Microsoft Word 2010 for Medical and Technical Writers eBook Maxine Okazaki PhD Peter Aitken PhD
Download As PDF : Microsoft Word 2010 for Medical and Technical Writers eBook Maxine Okazaki PhD Peter Aitken PhD 
Learn how to use Microsoft Word for long, complex documents.
Microsoft Word is by far the most widely used word processing program. All over the world, it is used to create everything from half-page memos, meeting agendas, and letters to scientific journal articles, grant applications, and 1000 page technical documents. It's a powerful and flexible program to be sure, but being a jack-of-all-trades it is unavoidably master of none.
Word can be particularly problematic for writers who create long, complex documents. Styles, templates, tables of contents, headers and footers, tables, automatic numbering—these are just some of the areas where Word can bring grief to the unwary writer. In their long experience with such documents, the authors have developed techniques to avoid, minimize, or work around most of these problems. They shared their expertise in the first edition of this book, which was very well received. Now, the book has been completely revised to cover the latest version of the program, Word 2010.
Microsoft Word 2010 for Medical and Technical Writers eBook Maxine Okazaki PhD Peter Aitken PhD
Besides the deliberate creation of a neutral environment for professional writers, anyone interested or motivated to reduce the inner conflicts in Word 2010 will enjoy MOST of this fabulous publication. Most importantly, I was able to embue into Word my Thesis writing needs with my own specific writing styles.For others, there may be segments not needed. Fine, the authors wanted to provide materials for most professional writers. As for Word 2010, the authors displayed comprehensive, in-depth knowledge that is beyond the needs of most users. I believe their presentation may offend certain high-end users; and, frustrate individuals who want immediate answers and control without spending some time learning. If it's too 'slow' for your acquired skills, speed read! I did because I had to ... Time was critical, and I had to get my thesis moving. Most writers will need additional elements, including the learning more about Word 2010 because the knowledge is absolutely essential. Here, I took the time to make certain - Thesis research and writing does that!
Most interested users will adapt and take whatever they need: the book is a treasure and effective learning guide to 85-90% of the Jumbo Jet created by Microsoft. Beyond this great introduction to intermediate & advanced Word 2010, more advanced readers will find what they need elsewhere. This book is intended, from my viewpoint, for active users who need more tools but might need to refresh Word knowledge, first. The kindle edition was my choice because I needed integrated guidance and learning, as I needed and when I had the time. Books are still the best reference tool, however, as most studies have shown. Word is the one tool you need to master, there are really no competitors in any machine context.
When there are limits in time: get this, quick! Want to acquire core info on Word 2010? Start here: it keeps you current. I would recommend this book or kindle version to most professional writers who have not become Advanced users of Word 2010. For others who want instant application without learning more of Word 2010, then search into applications made by specialist or consulting firms. Last, I recommend this product to Medical schools, Law Schools or firms, Graduate Schools, and Business Colleges as part of a writing clinic for students or beginning professionals. Surprisingly, I believe the authors made Word 2010, and its subsequent versions, accessible to anyone needing access to Word's inner workings. Therefore, Junior Colleges, Teacher's Colleges, and two-year Voc-tech Schools are ideal locations for this book or kindle. Our technological world requires intelligent people communicating using their own skills.
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Microsoft Word 2010 for Medical and Technical Writers eBook Maxine Okazaki PhD Peter Aitken PhD Reviews
Book Review by Peggy Lucero
MS WORD 2010 for Medical and Technical Writers, 2nd edition, by Peter Aitken, PhD and Maxine M. Okazaki, PhD.
General overview
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . XI
Chap 1 Setting Word Options to Avoid Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Chap 2 Working with Styles and Formatting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Chap 3 Understanding Page Breaks, Document sections, and Headers/Footers . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Chap 4 Working with Fields and TOCs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Chap 5 Using Cross-References and Automatic Numbering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
Chap 6 Working with Tables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
Chap 7 Understanding and Using Templates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
Chap 8 Additional Topics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
Chap 9 Techniques-- the Good the Bad and the Ugly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181
INDEX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
An alternate title for this book could be, Writer Learns How to Manage WORD and is Thereby Able to Retain Sanity and Write Another Day.
