Excel Manual
July 2, 2012 8:55 AM Subscribe
Im writing a manual for an excel tool I wrote. Does anyone know any really nice templates I can use or let myself be inspired by? I just need help on the aesthetic part ;)
It's one of those manuals with pictures and screenshots too :)
I've tried google but its either an information overload or not completely relevant, so excuse my poor google-fu.
I'm writing this in Word, as im not too good with latex.
I've tried google but its either an information overload or not completely relevant, so excuse my poor google-fu.
I'm writing this in Word, as im not too good with latex.
Response by poster: Thanks for the tip, but i'm looking for alternatives to those!
posted by freddymetz at 9:18 AM on July 2, 2012
posted by freddymetz at 9:18 AM on July 2, 2012
If you're just looking for visual inspiration, have a look at the documentation produced by Sphinx.
posted by RonButNotStupid at 9:53 AM on July 2, 2012
posted by RonButNotStupid at 9:53 AM on July 2, 2012
Find the Valve employee handbook from your search engine of choice and sigh at its beauty. It's my gold standard for this kind of thing.
posted by StephenF at 11:05 AM on July 2, 2012
posted by StephenF at 11:05 AM on July 2, 2012
Response by poster: Thank you, the Valve employee handbook is EXACTLY what I had in mind! Any tips on how to do that in word?
posted by freddymetz at 12:33 PM on July 2, 2012
posted by freddymetz at 12:33 PM on July 2, 2012
Alas that's well beyond my reach - it was put together by seriously talented people. I would say just copy the ideas of the parts you like as closely as you can, but generating something of that quality is the work of a lifetime.
posted by StephenF at 12:43 PM on July 2, 2012
posted by StephenF at 12:43 PM on July 2, 2012
The metadata in the .pdf file says that it was created with Adobe InDesign, but I don't see anything in the document that cannot be done in Word. What parts are you having problems with?
posted by Houstonian at 2:41 PM on July 2, 2012
posted by Houstonian at 2:41 PM on July 2, 2012
Response by poster: Im attempting it as we speak, the font seems to be Miramar? http://www.fontpalace.com/font-download/Miramar/
I'm having problems with the page background and the bold version of the font doesn't really work..
posted by freddymetz at 2:49 PM on July 2, 2012
I'm having problems with the page background and the bold version of the font doesn't really work..
posted by freddymetz at 2:49 PM on July 2, 2012
The main font is New Baskerville. The dotted lines above and below paragraphs that have notes (like on p. 49) is from Old Newspaper Types. The timeline (starting on p. 19) uses Helvetica Neue.
For the background image that starts each chapter, put the image in the footer of the page.
posted by Houstonian at 3:14 PM on July 2, 2012
For the background image that starts each chapter, put the image in the footer of the page.
posted by Houstonian at 3:14 PM on July 2, 2012
This will probably take you deeper than you want, but I made a wonderful looking manual with LaTeX. I scarcely did any design work, I let the program concentrate on that and I stuck with my writing.
posted by Folk at 6:21 PM on July 2, 2012
posted by Folk at 6:21 PM on July 2, 2012
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by Houstonian at 9:08 AM on July 2, 2012