Tools for Technical
Communicators
Save time and have fun doing it!
Free tools and some COTS.
Clipname
Shell extension for Windows Explorer
Copy filename/s to clipboard
Copy filename and path to clipboard
Copy the UNC path to the clipboard.
Bulk Rename Utility
Stand alone program – integrates into
Windows Explorer
Change file name case
Replace characters
Remove characters
Number/renumber files
Add/remove file extensions.
Agent Ransack/File Locator Lite
Stand alone program – integrates into
Windows Explorer
Search for files on local machine or network
Search with wildcards
Search for text in files
Boolean searches AND, OR, NOT
Regular expressions
Supports Office formats, text, PDF.
Notepad ++
Stand-alone program – supports plug-ins
MDI - multi-document interface
Copy text into other applications without formatting, supports
drag-and-drop into Framemaker
Find and replace in files/folders
Run macros and save them
Color code samples
Add line numbers.
Throwback Thursday
What is this?
Notepad ++
View non-printing characters
CSS and code editor – Syntax coloring and code folding
Extended search
Regular expression search.
JPdfBookmarks
Java program
Edit PDF bookmarks without the full version of Acrobat.
Paint.NET
Stand-alone program – supports plug-ins
Bitmap editor
Standard image editing tools, including layers, history
MDI interface with icons on tabs
Supports transparency.
Inkscape
Stand-alone program – supports Add-ins
Vector graphics editor
SVG file format.
Inkscape
Fiddler
Fiddler is a free web debugging proxy which logs all HTTP(s)
traffic between your computer and the Internet. Use it to debug
traffic from virtually any application that supports a proxy like IE,
Chrome, Safari, Firefox, Opera, and more.
Use this to debug your online help on your web server.
Microsoft Word
COTS
Customize it!
Learn how styles work
Learn how templates work
Learn Visual Basic for Applications (VBA).
Choosing a tool
Word or FrameMaker ?
Flare or Robohelp?
CMS A or CMS B?
1. Make a list of requirements
2. Rank your requirements
• Required = 3
• Useful = 2
• Nice to have = 1
3. Make a matrix to compare your options
4. Account for incidentals Ex. Does the CMS require an Oracle
database? Cost prohibitive?
5. Expertise required? Is open source software really free?
6. What is the learning curve?
7. Hire a consultant?
Why did Star Wars episodes 4, 5, and 6
come before 1, 2, and 3
Because in charge of scheduling, Yoda
was!
Links
Clipname: http://www.pctimewatch.com/en/downloads.htm#ClipName
Bulk File Rename Utility and manual:
http://www.bulkrenameutility.co.uk/Main_Intro.php
Agent Ransack: https://www.mythicsoft.com/agentransack
NotePad++: https://notepad-plus-plus.org/
Notepad++ Cheat sheet:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B86nuTd5nMTKaENHcmliUC1kdnc/edit
JPdfBookmarks:
http://sourceforge.net/projects/jpdfbookmarks/?source=typ_redirect
Paint.NET: http://www.dotpdn.com/downloads/pdn.html
Fiddler: http://www.telerik.com/fiddler
Inkscape: https://inkscape.org/en/