I have worked as a technical writer for about a decade and before that was a typical (read naive) user of WORD using it to write office memos, letters, resumes and other relatively unsophisticated documents. For several early years of using WORD I was clueless in that I had no solid awareness of the can of worms under the hood that awaits the more ambitious professional writer.
Only when I started earning a living as a technical writer did I come to the realization that WORD has so much more going on. WORD has features galore, many of which are silently tucked away and only surface when the sophisticated user runs into an issue and starts digging/delving into all the dialog boxes submerged in the app. Mr. Aitken and Ms Okazaki put forth a book that attempts to save you from learning stuff the hard way. They identify numerous things to avoid and then define best practices when using WORD.
When I came to write this review I thought hurray! there are earth people who have managed to tame this beast and they will share their silver bullets of survival and success for all of us struggling humans now using WORD. They have put forth a valiant effort.
The book states that there are features of WORD that have unintended or undesired consequences or that work in unintuitive ways. I have to say I entirely relate to this evaluation and find it a real pain at times to have to massage a document to get it to behave. Life is challenging enough most days working with and managing people so I'd rather not have to expend a huge amount of precious energy wrestling with a document. Still, even the best technical writers likely spend time doing this on occasion.
Basically this book points out the imperfections of WORD and ways to cope with many of them. Frankly, I find these authors graciously forgiving of this ubiquitous word processing application that has taken over the office everywhere I've been employed. One example of their generosity is this
They recommend that when you, the professional writer, receive back a large doc that someone has gone through with track changes on and made their edits/feedback, the professional writer is better off going back to their ORIGIANL document and manually incorporating these changes into it. Though I recognize how someone arrives at this preference (as this is a safer approach) to me it is maddening that we have a world where such a basic feature as track changes is so problematic as to be rendered Best To Avoid and the tech writer professional is reduced to doing manual editing. I find this level of forgiveness and accommodation for such a large and successful operation as Microsoft a bit amazing. I still long for a word processing application that has more stable features that one can use with Confidence.
The book starts at an admirable spot-offering immediate relief to those who need to begin using the app and would like to get stuff established at the gate to circumvent the drama and tantrums WORD is able to deliver. I entirely concur that technical writers want to (need to) have complete control over their documents and therefore the more choices you can define that puts the writer in the driver's seat the better.
The book has a good number of screen shots of dialog boxes that are critical in a book of this nature.
The authors have identified what they believe are the most salient (e.g., prone to bring you to the brink of agitance) parts of WORD for a technical / medical writer and they are
1. Styles *
2. Page breaks
3. Document sections
4. Headers and footers *
5. Fields
6. Table of contents
7. Cross references
8. Automatic numbering *
9. Tables *
10. Templates *
This is a competent selection of naughty features in WORD. I have placed an asterisk after those above topics I personally have found problematic until I managed to figure out the method behind the scene.
Due to the limits in scope this book undertakes, none of these ten categories listed above are covered in the depth some readers might prefer.
WORD has five style types
1. Paragraph Styles
2. Character Styles
3. Linked Styles
4. Table Styles
5. List Styles
Every tech writer needs to understand the distinctions of these styles so that they are applied in the manner in which they preform to your expectation. Normal is the base built-in WORD style and is treated differently from other styles. Writers are advised to NOT base their styles on Normal. Wrong style assignments are the source of many formatting problems so the book demos how to view all used styles by setting the Style Area Width option to a value greater than the default of zero.
A style is a set of formatting that can be defined and applied to text in a document. Styles include font choices, indents, line spacing, borders, background shading, custom tabs and more.
It is important to know how to define and use a new style. This book leads reader to make good choices to arrive at the desired result. A common definition (choice) of a style would be BodyText used for regular paragraphs in a typical document. When chosen, writer also needs to choose the font and size of this style designation. Book recommends that when creating your new style the style you designate is not based on an existing style nor do you want to base your new style on the Normal style. Authors point out that "most aspects of style definitions are accessed via the Format button in the `create new style' or `create new style from formatting' dialog box."
Did you know WORD supports five kinds of tab stops? Book explains each.
