By using features most people don't even think about you can take a set of tools (for example, FrameMaker, Excel, and PowerPoint) and create a set of materials that let you track some initial metrics, build up reports, and track content in ways that the tool vendors never dreamed off. There are a dozen easy shortcuts (or more) that you can use with any toolset, even free ones like Google Docs to simplify the work you do every day. Want to quickly build a list of every graphic you have across 10 folders? Need to know which of your procedural steps are WAY too long but don't want to manually go hunting? If you often find yourself thinking "it's got to be easier" then this is the session for you. The goal is to get you out the door with at least 4 new tricks to make your job easier. Those who attend will be better positioned to use their tools to make life (at least in the world of documentation) easier. It's not pretty, it's not all that future friendly, or XML-based, or taking the newest tips in HTML5 to heart. But it's useful. And useable. These are the tips that the experts in the field use to bypass so much of the manual time and effort that steals away your day. A dozen (or more) tips and tricks to get you humming as you get handed the next daunting task. No one wants to do the manual and labour intensive work that often goes into content analysis, or report building, or file management. Sure, you can spend 10's of thousands of dollars on a system to do the work for you, but really... You think you'll get approved for that budget item? Just think about the discussion. "You want HOW much money to build a list of all our graphics? Don't we have a co-op student who can do that?" Forget about it. Use these tips to make the daily grind relate to coffee, not to the work that you do at the office. Using real world examples, and mixing in a bit of fun story-telling, and through creative demonstrations, the overall delivery will leave you with a sense of purpose when it comes to working with the tools and using them to their full potential.

1. Tips for Excel, PowerPoint, Word, and
FrameMaker Users of All Skill Levels
Bernard Aschwanden
www.publishingsmarter.com
for a print version, please email
bernard@publishingsmarter.com
Technical Communications
Cheat Sheet
14:52
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@publishsmarter

2. Rule 1: Know your audience
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 In this session
 Learn tips for use with
 Excel
 PowerPoint
 Word
 FrameMaker
 Even power users can
learn a few tips
 Count your “aha”
moments. Most people
learn at least 4 cool tips!
 Who here self-identifies
as:
 Excel novice user
 Excel expert user
 PPT novice user
 PPT expert user
 Word novice user
 Word expert user
 FrameMaker novice user
 FrameMaker expert user

3. Housekeeping and note taking
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 Not all slides or topics are
equally weighted
 Use some, discard others
 Slides speed varies
(reference)
 Questions? Ask along the
way!
 I’d love to claim errors/typos
is on purpose… they isn’t,
ain’t, and weren’t never;
however, I’ll fix ‘em as I
can…

4. About your speaker
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 Publishing Smarter:
President
 Content strategist,
publishing technologies
expert, author, and geek-
enough
 Certified Technical Trainer
 DITA
 Content management
 Topic-based writing
 Society for Technical
Communications
 Vice President
 STC Associate Fellow

5. Services
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 We help clients:
 Create great content
 Manage content as an asset
 Deliver content the right way
 Socialize the message
 Listen to the consumer
 Improve experiences by
helping
 Create great content
 Manage content as an asset
 Deliver content the right way
 …
 By helping clients:

6. Standard disclaimer
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 In the interest of brevity I
will make some blanket
statements to keep it
simple
 It’s not all 100% “the
truth”, but I’ll stay close
 Purists may complain
 And they are wrong!
 (except when they are
right)

7. Making the numbers make sense
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Excel
7

8. Getting started with spreadsheets,
numbers, and simple math
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Basic calculations

9. The interface
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 Sheets contain
 Rows
 Columns
 Cells
 Cells contain
 Content
 Calculations
 Formulas
 Format

10. Size and format
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 Size by hovering between column or row headings
 Click and drag the double headed arrow left or right
 Double click to “autofit”
 Right click for more options
 Use the menus if required

11. Getting started with spreadsheets,
numbers, and simple math
Not the ideal workflow
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Basic calculation

12. Add simple math if needed
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 Start with an
equal sign
 =10+10
 NOT just
10+10
 =(2+3)*4
 =2+3*4
 Order of
operations

13. Update your spreadsheet
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 Initially, type all these numbers

14. Add basic math
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 If edit time is ½ of draft time, use =10/2, =15/2, etc.

