Templates, Symbols, Image Libraries

Links for technical writers and others who create technical documentation and software documentation: templates, style sheets, fonts, symbols, image libraries.

Legal Notice:
The linked web sites and their publishers are not associated with or endorsed by indoition engineering, and do not reflect the opinion of indoition engineering. Copyright of materials by their respective copyright holders.

 

Caution:
Always carefully check the license terms of all templates, symbols and images that you download. Often, "free" downloads are not free for commercial use or the license terms include other pitfalls. For example, you might have to mention the copyright holder at an unacceptable position, you might not be allowed to use the image in documents that you sell for money, or the publisher reserves the right to change the licence terms at any time in the future. Other problems might arise if the publisher claims to hold the copyright, but in fact does not. If photographs show persons, make sure that these persons have agreed to the commercial use of the picture (so-called model release). If photographs show buildings, logos, product names or any other copyrighted objects, make sure that the owner/copyright holder of the object has agreed to the commercial use of the picture (so-called "property release").

There are hardly any good, ready-made templates for technical documentation available on the web.

The Rocky Mountain Chapter of the STC

Provides a rich collection of free samples and templates especially for technical documentation purposes.

Klarity

Provides a rich collection of templates for technical and business documents (commercial).

 

 

You can also use some web templates quite well as a starting point and inspiration for the design of online documentation. Comprehensive collections of open source web templates can for example be found on:

OPENDESIGNS

Open Source Web Design

Open web design

WEBSHAPES

Wikimedia Commons

On Wikimedia Commons, you can find symbols under the keywords "pictograms", "icons" and "icons themes":

AIGA

50 downloadable symbols developed by the AIGA can be found on their web site under "Society & Environment > Symbol Signs".

Berufsgenossenschaft Druck und Papierverarbeitung

Gefahrensymbole und Sicherheitszeichen zum Download.

CPTec Symbolsammlung für Technische Dokumentation

Kostenlose Sammlung von Symbolen für Gefahrstoffkennzeichung gemäß Gefahrstoffverordnung, Gebotsymbolen nach BGV A8, DIN 4844, Symbolen für Gefahrguttransport gemäß GGVS / ADR, Rettungszeichen, Verbotssymbolen, Warnsymbolen und Verpackungssymbolen. Folgen Sie dem Link zum Forum und dort im Bereich "Navigation" dem Link "Symbolsammlung".

Wikipedia

Gefahrensymbole in guter Auflösung finden Sie unter dem Stichwort "Gefahrensymbol".

Creative Commons

A good starting point for the search of free images under the Creative Commons License provides the search function on the Creative Commons web site.

Microsoft Office Clip Art

A comprehensive free clipart library for licensed users of Microsoft Office can be found on the Microsoft web site.

morgueFile

Another treasure trove is morgueFile.

pixel perfect digital

Several thousand free pictures of good quality.

pixelio.de

Reichhaltige Sammlung von ca. 280.000 Bildern mit Stichwortsuche (deutsch). Die Lizenzrechte sind sauber dokumentiert.

stock.xchng

Requires registration.

Wikipedia

Eine gute Linksammlung zu kostenlosen Bildern finden Sie auch auf Wikipedia unter dem Stichwort "Public-Domain-Bilderquellen".

Some international providers are:

fotolia

iStockphoto

123RF

punchstock

gettyimages

 

 

Some providers based in Germany are:

pitopia

panthermedia

adpic

Linotype

MyFonts

FontShop

 

 

Free fonts for commercial use:

Font Squirrel

STIX Fonts

Do you miss anything that we ought to mention? Did you find any information that is incorrect or obsolete? Please help us to keep this page up to date and let us know. Thank you.

This page was last updated 08/2010.

Keywords relating to this page: technical documentation - technical communication - software documentation - user assistance - template - templates - symbol - symbols - warning symbol - warning symbols - signs - warning signs - image - images - clipart - links - weblinks - web links - resources - web sites.

 

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