
2004/2005 STC-PMC
Competitions,” on page 4). I hope
you will consider submitting your
work to the competition this year.
You could earn an award—and
surely you will be rewarded by the
experience.
M AN J I RO
I n t e r n ati o n a l
Internationalization
Localization
Translation
• Technical publications
• Multilingual web sites
• Software applications
Call for a free phone consultation
Phone: 267-972-1034
info@manjirointernational.com
www.manjirointernational.com
Upcoming Meetings
The information in the following table was correct at the time NEWS & VIEWS was published. Be sure to check
the Website (www.stcpmc.org) for details and late-breaking updates to the schedule. For all Thursday meetings,
reservations are due by the Monday before the meeting.
Date Meeting Topic Location
September 23, 2004 Using Personas to Connect With Your Audience presented by
Whitney Quesenbery
Doubletree Inn,
Plymouth Meeting
October 9, 2004 Philadelphia Mural Tour (see page 7 of the June/July/August
edition of News & Views for details)
Philadelphia, PA
October 21, 2004 XML as a By-product of Structured Content presented by John
Hawkins
Holiday Inn,
Cherry Hill, NJ
November 23, 2004 Changing Focus: Instructional Design as a Career Path,
presented by Constance Bille
Philadelphia University,
Downs Auditorium
March 19, 2005 Third Annual Philadelphia Metro Conference Penn State University,
Great Valley, PA
May 8–11, 2005 STC’s 52nd Annual Conference Seattle, WA
The Rewards of Peer Review (Continued from page 5)
PUZZLE SOLUTION
1
H
2
I
3
G
4
H
5
C H
6
A
7
I
8
R
7
R
9
I
10
N
11
A D U L T
10
O
12
F L U
13
E N T
N L N S E
14
R
15
B
14
F L A T H
15
D
16
E P
17
A R
18
T
19
U R E C
20
E
21
M
22
S P O O K I L Y O
23
H R A
24
T I I I
25
O P T E
26
G O F R
27
A C N E O
28
P I
29
D R
30
M E T
31
N E T
32
E
32
C E M E
33
T E R Y
34
D N H
35
B A R O M E T E R
38
E
36
T
37
I E R E F A R O
42
I D
38
G R E E D
39
Y
43
H
40
N
41
O W
42
N O
43
O E N
44
P S E U D O N Y M

STC PMC Newsletter 2004-09

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STC PMC Newsletter 2004-09