RE: "Choose your own" install guide

["Chris Vickery" <cvickery -at- arenasolutions -dot- com>]

But if you do that, everyone will start at the Fatal Error message and
work their way back to the beginning!

Honestly, I don't think it's a great idea, because it implies that all
readers start from the same place. Might make indexing difficult too. If
you did it selectively, like for three options within one procedure, I
could see it working out.

Chris "D. Terman" Vickery

-----Original Message-----
From: techwr-l-bounces+cvickery=arenasolutions -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
[mailto:techwr-l-bounces+cvickery=arenasolutions -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com]
On Behalf Of Kevin McGowan
Sent: Tuesday, November 06, 2007 12:27 PM
To: techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
Subject: "Choose your own" install guide

Hi folks,

As I'm learning more and more complications about our product install 
process from the professional services people, I am now pondering
rewriting 
my install guide modelled on the old "choose your own adventure" books
from 
my childhood.

Essentially, if you drew it all out in a flow chart, the flow chart
would go 
on for pages and make it seem ridiculously complicated. Instead, I'm 
thinking of a more user-friendly approach...and am wondering if anyone
has 
done this, or might have an opinion on it.

Basically, it would go like this:

You want to install PRODUCT on Windows - go to page 10
You want to install PRODUCT on Linux - go to page 13

In the Windows section:
You want to enable SAS support, go to page 20.
You want to skip SAS support, go to page 21.

Is this madness? Will a reader be annoyed reading a 100-page document
set up 
like this?

Cheers,
Kevin

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