Re: Screen Captures; was, RE: Synonym for "cycle through"

[INKtopia Admin <admin -at- inktopia -dot- net>]

Leonard,

The archives are right where they've always been.  The new design of the
home page may have confused you a bit  (techwr-l.com automatically redirects
to techwhirl.com), but it's easier than it used to be.  You can click the
Email Discussion Groups link at the top of the banner and select Search
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there.

Regards,

Connie

On Fri, Oct 14, 2011 at 12:54 PM, Porrello, Leonard
<lporrello -at- illumina -dot- com>wrote:

> Granted the increasing prevalence of icon graphics in GUIs (iPhone,
> Android, ribbon menus), this is an excellent topic and it has appeared a few
> times on the list. I went to the techwr-l web site to see if I could dig up
> any old threads, and I couldn't figure out to where the new owners have
> moved the archive. Help? Anyone?
>
> Several years ago, someone in Sweden (I forgot his name) did some extensive
> usability research, for his PhD thesis, into the helpfulness of screen
> captures. He found that screen captures consisting of parts of screens taken
> out of context actually slow down the user. Screen captures of entire
> screens are neutral, and screen captures of entire screens--with call
> outs--do help the user (but minimally). In other words, except for the case
> in which the partial screen capture slows down the user, screen shots don't
> do much to enhance usability.
>
> I think we can take his research with a grain of salt and argue that for
> confusing interfaces (aka poorly designed interfaces) screen captures can go
> a long way. I would also add that the research didn't look at the value (or
> lack thereof) of including an introductory screen capture of an entire
> screen/dialog box as a "hand-holding" device to orient the user.
>
> When online help is accessed from a GUI and the link places the user on the
> page that has the info he needs, I never include screen captures. For guides
> that users look to for procedural help, often before cracking open the GUI,
> I'll orient the user by including a screen capture of the page they will
> start at.
>
> To help to minimize translation costs and add a bit of color in the case
> where a GUI features labeled options and icons that do not contain words
> (such as the paper clip in the ribbon menu of Word), instead of saying
> something like "Click Attach File", I would say, "Click [paper clip icon]".
> I do not say, "Click the [paper clip icon] icon." I haven't seen any
> research on using icons to the exclusion of words in help text, so I'd
> appreciate any thoughts anyone may have.
>
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: techwr-l-bounces+lporrello=illumina -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com [mailto:
> techwr-l-bounces+lporrello=illumina -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com] On Behalf Of
> Weissman, Jessica
> Sent: Friday, October 14, 2011 9:17 AM
> To: techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
> Subject: RE: Synonym for "cycle through"
>
> I am no longer sure whether screen shots in manuals are useful enough to be
> worth the trouble of creating them and keeping them up to date.  If the
> reader is in front of the actual screen, the picture in the manual is
> redundant.
>
> I can think of a few reasons screen shots mght be useful:
>
> - to help readers be sure they're following directions for the right screen
> -  to help reviewers figure out whether the manual is correct and useful -
> reviewers usually look at the document in isolation, not in front of the app
> - to make the manual more visually attractive
>
> Manuals do look incomplete without the screen shots, but that may just be
> because we're used to seeing them.
>
> Of course I may be smarting from having to update a whole bunch of screen
> shots because the developers changed the capitalization on two field labels
> that appear on a lot of screens.  The sharp-eyed reviewer thought it was
> important enough for me to fix.
>
> -  Jessica
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