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Re: What doc formats do readers actualy use? Was, "what doc formats do READERs want ?"

Subject: Re: What doc formats do readers actualy use? Was, "what doc formats do READERs want ?"
From: Mark Giffin <mgiffin -at- earthlink -dot- net>
To: dvora -at- tech-challenged -dot- com
Date: Thu, 15 Dec 2011 10:26:00 -0800

I also generally prefer printed manuals. But I find it very easy to understand why very few companies include printed manuals anymore, especially for software products. If you looked at an old bill of materials for a software product that included a full printed manual, I'm sure the printed manual was the largest line item in the company's cost for the product. The manual also added to the time for release because of the prep and printing time, and added to shipping costs because of the weight. And then after getting rid of the printed manual they probably found they had few complaints about it, because how many people read those manuals? Other than me and a paltry few others.

I used my 1 1/4-inch-thick FrameMaker 7 manual with FrameMaker 10 the other day.

Mark Giffin

On 12/14/2011 12:20 AM, Deborah Hemstreet wrote:

I prefer printed manuals.

I hate the new Microsoft Help in Word 2010. It is totally and absolutely useless. I have gotten more help by doing a Google search than via the Word Help.

Adobe's help, likewise, is increasingly less useable... because everyone is moving from the old fashioned Help. Personally, .CHMs and WebHelp, when designed properly are easy to navigate and very user-friendly... all the bells, whistles and widgets drive me nuts!

<rant rant rant>

But who cares about useability and really helping the user these days?

Certainly not the bottom line.

Good design and good writing cost $$$ and no one wants to pay anymore.

My own two cents worth.

Deborah
http://www.tech-challenged.com

<http://deborah.hemstreet.googlepages.com/home>*


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Follow-Ups:

References:
What doc formats do readers actualy use? Was, "what doc formats do READERs want ?": From: Porrello, Leonard
Re: What doc formats do readers actualy use? Was, "what doc formats do READERs want ?": From: Deborah Hemstreet

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