OVER the last few years, the technology of electronic technical publishing has become increasingly powerful and flexible; professional technical communicators, as well as other professionals in technical fields, now can expect as a matter of course to develop documents at computer terminals, incorporate tabular and graphic material, format them using a wide range of visual attributes, store them electronically, and produce them on sophisticated computer-supported printing equipment.

Let us, the Communication Technology editors, take this opportunity to introduce one of the new departments that will be appearing in the Transactions. Beginning with the June issue, you can expect either a full-scale article or at least a column on the technologies that are changing the way professional communicators do their work. These technologies include text processing systems, electronic and desktop publishing systems, communication networks, online help facilities, and tools to improve user interfaces. We want to discuss the practical impact of these technologies on job definitions, work flow, shop organization, project management, and the internal and external flow of information.