As a technical writer, the Microsoft Manual of Style is the first style guide I reach for when I am a working on documentation project when the organization doesn’t have a corporate style guide. Now, Microsoft has published the Microsoft Manual of Style, 4^th Edition that includes some timely updates documenting how Microsoft’s editorial style is adapting and changing to meet new technologies.

The Microsoft Manual of Style is a soup to nuts guide to the Microsoft style for writing technical documentation. I like its holistic approach that includes principles of Microsoft Style, web content, international audience considerations, writing about user interface guidelines, and writing procedures.  It rounds out with a well-documented usage dictionary. The Microsoft writers and editors behind this edition have put together a solid style guide that can serve both experienced and novice writers alike even just to help resolve stylistic arguments during the writing and editing of documents. Some notable updates in this edition include how Microsoft handles writing about mobile phones, gestures, Search Engine Optimization (SEO), and for international audiences.

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