“Cut and paste” enters the computer age

Technical writers have often used scissors and glue to “cut and paste” their own material or other printed material to produce appropriate copy. The advent of computerized data bases and word processing systems gave technical writers a powerful new tool. This paper describes two ways in which technical writers can use computers to cut and paste more efficiently: The first method, retrieving information from on-line data bases, is really just a more efficient way of doing something that's been done before. The second method, using “model components” to generate customized information from descriptions stored on-line, is new. It enables technical writers to create and tailor information as it is being included in a draft and significantly affects the way technical writers do their job.