15. Moving beyond 1+1=2 and 2+2=4 into
complex calculations
Much better workflow
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Formulas

16. Simple math isn’t enough
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 Ranges of
numbers
 Calculations
 =SUM
 =MAX
 =MIN
 =AVERAGE

17. Calculate based on cells (such as D4)
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 Edit is ½ draft time so use =Cell/2 or =Cell*.5

18. Once the numbers exist, make the
content look good as formatted grids,
charts, and graphs
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Format content

19. Set titles in place
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 Highlight more than one cell, click Merge & Center
 Apply to A1:B1, and also to C1:G1

20. Format cells
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 Additional format options (border/shade)

21. Rename sheets
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 Double click Sheet1, rename it Estimates

22. Select content for a chart
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 Select the range to chart (A1:B6)

23. Insert a basic chart
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 Select Insert > Charts or use simple defaults

24. Appearance of defaults
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 Based on your choices

25. Can be further configured
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Buyers Installation Configuration User
Buyers, 25 Installation
, 50
Configurati
on, 75
User, 125
Materials Info Pgs
Buyers
Installation
Configuration
User
Buyers, 25 Installation,
50
Configurati
on, 75
User, 125
Page Count
Buyers
Installation
Configuration
User
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
Buyers Installation Configuration User
Page count

26. Samples of more involved content
that may be required (one day)
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Complex spreadsheets

27. Duplicate sheets
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 Right click Estimates and make a copy
 Delete sheets if not needed
 Rearrange by drag/drop
 Consider the following sheets
 Estimates
 Actuals
 Differences

28. Calculate complex info
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 Initial estimates are created
 Values are estimates, based on last project(s)

29. Track actuals as well as possible
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 May not know true numbers, but gather data
 Populate with as much accuracy as possible

30. Calculate differences
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 =Estimates!B3-Actuals!B3 gives us a value in B3
 Use conditional formats to ID change, show as charts

31. A few more things that Excel can do
to help build reports
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Additional function

32. Combine information into reports
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 Using formulas you can make report building easier

33. Build sentences using CONCATENATE
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 Join several text strings into one text string
 =CONCATENATE(“Some text string: ", CellLocation)
 Could be =CONCATENATE(“Total cost: $", B10)
Reads as: Total cost: $5000
 Could be =CONCATENATE(“Start date: ", B10)
Reads as: Start date: May 19, 2014
 =CONCATENATE("Our ", Role!B2, " is ", Role!A2, ".")

34. Complex combinations can be used
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 =CONCATENATE("Our expected delivery date was
", TEXT('Metrics Main Estimates'!S46,"mmm dd,
yyyy"), " and the actual delivery date was ",
TEXT('Metrics Actual'!S46,"mmm dd, yyyy"), ", a
difference of ", Differences!S46, " days.")

35. And the result is...
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36. Presenting information in compelling
ways
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PowerPoint
36

37. Getting started with slides
Create, add, edit, present
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Basic slideshows

38. The interface
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 Slideshows
contain
 Slides
 Notes
 Slides
contain
 Titles
 Content
 Lists
 Tables
 Figures
 Artwork

39. Outline view
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 Use this to create your highest level slides quickly
 Don’t worry about format yet, create quick high level
slide content only
 Additional fleshing out, reorg, can be done later

40. An initial outline may be flat
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 Quick high-level overview of what is to follow

41. Further development of outlines
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 Rework content to new slides (auto add/remove)
 Tab or Shift+Tab to promote/demote content

42. Add notes
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 Slides can have notes; add comments for yourself,
the presenter, or even the audience

43. Add images, charts, tables, and more
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 Use the Insert menu to add additional components
 If screen shots are needed (in any docs)
 Display the screen required and configure it
 Press Alt+PrtScr to copy it to the clipboard
 Edit if required, or just paste as needed
 For graphics, use the Drawing Tools > options
 For charts use Chart Tools > options

44. Using predefined formats to drive the
appearance of the slides
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Templates

45. Different views
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 Many views exist, each for different functions
 If needed, switch Slide/Outline, or more under View

