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Clippy might be of more value to novice users who are still learning
the ropes.
To those of us who are comfortable with the software and know what we
are doing, it was little more than an unwelcome intrusion.
I might have been able to accept the animation and the attempts to
provide helpful information if there was an easy way to permanantly
turn the feature off. Unfortunately, Office 97 did not provide that
capability, requiring the user to turn the paperclip off every time
the user started the application. Thankfully, MS addressed that flaw
in Office 2000.
As to the conventional help files, I find a similar flaw. MS has
managed to code it in a way that, when initially opened with the table
of contents, rather than the index, the book on how to use Help opens
to reveal all its sub-books and topics. Now that may be fine for the
first time user, but not for someone with a bit more experience. I
guess I get rubbed the wrong way by the apparent built in assumption
that the only person who is going to use the feature that way is a
first time user.
> The problem with Clippy, for us, is that we are not a part of his
target
> audience. Too often, programmers spend so much time adding in idiot
> proofing extras that they neglect to include an override for those
who don't
> need them, such as the XP version of Outlook not allowing users to
receive
> certain types of files as attachments because some people can't
learn to
> protect themselves from viruses.
> As an experienced Office user, I can find what I'm looking for a lot
quicker
> using the regular help with its familiar interface than I can trying
to
> figure out the magic phrasing that will let Clippy know where to
point me.
> The animation I could live with...if it were smaller and out of my
> workspace, maybe somewhere on the toolbar.
> The interruptions are, for me, what is unforgivable. If I want
help, I will
> ask for it, and I certainly don't need some A.I. function telling me
what
> type of document I'm working on. I feel the same sort of annoyance
toward
> the new "improved" Office clipboard (imagine how much memory that
thing
> could drain from your system if you filled it with large graphics)
that pops
> up every time I do a CTRL+V.
> Having said all that, I would like to know how novice users feel
about
> Clippy.
--
John Fleming
Technical Writer
Edmonton, Alberta
email: johnf -at- ecn -dot- ab -dot- ca
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