RE: Creating one help system
Case in point: I am trying to figure out how a
particular [product] does something (or even if it can do that). I don't know where to start. I'm not at a dialog box, wondering how to use it. So I have to look in the index or the ToC to see if I can find a clue on where to start.
And Sean Hower asked,
But if the particular isn't in the interface in the first place, you wouldn't wonder how it's working because you wouldn't know about it.....unless I'm just not getting the point you're trying to make,
Well, I left out a word (inserted in my quote above), which didn't help me make myself understood. <g> My point (as Jim Shaeffer understood) was that I am using this product (OpenOffice.org Writer, if you're interested -- this wasn't a hypothetical example) and thinking, "Surely this product has a way to do X; I wonder IF it does X and if so, how. Where do I find out?" A variation is "I know it can do X (because others have said so), but I can't figure out how or where to start."
I've just spent an entertaining (that's polite for frustrating <g>) several days working out some features that are quite easy to use once I "got it" but totally obscure until then, not helped by some really appalling online "help" and almost no other explanations. But hey, that means the book I'm writing ("Taming OpenOffice.org Writer") should be really popular with other people who want to do the same stuff. <vbg>
Regards, Jean
Jean Hollis Weber
jean -at- jeanweber -dot- com
The Technical Editors' Eyrie http://www.jeanweber.com/
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Help Authoring Seminar 2003, coming soon to a city near you! Attend this
educational and affordable one-day seminar covering existing and emerging
trends in Help authoring technology. See http://www.ehelp.com/techwr-l2.
A new book on Single Sourcing has been released by William Andrew
Publishing: _Single Sourcing: Building Modular Documentation_
is now available at: http://www.williamandrew.com/titles/1491.html.
---
You are currently subscribed to techwr-l as:
archive -at- raycomm -dot- com
To unsubscribe send a blank email to leave-techwr-l-obscured -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com
Send administrative questions to ejray -at- raycomm -dot- com -dot- Visit
http://www.raycomm.com/techwhirl/ for more resources and info.
Previous by Author:
RE: Beaten by the mob
Next by Author:
Re: Cannot generate PDF bookmarks from Word 2002 using Distiller 5.05
Previous by Thread:
RE: Creating one help system
Next by Thread:
Beaten by the mob
Search our Technical Writing Archives & Magazine
Visit TechWhirl's Other Sites
Sponsored Ads