Procedures should have a maximum of 5 steps. Indexing is also very important in online help, since the index is the way most people find their help information. Graphics Many technical writing jobs now require the ability to also do graphical design. There does not seem to be a real standard in this area, although many use Corel Draw or Adobe Photoshop. Companies that are heavy into graphics usually are MAC shops.
Web pages Many companies are now requiring technical writers to develop web pages.
The most common tool is Microsoft FrontPage. Writing for web pages is similar to writing for online help. Wordiness is not encouraged. In many cases, you interview subject matter experts for details, so at least you should be able to understand the material to ask the right questions and to relay that information into your document. It also helps if you like what you are writing about.