Our annual wine and cheese is fast approaching in June. This year we've changed the format to combine it with our awards night and added in an Annual General Meeting (AGM) portion. To that end, we will be seeking nominations for several positions on the executive council. If you've ever thought about getting involved or you want to get back on board, please watch for a call for nominations coming in May.

Our current council has worked very hard this year and with great success. Darlene Davidovic spearheaded our Spring Conference in March that raised a good deal of money for the chapter and met with resounding praise from both attendees and speakers. Pat Dales and Bernard Aschwanden compiled our membership survey and got it online in March. The survey too met with great success with a response rate that exceeded our expectations. A report on our findings will be released at the AGM in June. The entire council rallied behind our program chairs to make this happen.

It has been my pleasure, as your president, to work with such a dedicated group of experienced professionals on the council. I look forward to seeing many of the same faces join me again next year and hope to count on your support for another successful session.

Cheers,

Rob Hanna
president@stctoronto.org

The Toronto STC awards competition was a great success. The "Best of Show" award (the top prize) was a particularly tight race!

To contribute an article to the newsletter for consideration, please contact our editor at newsletter@stctoronto.org or reply to this email.

This article explores ideas related to subsetting and customizing the DITA specification without the addition of new elements. Instead, we explore taking default rules and adapting them to meet the needs of specific writing and publishing environments.

This article is a guide to customizing the default WebWorks Help 5.0 template supplied with WebWorks ePublisher Pro (WWeP). The default template is functionally complete, but I had to customize it to match the look and feel of TSX SecureFile, a web-based tool that allows listed issuers to file securities documentation with TSX. During the course of developing the template, I found out quite a bit about WWeP that isn't covered in the documentation, and I'll share those tips in this article.

A psychologist writing in Science Magazine points to evidence that a smile momentarily diverts blood flow from the brain to the face. Facial muscles push against bones and act like tourniquets. This influences brain temperature, affecting the synthesis of endorphins, the chemical keys to pain relief and feelings of well-being. Thus smiling makes you feel better.

The Die is Cast! The voting period for the annual elections has ended. I can't wait to learn whom we've chosen to help drive the STC to new levels of professional leadership and prestige in the near future. Look for the election results to be announced very soon!.

Evolution is unavoidable. Creatures that do not evolve become extinct. So do fields of human endeavour. Technical writers should therefore embrace change and evolution in their field. Some of us are labelled as "technical writers"; implying learning, structuring, creation, and a one-way conveyance of technical knowledge to our readers. For other writers, the label has evolved to "technical communicator", which gives a further sense of back and forth between us and our audience. The next stage in our evolution appears to be that of "information architect" as we begin planning and implementing content management (CM).

Imagine you have been kidnapped, taken to a strange land and dumped into a society you know nothing about. The culture and society are vastly different than your own, and their social graces and mannerisms are nothing like yours.

Office 2007: The Future is Here with Neman Syed

Microsoft Office 2007 has already proven itself to be the most radical redesign of Office since the toolbar. It will deliver massive amounts of value to end users, while creating even more value – and billable – for trainers, documenters, and developers. From the dramatically new user interface at the front end, to zipped, native XML open (!) file formats at the back end, live previews and integrated workflow via SharePoint in the middle, this ain't yer dad's office suite! There's so much more than can be described here. Get a jump on the new feel, features, and fun of Microsoft Office 2007, and test drive it for yourself!

Neman is the President of Industrial Strength Training, Consulting, and Development. He is a Microsoft Master Instructor and a Microsoft Office Specialist, certified at the Master Level for Office XP. Neman was the fourth person in Canada listed as such by Certiport, Microsoft’s certification authority, and in March 2006 received his Train the Trainer Level 2 Certificate from Peak Potentials.

He has been independently training and consulting since 1997. He is a recognized authority in Word, Excel, Visio, Access, Crystal Reports, and automation of documentation and spreadsheets using Visual Basic for Applications.Since 2003, Neman has been the IS Applications and Training Specialist at the Law Society of Upper Canada.

Join us at 7 PM on Monday May 8 at the North York Memorial Hall in the Burgudy Room. General Admission $5/STC Members attend for free.

View meeting information.

"I think there is a world market for maybe five computers."

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