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The need for documentation is directly proportional to the complexity of the
system. A business card designer is a pair of scissors next to the massive
farm implements of Word, PageMaker, or the like. I have an FTP app that does
nothing but log onto a remote site and move files. I've never read the help,
because, first, I'm familiar with FTP, and second, it's a one-trick pony.
Good trick. But just one.
I think further that the public has learned to fear large manuals, because
they've become familiar only with manuals that drone and spin their wheels
in the snow. Many manuals aren't task-based, but are combinations of
marketing materials, Dummies books, and job aids. I've seen manuals that
said things like "The Skeeter screen is easy to get to. Just click the
Skeeter button on the toolbar, and you're there. The Skeeter screen is a
great way to input data, because..."
Blech.
Tim Altom
Simply Written, Inc.
Featuring FrameMaker and the Clustar(TM) System
"Better communication is a service to mankind."
317.562.9298
Check our Web site for the upcoming Clustar class info http://www.simplywritten.com
>
> What can we do, as Technical Writers, to encourage that our users read
> the manuals we create? Is it just a helpless situation? Or is it really
> a "nice test of the software" to "not have to Read The Manual"?
>
