IdeaWeaver Helps Overworked Technical Writers

Anyone who has been a tech writer for any length of time at all knows that to meet documentation deadlines sometimes you have to do a lot of writing quickly, with little support, and even less information. IdeaWeaver can help you frustrated, overworked tech writers.

Put Your Notes Right Into IdeaWeaver

If you have to extract information from subject matter experts (SMEs), instead of scrawling a bunch of disjointed noted on a legal pad, try using IdeaWeaver.

If you have to go down to the "shop floor" to see the machine you have to document, put IdeaWeaver on your laptop and start documenting what you see right then and there. You don't have to worry about organizing anything until later when you are back at your desk.

It's also easy to "jump" in and out of different ideas. So if your SME is expounding on one subject and suddenly, he (or you) has a massive brainstorm or you realize that you missed an important point, you can close the idea and jump into another one.

It doesn't matter if you are working on an idea that will end up on page 1 or page 101. Each idea is just a single click away, so you aren't scrolling through pages and pages of text trying to find a reference or thought.

Documenting Software? Paste in Code Comments

Sometimes when you have to document software, you have to dredge comments out of the code. Instead of dumping this information into a word processor, put them into IdeaWeaver instead.

You can quickly see what is missing and what still needs more information because everything is all on one screen.

IdeaWeaver also can be used as a collaboration tool. Gather the programmers in a room, and use a projector to show your IdeaWeaver documentation project. Point out the holes in the documentation and start getting the programmers to explain the missing features. Input the notes right while everyone is sitting there and can make comments.

Any Structured Document Can Benefit from IdeaWeaver

Because IdeaWeaver has a powerful outlining tool, you can use it as the source for more than one documentation project. Do your writing in IdeaWeaver, then export it to RTF format for use in Word user guide layouts, FrameMaker layouts, HTML help, or other formats.

If you have multiple user guides that all use the same basic outline, you also can copy one IdeaWeaver project outline to another.

We Used IdeaWeaver to Create the Program's Own Online Help

For proof of concept, we actually opted to create the IdeaWeaver online help in IdeaWeaver itself. Microsoft has free HTML help tools, so we used IdeaWeaver and the free compiler that is available from Microsoft's download site to create IdeaWeaver's HTML help.

Read more about how we did it in this case study. (It even includes a screen capture of the IdeaWeaver project for the curious.)

Click this link to try out IdeaWeaver FREE now!
You also get a free ecourse and report called "Get Unstuck! 15 Ways to Jumpstart Your Creativity, Get Organized, and Finish Your Writing Project"