46. Each slide is based on a master
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 The master can be changed as needed
 Select Home and click the Layout button

47. Change the entire slide design
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 Default designs are under Design > Themes

48. Within themes, apply styles
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 Colors
 Fonts
 Effects

49. Making it look like your own
materials; branded and professional
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Style customization

50. Customize master slides
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 To start, View > Slide
Master
 Many options to configure
 Slides are often based on
slide #1
 Review Slide Master
toolbar for options
 Add new slides as
needed, give logical
names
 When done View > Close
Master View

51. Run slideshows
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 Add these features only AFTER building content
 Use Animations to configure how slides (or content) advance
 Keep animations clean and simple
 Select Slide Show tab for options (including launch)
 Consider using Rehearse Timings to manage duration
 PS: While in a slideshow, press F1 to view shortcuts

52. Tips and tricks to get started
(do NOT assume File > New is right)
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FM/Word: Create a template
52

53. Create a template in Word
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 Don’t use an existing file
as a starting point
 Avoid File > New and
clicking just anything
1. Select File (or the
Office button) > New
2. Click My Templates
3. Select Blank
Document
4. Click Template
5. Click OK.
2
3 4

54. Find templates in Word
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 User templates are usually in C:, but then...
 UsersusernameAppDataRoamingMicrosoftTemplates
 UsersusernameDocumentsCustom Office Templates (2013)

55. Create a template in FrameMaker
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 Any file can be a template
 After you set up everything use File > Save As and
save to the template folder.

56. Find templates in FrameMaker
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 All templates are usually in C:, but then...
 Program FilesAdobeAdobeFrameMaker12Templates
 Want to configure “File > New > Document >
Explore”?
 AdobeAdobeFrameMaker12fminitmaker
 Open either tmpltbrw (unstruct) or tmpltbrw_s (struct)
 Explore Body Pages for markers (in Create and Show Sample)
 View Master Pages for configuration
 View Reference Page for layout instructions

57. Considerations when making pages
carry specific format and layout
controls
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Page layout

58. Do this early
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 Page layout should be one of the first things you do
 Drives columns
 Drive tables
 Drives image size
 Sketch a whiteboard/paper page for each layout
 Cover
 TOC, Index
 Chapter first
 Rotated pages
 Left/right

59. When laying out Word pages
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 Remember that Word is not a desktop publishing
tool
 Work within the limits
 Keep the layout clean and simple
 Explore the Page Layout tab fully

60. FrameMaker master page tips
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 If using rotated pages, duplicate an existing, rotate it,
then counter rotate/resize the primary text frame
 Ensures header/footer still looks “right” when printed/PDF
 Use variables to drive header/footer content
 Use xrefs to drive header/footer if needed (caution
when importing to all files in a book though…)
 For watermark content, create a new text frame,
then use a variable and a custom paragraph format

61. FrameMaker reference page tips
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 Automated page layout based on para or elements
 Add content to frames for above/below
(Para Designer, Advanced)
 Set up generated pages for TOC/IX etc

62. Okay, enough text only slides
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 Let us now move on to slides that are better
 Less text
 More images
 Guided environment

63. Re-organize them, sort them, hide
them, or just delete them
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FM/Word: Configure styles/tags

64. What you see in Word
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65. Style sets, colors, and fonts
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1
2
3
4
5

66. Recommend styles in order
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1
3
2

67. Restrict the list in Word
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1
2
3
4

68. What you see in FrameMaker
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69. Set up what’s next in Word
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1

70. Keep together, breaks, hyphenation
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2
1
3

71. FrameMaker, next, breaks, keep together
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1

72. FrameMaker, hyphenation
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1

73. Best practices to consider (not all will
apply in all cases)
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FM/Word: Naming styles or
tags

74. Remember how tools organize these
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 FrameMaker categorizes into Para/Chara, as well as
Table tags
 Word mixes Para/Chara in one, Table in another
(which doesn’t just name them, but shows each)

