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Re: "Ideal" help system was task-orientated vs. reference help
Subject:Re: "Ideal" help system was task-orientated vs. reference help From:Christine -dot- Anameier -at- seagate -dot- com To:"TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com> Date:Thu, 8 Mar 2001 10:55:06 -0600
Sybille Sterk wrote: << I find that I myself usually want to know how to
perform a certain task, so I click on the help and expect to find the
information in the help. If it's not there, I am generally p****d off.>>
Same here. I bumble around and try to figure things out on my own, and when
I get stuck, I go into the help, looking for a procedure. I hit the index
first.
For a couple of random examples: I've found the Microsoft Word help
reasonably useful. Not perfect, but I can almost always find the answer I
need, although I occasionally have to resort to full-text search. In
contrast, I've found the Forte Agent and GetRight help files absolutely
maddening because (at least in the possibly-outdated versions I have)
they're feature-based, and unless I already know what dialog box I need to
be in, the help is useless.
IPCC 01, the IEEE International Professional Communication Conference,
October 24-27, 2001 at historic La Fonda in Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA.
CALL FOR PAPERS OPEN UNTIL MARCH 15. http://ieeepcs.org/2001/
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