Page Breaks/Document Sections/Headers/Footers
Tech writers find out that as a document becomes more complex (and lengthens) knowing how these features work and are related is necessary for a happy ending. Word's default is to insert an automatic page break wherever they are needed. But writers can use a manual page break at any location. Page breaks and sections breaks are under the Page Layout tab. Keep in mind, once writer uses a manual page break you will always get a page break at that location even if you move stuff around and a page break that once made sense no longer is appropriate. Often times a section break is the best choice when you are considering entering a manual page break.
Proper use of section breaks (of which there are four types to choose from) enables the document to accommodate certain things you want to do and still remain a cohesive whole.
Each section of your document can have these aspects defined a new and independent of other document sections page margins/paper size, orientation, and source/page borders/vertical alignment/headers and footers/columns/page and line numbering and footnotes and endnotes.
Fields and TOCs
Again, writer ought to understand how fields work or things can get messy on you. Fields are generally used to represent information in your document that is likely to change (date, TOC, pages). Fields do not update automatically (except for page numbers). Fields can be updated in several ways
1. right click and select update or click the field and press F9
2. select a block of text, right click, and select update field
3. Press ctrl/A to select ALL text in the document, and then press F9. This will NOT update fields in headers/footers.
4. When you print the doc all fields are updated, but only if the Update Fields option is selected in the print category of the options dialog box.
Throughout the book are shaded boxes with lessons learned insights where authors give tips that can keep your writing life more peaceful. Here is one when you have a document where you are using Track Changes it is recommended you turn this OFF before updating your fields. Reason--a field update is treated as a deletion of the former field value and an insertion of the new one, and Track Changes will note Each and Every one, likely not something you would want done.
It is advised to have Field viewing be set to `Always' which means All Fields are always shaded to enable awareness of where fields are in the document.
Document Properties
I had a job once where the boss was really big on having this information included so I'd recommend tech writers understand this area. There are two parts to document properties
1. Basic properties - a panel appears under ribbon that enables the insertion/naming of the most commonly used document properties to include Author, Title, Subject, keywords, category, status and comments.
2. Advanced properties- a dialog box displays providing access to all document properties. Here you can define Custom Properties via the Custom tab. These are additional document properties one can identify created by/client/date completed/Dept./destination/disposition/Division/document number/editor/forward to/group/language/mailstop/matter/office/owner/project/publisher/purpose/received from/recorded by/recorded date/reference/source/status/telephone number/typist.
Chapter 4 goes into a good deal of detail on table of contents including troubleshooting errors in a TOC.
Chapter 5 discusses Cross-References and Automatic Numbering.
Cross-references have never been problematic for me but numbering can be tricky and ugly until you master it.
Types of cross-references
* A heading Any paragraph formatted with one of WORD's built-in heading styles
* A numbered item
* A bookmark Any text that has been defined as a bookmark.
* A footnote or endnote
* A caption for a figure, table or equation that was created with the insert caption command.
Numbering is not for the faint of heart. Authors write, "Word has powerful but often confusing numbering tools." This is more polite than I'd rank the experience of getting numbering to work in a complex document, but it can be done. It is recommended that writer create a paragraph style for numbered lists and use this style in place of WORD's default lists. Book proceeds to walk reader/writer though 12 steps that will accomplish a paragraph style for a numbered list.
Numbered Heading Levels are covered. This is alternatively known as outline numbered headings.
Assigning Outline Numbering to heading styles is an option for those who want it their way. Books lists steps to accomplish this approach.
How to number chapters in a book is discussed.
Chapter 6 is about Tables. Authors award this area of WORD as the numero uno headache! Pages 107 through 138 attempt to relieve your angst from reading the proceeding sentence.
Covered here is Table Fundamentals, Creating a Table, Navigating in Tables, Adding/Deleting Table rows and columns, Column width and row height, table options, merging and splitting cells, merging and splitting tables, formatting tables, table captions, working with Multipage tables, tables and page breaks, Pasting tables into Word and ending with Troubleshooting tables. In my experience this pretty much covers how to conquer tables, but I could be wrong as WORD sometimes has a mind of its own.
Templates are discussed in Chapter 7 though not in the detail I was hoping for.
Like with many aspects of WORD management by writer, styles are closely connected to WORD templates so it behooves writer to get informed about what a template really is and when and how to use them.
