Conference papers and descriptions of panels, workshops, and poster sessions are separated by topic into five "stems." The first stem, Advanced Technology Applications, contains papers covering advanced technology training, evaluation and applications of word processing equipment, publication databases, electronic and online documentation, and documentation systems. The Management and Professional Development stem includes papers concerned with such issues as hiring and appraising writers, audience feedback and analysis, and managing resources. The Research, Education and Training stem addresses recent technical communication research, technical communication education, and the future of research and education in technical communication. Under the Visual Communication stem, the 18 sessions represented offer different perspectives on topics ranging from digitized typography to video programs; these papers describe both new technology and new approaches to established visual communication techniques. The Writing and Editing stem includes descriptions of 204 sessions addressing the problem and promise of automation in technical communications: and discussing product design, task analysis, graphics techniques in text, document testing, online documentation, technical writing styles, online editing, a systematic approach to copy writing, and documenting poorly designed systems. Author and subject indexes are provided. (LMM)