Improving Systems Documentation Using an Online Copy Editor

摘要

For the last three years the author has been using Writers Workbench, a UNIX text-editing tool, to edit computer documentation. In this article the author outlines his experiences using the system, noting both the advantages to explore and pitfalls to avoid in using this tool. Writers Workbench is especially useful for improving a writer's basic skills - punctuation, spelling, and grammar. When used effectively, Writers Workbench can cut down on wordiness and improve the consistency of a manual. It can help in the creation of a table of contents, index, glossary, and bibliography and in checking readability. Furthermore, by creating user-defined dictionaries, authors or editors can customize the tool to fit their purposes and styles. However, Writers Workbench is not good at catching problems relating to organization, focus, and clarity. (ERA citation 10:038643)