Free template for writing a training manual?

[itsjustb]

Hi everyone,

I've been asked to write a training manual for a new software app we're deploying next year. I'd like the manual to have a nice professional look, but I'm up against really tight deadlines and don't have time to develop a template for this one my own.

I thought a Google search would have netted me some good results, but I clicked through over a dozen search results with no luck. Does anyone on this forum happen to have/know of a good free template for writing this kind of document?

Thanks in advance,

Beej

[jscher2000]

Does anyone on this forum happen to have/know of a good free template for writing this kind of document?

As a start you could try the built-in template Hans suggests in this thread: [topic=733951]Manual Outline (2003)[/topic].

If you have 2007 and this template is no longer supplied, check out the attached.

[attachment=86590:Word-2003-Manual-from-template.doc]

[peterg]

Hi everyone,

I've been asked to write a training manual for a new software app we're deploying next year. I'd like the manual to have a nice professional look, but I'm up against really tight deadlines and don't have time to develop a template for this one my own.

I thought a Google search would have netted me some good results, but I clicked through over a dozen search results with no luck. Does anyone on this forum happen to have/know of a good free template for writing this kind of document?

Thanks in advance,

Beej

Office Online is a good starting-point for searching for such things. That link is to the Help page, which is a good starter, and if you do an internet search you might get something that is perfect for your purposes but not free. If you have Office, I might tell you that I have an extremely attractive and professionally done (not by me, nor for me) proposal that was done in PowerPoint and then printed in landscape format. This allowed for tables, maps, photographs, charts, and all manner of things, there was no theoretical limitation on how much you could put on a page since it was to be handled by the reader and read at the reader's own pace rather than with the time restrictions of a live presentation. Mind you, the layout had to be very well done and the content had to be suited to the page, and it could equally have been done in Word, but if you want something distinctive, don't overlook having a layout in landscape.

[TimFromPerth]

Thanks to both the posters above for that helpful information. The manual template contains some nice styles.

Cheers,
Tim.

[gette413]

This template is very cool! Thanks for sharing.

[gette413]

This template is also from MS Word and is quite a good foundation document to create a general Employee Manual. Employee Manual.doc

Best Regards,
Gette

[dogberry]

This may be a dog chasing its tail (I can't figure out whether or not the templates cited here are the same as this, and this thread may be where I got it) but HERE is one to check.

[gette413]

The "Employee Manual.doc" I posted is different than the one posted earlier by jscher2000. The one that I posted I obtained from Microsoft Templates. It may be useful to someone.

Cheers!
Gette413