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BD Tech Concepts LLC

Technical Editing
Applications for Technical Editing

  • • Books, Monographs, Texts

  • • White Papers

  • • Case Studies

  • • Journal Articles

  • • Patent Applications

  • • Engineering Proposals

  • • Catalogs and Brochures

  • • Operating Manuals

Improved Technical Content

  • • Improved typesetting of mathematics, tables, units, fractions, and user-interface controls.

  • • Mathematics typeset according to math or engineering standards, as appropriate.

  • • Consistent formatting of dimensions v.s. quantities, and ranges of numbers with units.

  • • Improved diagrams and photos. Suggestions for additional diagrams or illustrations to clarify content.

  • • Consistent and improved labeling of warnings, cautions, and notes. Suggested additions or change of importance.

  • • Consistency checks between different statements in different sections of the document.

  • • Catch missing exponents, units, labels, specifications.

  • • Verify unit conversions.

  • • Verify significant digits.

  • • Verify trademark v.s. copyright.

  • • Consistent type-case for brand and product names.

  • • Define any undefined acronyms.

  • • Clarify procedural instructions to reduce misinterpretation.

  • • State-machine tables or diagrams to clarify and specify all possible user-interface interactions.

  • • Highlighted description lists or paragraph headings to quickly locate and identify important content.

  • • Repeated text is factored to a common source to avoid minor differences between instances.

  • • Diagram labels may be converted to numbered “pins” and an accompanying table. The pins take less space on the diagram, and the table allows easier translation or updates since text is not placed directly on the diagram. Patent applications require numbered diagram pins, and references to these pins are automatically maintained and updated as changes occur, permanently maintaining the link between the diagram and the text. See Labels, pins, call-outs, patent-application diagrams.

Improved Text

  • • Spelling

  • • Grammar

    • – Dropped articles

    • – Insure / ensure / assure, effect / affect, etc.

    • – Simplification and rearrangement of complex sentences for improved clarity.

  • • Punctuation

    • – Hyphenation of compound adjectives.

    • – Hyphen / number range / minus sign / en-dash / em-dash

    • – Opening / closed quote marks / inch mark / angular seconds / double prime

    • – Apostrophe / foot mark / angular minutes / prime

    • – End-of-sentence space / flexible-width inter-word space / fix-width unbreakable space / short unbreakable space

    • – Serial comma, Harvard comma, Oxford comma

    • – × vs x (“times” vs “lower-case x”)

  • • Structural organization

    • – Sectioning

    • – Cross-references with active hyper-links.

    • – Footnotes and end-notes

    • – Figures and captions

    • – Equations

    • – Table-of-Contents, List-of-Figures, List-of-Tables

    • – Indexes

    • – Glossaries

    • – Bibliography

    • – PDF meta-data

Repair of Broken Documents

  • • Conversion from bitmaps and scanned images to real text, tables, equations, and vector diagrams.

  • • Repair and establish consistent labels, units, and captions.

  • • Prevent diagrams, illustrations, and photos from overlapping nearby text.

  • • Re-organize out-of-order or broken section, figure, or equation numbering.

  • • Correct broken itemized, enumerated, and description lists.

  • • Strip and reapply formatting to fix inconsistent styling.

  • • Fix or verify inconsistent or obsolete contact information and hyperlinks.