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    <title><![CDATA[Discussion on Five tips for creating useful client documentation ]]></title>
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    <item>
        <title><![CDATA[.TXT vs. Word documents]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-346385-3475352]]></link>
        <description><![CDATA[I use TextPad when I am in a hurry and only need to jot down notes, but I disagree that TXT files are a better choice for customer documentation. The best documentation is formatted with adequate whitespace, font styles, footnotes, headers, etc. Sure, Word might take 1 or 2 second longer to load, but in seasoned hands Word becomes a time saver. Also, there is no reason to use the .DOC format anymore (upgrade already!) because the compressed XML used in .DOCX is super fast. I agree with some of the other comments, I usually print to PDF and supply that version to the customer, for portability more than anything else.]]></description>
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        <dc:creator><![CDATA[blombach]]></dc:creator>
        <pubDate>Fri, 22 Jul 2011 23:22:58 -0700</pubDate>
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    <item>
        <title><![CDATA[Bento!!]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-346385-3473602]]></link>
        <description><![CDATA[I use bento on my iPad to file absolutely everything, including pics. I may try Omnigraffle for network maps and as far as i know if you have the app on the iPad you could open and edit those files there too.]]></description>
        <guid><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-346385-3473602]]></guid>
        <dc:creator><![CDATA[jymkch]]></dc:creator>
        <pubDate>Tue, 19 Jul 2011 06:41:19 -0700</pubDate>
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    <item>
        <title><![CDATA[Yup]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-346385-3473474]]></link>
        <description><![CDATA[Yeah - with great tools like remote desktop, phone email and google docs there really is no need to plain text documentation.I have a problem with your last comment though; no IT pro should ever leave the office without at least a coffee and a laptop or documentation!]]></description>
        <guid><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-346385-3473474]]></guid>
        <dc:creator><![CDATA[gechurch]]></dc:creator>
        <pubDate>Mon, 18 Jul 2011 23:09:51 -0700</pubDate>
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        <title><![CDATA[Agreed]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-346385-3473473]]></link>
        <description><![CDATA[I agree, especially given that the article talks about documenting passwords. I agree with you - Word + Visio to PDF is a nice mix. I use offline files instead of Dropbox, and if I'm ever on a machine without Word or Acrobat I just remote in to our terminal server. The worst case scenario is that no machine around has an Internet link, in which case I have to turn on my laptop or connect in using my phone. Give me that over plain text documentation any day.]]></description>
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        <dc:creator><![CDATA[gechurch]]></dc:creator>
        <pubDate>Mon, 18 Jul 2011 23:05:38 -0700</pubDate>
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    <item>
        <title><![CDATA[Agree with most of it...]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-346385-3473083]]></link>
        <description><![CDATA[We separate our clients into folders, but we use an excel spreadsheet.  If a client has more than one site, then each site gets it's own tab (includes LAN IP scheme and WAN IP info), but it's still all located in the same spreadsheet.  We can also add images of their wiring closets and network hardware, which helps with troubleshooting when you have to walk someone through rebooting their modem or firewall.  If a site has several servers (or several sites), then we typically will list out all of their servers and IP addresses, as well as if they have DRACs installed and it's IP address.If we are going to be making any major changes, such as new hardware (server, firewall, modem) or WAN IP change, then we'll print out a hardcopy to take with us, then update our document when we get back to the office.In a pinch, we each have a gmail account and can use Google Docs to document the info, then update their regular documentation when we get a chance.  Worst case, type out an email on the smartphone - painful if there is a lot to document, but works when you go out the door without a laptop, a document, or coffee...]]></description>
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        <dc:creator><![CDATA[lancekephart]]></dc:creator>
        <pubDate>Mon, 18 Jul 2011 07:22:39 -0700</pubDate>
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    <item>
        <title><![CDATA[&amp;quot;Remembering&amp;quot; document updates]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-346385-3472964]]></link>
        <description><![CDATA[I am sure you meant you are updating documentation within your change control process, is that right? And that memory has limited to do with that, but you are using some form of process? I have another tip - undertake some sort of writing course to avoid the geek speek gobbledygook that I have seen in many pieces of documentation. Version control properly.The .txt file issue appears to be somewhat of a bias, it is your job to produce useable documentation then you should use industry tools such as visio and PDFs to ensure you can include images. Securing the documentation you produce is never an afterthought - and needs to comply with corporate policies, legislation or the quality standards applied in your client's environment.To me this article misses the boat a bit, and contains a few statements that I would expect out of a graduate, not a seasoned consultant.]]></description>
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        <dc:creator><![CDATA[biancaluna]]></dc:creator>
        <pubDate>Mon, 18 Jul 2011 03:48:02 -0700</pubDate>
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    <item>
        <title><![CDATA[more on .TXT and Notepad]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-346385-3472919]]></link>
        <description><![CDATA[Rarely documented is Notepad's auto-timestamp feature. Sure, pressing F5 is a quick and easy to add a date / timestamp to the file. Though add &quot;.LOG&quot; (without quotes) as the first line of the text file, and Notepad will automatically add the date and time stamp as a new line every time you open the file. This not only helps for documenting, but also for tracking your time while at a clients'.]]></description>
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        <dc:creator><![CDATA[redventura]]></dc:creator>
        <pubDate>Mon, 18 Jul 2011 01:36:40 -0700</pubDate>
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        <title><![CDATA[Completely agree about images]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-346385-3472273]]></link>
        <description><![CDATA[Whenever I'm documenting anything that's more than a couple of steps, or that I may expect a non-tech or non-expert to have to follow I always add screenshots to each of the stages for clarity.  That way the person trying to follow the documentation knows exactly what they should be seeing at what stage and which field of the dialog box they're supposed to type the entry in.  Admittedly if you are dealing with non-windows OS then the .doc format may not be the most appropriate, but you should know that from the topic of the documentation and be able to save in a format that can be opened on the relevant system.]]></description>
        <guid><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-346385-3472273]]></guid>
        <dc:creator><![CDATA[OurITLady]]></dc:creator>
        <pubDate>Fri, 15 Jul 2011 09:46:06 -0700</pubDate>
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    <item>
        <title><![CDATA[Text only??]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-346385-3472130]]></link>
        <description><![CDATA[The only issue with text only files that I have ever seen is that you have to WRITE more descriptively since now you have eliminated the use of images when explaining item. Thus, it takes longer to write and you have to ALWAYS assume the person reading it has the bare minimum basde knowledge of whatever needs fixing and the step by step has to be VERY precise. You become a very highly paid technical writer of a very complex solution.I document using MS Word (or VISIO is some cases) convert to PDF and then post. I always page number (page x of y) and auto-date the doc so that we always know at a glance if that if two are seen we can tell what is the latest version. Putting in the page x of y also lets a person know how long the instruction set is so they have the expectation / time factor knowledge which makes them work better. Like the . . . . . . ant trail when installing so you know how long it is going to take.]]></description>
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        <dc:creator><![CDATA[TAPhilo]]></dc:creator>
        <pubDate>Fri, 15 Jul 2011 08:34:52 -0700</pubDate>
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