Technical writers often need to embed code in their articles, whether snippets, configurations, commands, or examples. When presented clearly, code in your articles reinforces understanding and helps readers follow along more easily. When presented poorly, it creates confusion and frustration. This article …

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In the first two parts of this Markdown series, you explored how to get started with Markdown and use lists effectively. Now, you'll learn how to write clear, structured, and actionable step-by-step instructions. Whether you're documenting PowerShell scripts, Azure setup tasks, or admin procedures, your readers need …

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In Part 1: Getting Started with Markdown for Technical Writers, I introduced the basics of Markdown, including how to format both ordered and unordered lists. This article builds upon that foundation, providing everything you need to know about using lists in Markdown, from basic syntax to advanced formatting …

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Markdown is the standard for writing technical documentation at Microsoft and many other organizations. Its simplicity, readability, and compatibility with other tools make it an ideal choice for blogging, documenting software, procedures, APIs, and more. Whether you're authoring a user guide, README, or knowledge …

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GitHub's default workflow assumes you open pull requests (PRs) in the upstream repository. However, if you need to contribute to a different fork, you can't create a fork-of-a-fork when you already have a fork of the upstream repository. Instead, you can create a pull request (PR) in a different fork. This is useful …

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In technical writing, letter case affects more than style. It influences tone, readability, and accessibility. Typing in ALL CAPITAL LETTERS might seem like an easy way to add emphasis or style, but it often does more harm than good, affecting how quickly readers process information and how your message is perceived. …

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Working with long Azure CLI commands in PowerShell can quickly become difficult to read and maintain, especially if you rely on backticks (`) for line continuation. Fortunately, PowerShell offers a cleaner, more flexible way to build commands using arrays and splatting. This article explains how to use these …

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The macOS Dock is a customizable taskbar that provides quick access to your most-used applications, files, and folders. Located at the bottom of the screen by default, you can move the Dock to the left or right side of the screen. For better accessibility and a more streamlined experience, customize the Dock to …

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If you ever formatted a hash table in PowerShell, you know how easy it is to focus on function over form. But what if one minor formatting tweak could improve readability, reduce syntax errors, simplify code reviews, and enhance script maintainability? During a recent documentation update, I stumbled on a subtle but …

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PowerShell 3.0 introduced several notable improvements to its cmdlet library, with one of the most useful features in this release being the simplified syntax for the Where-Object cmdlet. This enhancement made filtering objects more efficient and user-friendly by introducing Property and Value parameters and a switch …

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