Re: Manuals on CD-ROM

[Chet Ensign <Chet_Ensign%LDS -at- NOTES -dot- WORLDCOM -dot- COM>]

Kent Newton wrote:

> Should we approach it like on-line help with
> hyperlinks, or should we simply set it up like a manual and use a keyword
> search engine?

If I can be so bold, I would strongly suggest that you let your customers tell
you that. Especially if you want to replace paper with CD-ROM delivery and have
them accept it.

Electronic publishing is not one set 'thing.' It is a range of possible
delivery forms, from the paper-projectors like Acrobat or Envoy, through the
indexed retrieval engines like SmarText or OpenText, to the hyperlinked tools
like Folio, MS Viewer or DynaText, all the way to dynamically generated HTML on
the Web. And any of those solutions can be right, depending on how your users
use your information.

The smartest way to proceed is to develop several prototypes with different
capabilities and test them with your customers. Find out which ones deliver the
information in a way they find acceptable, useful, etc. That maximizes your
chances of success. Wouldn't your management hate to be 3/4 of the way through
implementing CD-ROM publishing, only to have your biggest customer look at they
system and say 'Fine -- but don't try to shove that thing off on us!" Hey -- it
could happen.

Best,

/chet

Chet Ensign
Logical Design Solutions
571 Central Avenue                      http://www.lds.com
Murray Hill, NJ  07974                  censign -at- lds -dot- com [email]
908-771-9221 [Phone]                  908-771-0430 [FAX]