Converting legacy documentation
Technical writers sometimes convert outdated legacy documents into new formats. Typical examples include the conversion of printed documents to an on-screen format, HTML to WebHelp, or WinHelp to compiled HTML Help (CHM help).
One project involved converting documentation from Ventura to Word. Much of the textual content of the original documentation was still valid and could be re-used, although it required considerable formatting and clarification of step-by-step procedures. None of the screen shots could be re-used, because they were all outdated.
We could not save the Ventura files as Word documents. The TechScribe solution was to write a VBA macro in Word. This took Ventura source files (which are ASCII text files with tags to show formatting), and using a multi-pass method, converted the tagged text into Word format (headings, styles, index markers, and so on).
As a result, the new documentation was produced in approximately half the time that it would have taken had it been entirely re-written.
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