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On Wednesday, May 19, 2004, Norcross, Amanda wrote:
> My question is the following: does it make more sense in an
> installation procedure to: 1) "gloss over" these common windows and
> only address in detail windows that are unique or specific to our
> product or 2) address all windows, regardless of how many million times
> users may have seen some of them. #
I usually leave it at "follow the prompts on the screen".
The whole idea of an installation wizard is that it should walk
someone through the installation process without the need for other
help. It is a one-time process, users don't need to learn anything,
they just need to get the product installed and move on. No need to
document it.
That being said... if there are instances where a particular screen
needs additional information, and that information will not fit on the
space allowed on the installation wizard screen, the installation
program can always have a Help button, which calls an explanatory
help topic. If for some reason that is not possible (the install guy is
balking at the idea or this is an OS installation where functionality is
not yet installed to run a help file), then the manual could say "most
of the installation process is self-explanatory. Follow the prompts on
the screen, but here's an explanation of windows you may need help
with." (obviously, you would phrase it more eloquently ;)
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