Upcoming Chapter Events

by Opal Gamble, Program Manager

Reminder: There is no General Meeting in January.

If you have any questions about upcoming chapter events, or if you have a suggestion for a meeting topic, feel free to email Opal Gamble (Program Manager) or Paul Lofthouse (Program Assistant).

For details about our chapter's events for the rest of the year, as well as last minute updates or additions to the schedule, take a look at the STC calendar.

December 4
MGT-SIG Meeting

Management SIG meeting - noon at Virtek Laser Systems. RSVP to Margie Yundt.

December 5
Web-Telephone Seminar
Adobe Acrobat 6.0 for Technical Communicators - Part II

STC's first Web-and-telephone seminar, "Adobe Acrobat 6.0 for Technical Communicators," was so successful that we're providing an advanced seminar on the same topic! If you wish to learn more about Acrobat 6.0's capabilities to manage documents efficiently, reliably, securely, and cost-effectively, this seminar is for you.

Acrobat 6.0 Professional allows you to create searchable archives, review and mark up PDF files, and easily generate PDFs that retain layer information from applications such as AutoCAD, Visio, and Project. Building upon a basic knowledge of Acrobat 6.0 Professional, this seminar will delve deeply into the following software features:

• Review and Comment Tools for Writers. Learn how to maximize efficiency with clients while minimizing review and commentary times.
• Preflight and Proofing Tools for Creative Professionals. Those of us who deal with printers and output will appreciate Acrobat 6.0 Professional's unique features, including separations, preflighting, proofing, PDF/X support, advanced print controls, and advanced editing capabilities. Learn how to wield these tools for greater control of your PDF print workflow.
• Advanced Commenting Tools for Engineers. Acrobat 6.0 Professional allows users to preserve and view layers in a CAD file, and provides commenting tools specific to the engineering workflow, measurement tools, large format support, and more.

[Additional seminar and speaker details]

This free seminar ($35 for non-members) takes place at Virtek, 785 Bridge Street, Waterloo, from 12:30-3:00 pm.

Please RSVP to Opal Gamble by Wednesday, December 3, 2003. In your e-mail message, please state the names of attendees and membership status.

Seating is limited for this event - please RSVP soon!

December 10
Telephone Seminar
Adding Panache to Your Procedures

Like most technical communicators, you've probably written countless procedures. But have your procedures fallen into a rut? Are they good but not great? Do you know how to provide that "something extra" that can turn a mundane procedure into a great piece of technical product documentation?

This seminar covers all aspects of writing effective, powerful procedures. Participants will cover the purpose and theory of procedures and review the basic elements before moving on to advanced aspects of creating added value, using effective design elements, and testing. Throughout, you'll see examples of both good and bad procedures. [Additional seminar and speaker details]

This free seminar ($35 for non-members) takes place at the Waterloo Recreation Complex, 101 Father David Bauer Drive, Waterloo, from 12:30-3:00 pm.

Please RSVP to Opal Gamble by Monday, December 8, 2003. In your e-mail message, please state the names of attendees and membership status.

December 16
Council Meeting

Restaurant TBA.

All members welcome; RSVP to Heidi Marr.

January 14
Web-Telephone Seminar
Effective Web Sites: Structure, Navigation, and Graphics

When it comes to Web sites, many of us lack reference points. Faced with a new medium like the Internet, we tend to ignore traditional design models and, instead, rely on intuition. When we come across a different way of doing things (an original structure, an unexpected hyperlink), we may like or dislike it, but are often unable to evaluate its appropriateness. Originality (structural or graphical), technical sophistication, or number of hits may become goals in themselves, at the expense of effectiveness. In terms of structuring information, Web designers have much to learn from their counterparts in print publishing.

The seminar will propose a simple but effective model for thinking about the structure and navigation of a Web site--one that can be used both to analyze existing sites and to design or implement new ones. While perusing various Web pages, we will discuss three main themes: how to structure Web sites so visitors do not get lost (structure); how to phrase and display hyperlinks to make them highly visible and allow visitors to make informed decisions about where to go next (navigation); and how to format a Web site to reveal its structure and facilitate its navigation (graphics).
[Additional seminar and speaker details]

This free seminar ($35 for non-members) takes place at Campana, 99 Randall Drive, Waterloo, from 12:30-3:00 pm.

Please RSVP to Opal Gamble by Monday, Janauary 12, 2004. In your e-mail message, please state the names of attendees and membership status.

Seating is limited to 12 seats for this event - RSVP quickly!

January 14
Free Contractors and Independent Consultants Workshop
The Six-Step Selling Process

Attend this workshop from 6:30 to 9:00 pm to find out how to turn leads into paying customers. For more details, read the article in this issue of The Quill at Next CIC Meeting.

Coming Up

February's General Meeting will feature Word 2003 and XML with Peter Vogel - for details, check January in our chapter's calendar.