TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
In article <199701081751 -dot- MAA05266 -at- closer -dot- scescape -dot- net>, "George F. Hayhoe"
<gfhayhoe -at- scescape -dot- net> writes:
>And it is as applicable to online
>documentation as to paper manuals, as its recent adoption by Microsoft in
>the Help for its products indicates.
If that isn't a strike against it! I've found Microsoft's latest help
files to be quite frustrating. It sends me into help wizards that I don't
need and that take a lot of time to get into and out of. It doesn't
provide in-depth discussions of more complex problems and too much
information on the easy stuff. The hard copy manuals are useless pieces of
marketing fluff.
Is it because of poor research and bad assumptions on Microsoft's part, or
is it a problem endemic to minimalist documentation?
I like the concept of minimalist documentation, but if Microsoft's
documentation is considered a good implementation, I want none of it!
Barb
I guess it's too late, but I don't mean to start a flame session on
Microsoft. I am in
TECHWR-L (Technical Communication) List Information: To send a message
to 2500+ readers, e-mail to TECHWR-L -at- LISTSERV -dot- OKSTATE -dot- EDU -dot- Send commands
to LISTSERV -at- LISTSERV -dot- OKSTATE -dot- EDU (e.g. HELP or SIGNOFF TECHWR-L).
Search the archives at http://www.documentation.com/ or search and
browse the archives at http://listserv.okstate.edu/archives/techwr-l.html
