Re. Numbered headings

[geoff-h -at- MTL -dot- FERIC -dot- CA]

 John Sturman asked about the advantages and disadvantages
 of using numbered headings. John, the main advantage is to
 make cross-references easier for _you_ to implement, but
 not necessarily for the reader to use: for example, what is
 the difference in usability between "see page 23" and "see
 section 1.1"?

 There are two main situations in which numbered headings
 have a strong advantage:

 - Numbered headings make it easier to refer to a specific
 portion of a page that will have many headings and
 subheadings; however, an appropriate textual reference may
 still work just as well (e.g., "see _printing on a network_
 on page 23" versus "see section 3.1.1 on p.23").

 - Numbered headings can be very effective if you're writing
 to a specific standard for which the audience has the
 section headings memorized. In that case, you're playing to
 their strength: they already know what each section means.
 Lawyers and tax accountants often work this way.

 Your colleague is correct in stating that numbered headings
 make a document _appear_ complex. Moreover, if you have so
 many levels of heading that you need numbered headings to
 make the structure clear, this may be a sign that the
 problem extends beyond appearance and into the realm of
 unclear or ineffective organisation of the information. You
 should be able to handle almost any subject using three or
 four unnumbered levels of heading, and with this few
 levels, numbers won't help appreciably.

 --Geoff Hart     @8^{)}     geoff-h -at- mtl -dot- feric -dot- ca
 Disclaimer: Speaking for myself, not FERIC.

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