RE: On-line vs. print (WAS: Of myth and reality)?

["Ed Manley" <edmanley -at- bellsouth -dot- net>]

Yes, Eric, I am vitally interested in the things you mention.

As to the similarity / difference issue re using the same source files for
online and print - It seems to me that one would reuse where possible, keep
separate artifacts where not. I can't see why the question requires too much
debate.

At the other end of the "lost in hyperspace" topic is the issue of
modularizing topical documentation and storing it in some logical fashion -
a content repository or database. I can see how all of this will work except
for that part - without some huge Content Management system I don't know how
I would keep track of all the bits and pieces.

As example, a User Guide, where I have numerous topics, screen shots,
tables, etc.

If I keep each object as an artifact - a separate file, how am I going to
organize/manage them? I can see the beauty of building the online or printed
guide by calling the objects in some logical order...but we're talking
hundreds of discrete files to manage.

I am really fired up about this, but can't wrap my mind around how a writer,
or perhaps more importantly a maintenance coder, analyst or manager that
needs to make a change to a screen shot and its accompanying text, is going
to find those files.

Any suggestions?
Ed

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
----
>> Well, this subject certainly didn't garner much interest did it? After so
many
claiming that on-line and print are so different, is there nobody willing to
discuss the requirements of on-line documentation?

I didn't want this thread to touch single sourcing, I wanted to honestly
discuss
the differences and similarities in the requirements of each type of
documentation and how those requirements might be addressed.

Geoff Hart pointed out the issue of being 'lost in hyperspace' an issue that
I
would think requires further study. How can the user be kept 'in context'
when
drilling around in on-line documentation?

Or, in printed documentation how do you best present detailed information
yet
still allow the user to quickly find procedural instructions that don't
assume
they've read the whole book?

Eric L. Dunn





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