Re: Self-explanatory installation

["Dan Roberts" <droberts63 -at- earthlink -dot- net>]

the only other thing i can think of now is to spell out any additional
ramifications of selecting a setting other than the default setting.

For example, if the installer selects a port other than 2050, will he need
to remember this information? Are there any guidelines that can help him
choose a port? what effect will this have on the end user?

and fwiw, do you really need to include the graphics? yeah, i know some folk
like them, but do they really add any value that words alone can't provide?

-----Original Message-----
>However, our current software is customised for each client, so for most
>steps the instructions reads something like:
>"Click Next to accept the default setting and proceed to the next step."
>
>If they choose not to accept the default, there's rarely a way of
>describing the other options to them without providing a whole load of
>highly technical detail that they don't need.
>
>For instance, for one of the installation steps, the associated graphic
>has the text:
>"Please enter the socket number on which the Authorisation Service will
>listen for authorisations. Usually, this will be 2050."
>
>What is there left for the technical writer to add? A discussion about
>sockets? An exhortation to click Next?
>
>Our installation guides can run to 30/40 pages, with most pages
>containing just the graphic and one or two lines of text. I imagine this
>must be totally tedious for the user, and I doubt if it's of much use
>either. However, our managers don't want to do away with the
>Installation Guides altogether.