Re: An index in service manuals

[CEW Connie Winch <CEW -at- MACOLA -dot- COM>]

Barry,

Do everything you can to convince them otherwise.  Good information
loses its value and is not communicated when the audience can't easily
access the information they need, and an index is probably the most
useful (and therefore most used) access tool.  If the powers that be
care about the users' gaining access to the necessary information so
that they can effectively use the product (and conceivably reduce the
amount of support needed), they care about indexes.

Good luck and please let us know what happens.

Connie E. Winch
Technical Writer
Macola Software
Marion, OH USA
cew -at- macola -dot- com

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Barry Kieffer [SMTP:barry -dot- kieffer -at- EXGATE -dot- TEK -dot- COM]
> Sent: Friday, May 29, 1998 1:43 PM
> To:   TECHWR-L -at- LISTSERV -dot- OKSTATE -dot- EDU
> Subject:      An index in service manuals
>
> Greetings,
>
> A quick question to all of you TW's who create paper media service
> manuals:
>
> Do you include an index in the paper service manual?
>
> I have to admit, when I look at a manual, or go to look something up
> in a
> manual, I go right to the index first.
>
> Where I work, the powers that be have decided amongst themselves that
> service manuals may not contain an index.
>
> What are your views?
>
> TIA!
>
> Regards,
>
> Barry
>
> &^~~~
> Send commands to listserv -at- listserv -dot- okstate -dot- edu (e.g., SIGNOFF
> TECHWR-L)
>