For reasons that continue to elude me, I’ve come across a lot of Microsoft Word template issues in my time.  Some so bad that what should be a simple productivity tool ends up hobbling documentation efforts. Finding template issues is a never-ending source of disappointment for me.  Perhaps it is because I am used to setting up templates in the early stages of a project and keep the fuss to a minimum.

Though along the way, my Microsoft Office experience and published writing credits on the subject got me put on some projects where I supported the roll out of Microsoft Office and saw how end users (who weren’t technical writers) actually used the applications and their varied levels of understanding.

These experiences got me to put together what I am calling my Microsoft Word Template Manifesto:

read more »