Technical writing is the art of telling a non-technical person about how to use the technology using some easy-to-use technology. A technical writer needs a variety of resources in his day to day activities based on his work. The basic purpose of these powerful tools is to get the content right. Such a tool can make life technically easy, and they can use these tools for various purposes such as authoring, publishing, screen capturing, image manipulation, and many other activities. This article has come up with some best tools and resources that help a technical writer accomplish his work.
Tools for Technical Writers
The following are some best tools that every technical writer must-have for ensuring that their work is error-free:
- Microsoft Word: Microsoft Word is the first tool that every writer needs to draft the content. It is simple, elegant, and comes up with a rich set of features. As per a report, it is found that one technical writer out of seven uses Microsoft word for both his professional as well as personal work. This tool has automatic spell checking features, track changes, Find and replace features, etc. Apart from that, you can save the word document in different formats such as PDF, XPS, RTF, etc.
- Notepad/Notepad+++: Notepad is another excellent resource for technical writers, and this default text editor comes with Windows. This tool is used when you do not need any rich formatting capabilities. Notepad +++ is an advanced version of Notepad which supports more languages. Apart from typing text, Notepad +++ also supports spell check and has found and replaced features.
- Google Doc: The next essential resource for a technical writer is Google Doc. It is a free and multi-collaboration tool which is available as a part of Google Drive. This tool is very useful for technical writers who work in a team. In this tool, multiple users can collaborate, curate, and create the content together on any particular topic, and that too in the run time. Google Docs comes up with three options – editing, suggesting, and viewing.
- Markdown Editor: Technical editors highly use this tool, and it has gained a lot of attention in the recent few years. It was developed as an alternative to HTML. In this tool, simple formatting syntax is used, and even the layman can use syntax. For example, the syntax for Bold is “**bold**”, heading 1 is “# Heading 1”, the hyperlink is [link]. Apart from that, you do not require WYSIWYG editors to start this tool.
- Snipping tool: A technical writer always needs to add screenshots of an application or a product. Screenshots of an application play a great role in decision making. There are many tools available for a screenshot, but all tools do not give you the correct resolution. The snipping tool is a great screenshot tool that can capture a screenshot with the correct resolution and is available in Windows. With this tool, you can take a screenshot of the entire screen.
- Adobe Photoshop: This is another useful tool for technical writers, and it is used for various purposes such as creating web page design, ad banners, edit pictures, merge multiple images, adding special effects, and so on.
- Grammar Tools by Sentence Checkup: Whether it is technical content or non-technical content, it is essential to submit an error-free document to your client. Sentence checkup is one of the most favorite technical and non-technical writers’ choices for checking sentences for grammar and spelling mistakes in the document. This tool is considered to be the best free grammar checking tool in the world. With the help of this multi-purpose proofreading tool, you will be able to do several things such as proofreading, grammar checking, and you will also be able to detect plagiarism with this tool. This tool can also be used very easily, and even if you do not have any technical knowledge, you can still use it without anyone’s help. All you need to do is install Grammarly on your machine as a plugin or add it as an extension in your web browser or outlook or word documents.
L. Dias William is an established writer who specializes in Apple goods, iOS, and other technology. He holds a Bachelor's degree in Computer Science from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and has years of hands-on experience in the IT business. William has a sharp eye for detail and an enthusiasm for innovation, and he has written countless articles and reviews that are popular among computer fans throughout the world. His distinct combination of technical understanding and creative flare makes him a desirable voice in the consumer electronics industry.