A basic skill of a technical writer is to know the workings of using templates. Every WORD document is based on a template. The default template is the Normal template, which contains only a few basic styles. It is advised to avoid basing any technical documents on the Normal template because it will prove to be too limited for your ultimate needs. A good template can make work smoother. These are the elements found in a template
1. Styles
2. Boilerplate text
3. Custom tool bars
4. Macros
5. Shortcut key definitions
6. Auto text entries
7. Margins and other page setup options
Life can begin to resemble of bowl of rotten cherries when you are given a template from a client that was done without the requisite skills to create a working, viable template. You may find yourself morphing such a template to get it to perform as advertised. Authors say that all that is required to create a good template is planning, care, experience and a thorough knowledge of Word. It is this last item that does make the creation of a Good template no minor feat.
Some good caveats are put forth when working with templates.
Chapter 8 - Pearls of wisdom that just didn't fit elsewhere in book - Additional Topics
Pages 151 to 180. Covered in this chapter
1. Customizing Word
2. Working with Track Changes
3. Using special characters and symbols
4. Inserting symbols
5. Linking to external data
6. Understanding Paste Special
7. Inserting data from Excel
8. Inserting and positioning Graphics
All are useful to understand better and after reading this chapter tech writer will know more and perform stronger in the app.
Chapter 9 titled, Techniques - the Good, the Bad and the Ugly concludes the book. It includes
1. Dos and Don'ts - I always find these kinds of list fun to read
2. Being Smart about Backups - this is Very Important--remember that day you lost a document!!!!
3. Minimizing Problems - Yes, please enable me to minimize problems !!!!
4. Handy Keystrokes - who doesn't like to save time and impress someone with a keystroke the other guy has never seen.
5. Ordering Information - how to get a copy of this book and the formats available to choose from Print//Nook or as a PDF.
It is my wish that your work as a tech writer will be enhanced and improved after this book has entered your collection.
© 2013 Peggy A Lucero. Noncommercial reprint rights granted with inclusion of copyright notice. Reprint rights available upon request.
Peggy Lucero has been working as a technical writer/business analyst for a decade. Before this Peggy was a departmental manager at law firms on the East and West coasts where she did complex IP research on a wide range of technical matters.
Besides the deliberate creation of a neutral environment for professional writers, anyone interested or motivated to reduce the inner conflicts in Word 2010 will enjoy MOST of this fabulous publication. Most importantly, I was able to embue into Word my Thesis writing needs with my own specific writing styles.
For others, there may be segments not needed. Fine, the authors wanted to provide materials for most professional writers. As for Word 2010, the authors displayed comprehensive, in-depth knowledge that is beyond the needs of most users. I believe their presentation may offend certain high-end users; and, frustrate individuals who want immediate answers and control without spending some time learning. If it's too 'slow' for your acquired skills, speed read! I did because I had to ... Time was critical, and I had to get my thesis moving. Most writers will need additional elements, including the learning more about Word 2010 because the knowledge is absolutely essential. Here, I took the time to make certain - Thesis research and writing does that!
Most interested users will adapt and take whatever they need the book is a treasure and effective learning guide to 85-90% of the Jumbo Jet created by Microsoft. Beyond this great introduction to intermediate & advanced Word 2010, more advanced readers will find what they need elsewhere. This book is intended, from my viewpoint, for active users who need more tools but might need to refresh Word knowledge, first. The kindle edition was my choice because I needed integrated guidance and learning, as I needed and when I had the time. Books are still the best reference tool, however, as most studies have shown. Word is the one tool you need to master, there are really no competitors in any machine context.
When there are limits in time get this, quick! Want to acquire core info on Word 2010? Start here it keeps you current. I would recommend this book or kindle version to most professional writers who have not become Advanced users of Word 2010. For others who want instant application without learning more of Word 2010, then search into applications made by specialist or consulting firms. Last, I recommend this product to Medical schools, Law Schools or firms, Graduate Schools, and Business Colleges as part of a writing clinic for students or beginning professionals. Surprisingly, I believe the authors made Word 2010, and its subsequent versions, accessible to anyone needing access to Word's inner workings. Therefore, Junior Colleges, Teacher's Colleges, and two-year Voc-tech Schools are ideal locations for this book or kindle. Our technological world requires intelligent people communicating using their own skills.
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