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AMA Condensed

Thanks to www.docstyles.com, there is a freeware summary of the AMA style guide. No special software is needed to view it. Simply download and install this file:

Writer's Guide to AMA Style 2.0 (Windows 625KB)

The Writer's Guide covers rules of style, and has some examples. The actual AMA style guide book contains many more detailed examples of stylistic issues. We suggest that new staff use the freeware AMA guide. As new staff members gain experience and decide they'd like to continue doing projects for us, they should secure a copy of the AMA style guide.

1. Download the file, extract it, and install it.

2. Click the AMA icon to begin.

3. The first page that opens up has many links and menus on it. The menu bar at the top of the page is quite useful. An easy way to quickly find what you are looking for is to use the Index. You can get there from File > Index at the top left of the page. This index is just like the searchable help files of many Windows-based programs. Type the first few letters of a word you are looking for or scroll the menu bar down to see all topics. Click Display to see a page about the selected topic.

4. Use the File > Index > Find. After clicking the Find tab, the program will ask you set up a database. Select your option (the default minimum works fine) and click Next. It will ask you to set up a wordlist. Click OK. You will only need to do this one time. After you are done, you can search the database by typing in a word you are looking for. This is a more refined way to sort through the available topics.

5. Quick links at the left will take you to many frequently used stylistic points. After clicking on links, a navigation bar at the top of the page will allow you to go Back or return Home.

6. Many links are not obvious. Some are bold text or blue arrows. Clicking on them will open additional pages. Clicking anywhere on these pop-ups will tend to close them.

7. Use the Topics/Contents link for a index of links to sections in the document. On the Home page, this appears as the Contents link at the bottom. On all other pages, it appears in red at the top as the Topics link.

8. When using the Topics link, click any heading in the list to go there. When the page opens, there are also subheadings in blue that you may click on to visit those pages.

9. You can create bookmarks. Go to the page you want to bookmark. Click Bookmark > Define at the top of the page. Enter a title for the bookmark (it will display in your list of bookmarks). To return to that bookmark, click Bookmark at the top of any page and click on the bookmark you wish to return to.

10. Right click on pages for additional options. You can add your own notes, print a page, or copy text for use in other programs.

11. These steps should be enough to get you started. Use the built in help file for more assistance. Click Help > Features at the top of the page.

12. There is at least one broken link that works from one place and not another. This is the Guide Links at the bottom of the homepage. However, you can access this useful page from Writers Guide > Guide Links in the menu bar at the top of the page.

13. A PDF file from docstyles.com is also available, though it is not as extensive as the above:

http://www.docstyles.com/archive/amastat.pdf.