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Last year, we tried a numbered heading style. My coworker and I didn't
mind the numbers, per se, but didn't like that there was no formatting to
distinguish between levels. We believe that it takes to much time for the
reader to drill down in the numbering system to figure out where he/she is
in the manual, and that formatting, being a visual cue, was better. We
talked to some of our service and training people and found that they
didn't get any benefit from the numbers, and that they, too, would rather
have visual cues. Because of this, and because of issues with our
translators, we chose to move away from the numbered heading styles. Now
we use the following formatting instead:
** Heading 1: 18 pt. bold, outdented .75 inch.
** Heading 2: 16 pt. bold, outdented .50 inch.
** Heading 3: 14 pt. italic, outdented .25 inch.
** Heading 4: 11 pt. bold, flush left.
When we cross reference a heading, we use the text of the heading and also
refer to the page it is on (for example, "See *Setting the gap,* page 79"
where * indicates italics). Our manuals are only in print at this time,
though we are moving to PDF's, as well.
If you chose to keep the numbering (I know there are instances when it is
beneficial), I would encourage you to use some visual formatting cues as
well.
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