September Meeting: Structured Authoring
Expert Neil Perlin to Visit LSC

by Jim Korth, PR Committee member

Structured authoring is currently a hot topic in technical communications. Unfortunately, there is much uncertainty about something as basic as what is structured authoring. The knee-jerk reaction for technical communicators when asked about structured authoring is to reply “get Frame” or “use DITA.” Unfortunately, budget limits, company culture, or politics prevent many of us from switching to Frame or DITA.

"Structured authoring," STC Associate Fellow Neil Perlin said, “always sounds very cutting edge, but the reality is that technical communicators have done it for years. What's new is the emphasis on programmatically defined structure rather than simple visual structure defined by different head sizes.”

Perlin, an expert in training, consulting and development for online formats and tools, will kick off the Lone Star Community 2007-2008 season in September. Neil’s presentation is entitled “Structured Authoring without Framemaker or DITA.”

Perlin will clear the air for us on the significant issues outstanding in his candid, professional, and warm presentation style.

Neil Perlin, owner and principal consultant of Hyper/Word Services, entered technical writing in 1979, began creating online documentation in 1985, and is now an internationally recognized expert in Windows Help and online documentation design and development. He founded Hyper/Word in 1990 to provide online documentation consulting and development services. Neil is a Madcap Certified Instructor for Flare and an Adobe-Certified Instructor for RoboHelp and Captivate. He is a columnist and frequent speaker for the STC, IEEE PCS and other professional groups, a member of the STC’s Boston chapter, and the creator and manager of the “Beyond the Bleeding Edge” stem at the STC Annual Conferences since 1999.

Details Thursday, Sept. 6, 2007, 6:15 to 8:00 p.m. Crowne Plaza Hotel North Dallas-Addison 14315 Midway Road Addison, Texas Need directions! Reservations (Reservations made after 5pm on Sept. 4 are subject to a $5 penalty) Click to register for the meeting now! Dinner (with reservations): $20 STC members or Students with student ID $25 non-members Program Only Attendance (with reservations): $5 for STC $10 for non-members FREE for students with valid student ID