75. Plan naming
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 ID the best mechanism early on
 Use built in names (for Word)
 Build your own (Word or FrameMaker)
 Decide how to name if “build your own”
 H1_Heading1, H2_Heading2, H3_Heading3, BT_BodyText
 Heading1, Heading2, Heading3, Body, Footnote, Note, Tip
 H1, H2, H3, P, FN, N, T
 Decide on grouping
 Body, Bullet, CellBody, CellBullet, CellTip, Tip
 Body, BodyCell, Bullet, BulletCell, Tip, TipCell
 And, again, remove unneeded

76. What they should (and should not) be
used for, and how to configure a few
important components
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FM/Word: Working with tables

77. Where not to use them
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 When designing page layout
 People do this in Word ALL THE TIME
 It is a bad idea
 For procedures
 If/Then or Step/Action (or at least drop a lot of borders) as this leads
people to build complex multiple step nested sub procedures (brutal
to follow)
 Makes a procedure more work than it has to be
 This is still design, just with a new name
 Tables for layout are bad
 No content reflow
 No online adaptation
 More work for any change

78. Add a proper table caption in Word
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1
2
3
4

79. Table tip for FrameMaker
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 Configure your table “perfectly”, then click in it
 Open the Table Designer
 Click Update All to take a snapshot of the table with
all the current settings
 This includes column widths, column/row count, paragraph
tags in the cells
 Insert the table and note that properties are retained

80. The right way to add images
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FM/Word: Working with images

81. Manage images in a folder
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 Keep your images together in a folder (or folders)
 Import them by linking to the source file
 Update the source, update your docs

82. Insert images by reference in Word
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1
3
2

83. Image tip for FrameMaker
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 Import by reference
 Put them in a unique paragraph tag (for larger
images)
 Use Esc, m, p to shrink wrap
 Use a set of paragraph tags to set up combinations
 ImageCaption
 ImageFrame
 Captions come first (next slide please…)

84. Yes. It matters if it is above and
below for reasons beyond just the
styleguide.
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FM/Word: Caption placement

85. Place captions above image/table
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Good
Evil

86. If linking ABOVE, then you show all content
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87. If linking BELOW, content is cut off
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88. Building a table of contents or other
lists, as well as indexes (indices)
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FM/Word: Generated content

89. Beyond the table of contents in Word
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1
2
3
4

90. Creating summaries of paragraph types
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4
2
1
3
5

91. Generated lists in FrameMaker
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42
1
3

92. Once generated list is built (first time)
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 Configure reference page code (i.e. drop pg #s)
 Rebuild
 Format as needed
 Make it a part of a template (if there is value)

93. Alphabetical content
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2
1
3

94. List of references
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42
1
3

95. Add details about the file to make
locating content easier in the future
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FM/Word: Use metadata

96. Metadata in Word
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 For any given document or template check metadata
(how depends on the version of MS Office)
 You can pre-populate this in your own templates but
it is in all output so warn writers

97. Basic Word level metadata
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1
2
3

98. Advanced Word level metadata
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99. This metadata is available in PDF
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 File >
Properties >
Description
 Tools that
search PDFs or
libraries of
PDFs can also
scan metadata

100. Metadata in FrameMaker
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 For any given document
(or configure a template)
 File > File Info
 You can pre-populate
this in your own
templates but it is in all
output built

101. This metadata is available in PDF
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 File >
Properties >
Description
 Tools that
search PDFs or
libraries of
PDFs can also
scan metadata

102. Summing up the discussion,
and options to continue it.
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Conclusion and contact

103. About this session
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 In this session
 Learn tips for use with
 Excel
 PowerPoint
 Word
 FrameMaker
 Even power users can learn a few tips
 Count your “aha” moments. Most people learn at least 4 cool
tips!

104. Final request
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 Please suggest these slides to others
 If there are any problems with them, please let me
know
 Remember my disclaimer at the beginning
 Not all slides are equal: Use some, discard others
 In the interest of brevity I make some blanket statements
 It’s not all 100% “the truth”, but I’ll stay close
 Purists may complain
 And they are wrong!
 (except when they are right)

105. Follow up contact information
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905 833 8448 (Eastern Time)
bernard@publishingsmarter.com
www.linkedin.com/in/bernardaschwanden
@publishsmarter
www.publishingsmarter.com