Re: buttons graphics in documentation

[Barb Philbrick <caslonsvcs -at- IBM -dot- NET>]

>Should little screenshots of icons and buttons be placed in-line in print
>documentation (not on-line)?
I've done this with positive results from readers and reviewers.

Things to keep in mind:
* Don't include text (that is, "the floobydust button, <icon>,")
unless you have a compelling reason. It's redundant and could be
confusing.
* If possible, change the background of the icons to white to limit
the contrast between the text and the icons. It also makes them print
more clearly, especially if you're printing to a low resolution
printer or if the material will be copied.  (To do this in Windows, I
start with the High Contrast White and change the background of
buttons to white. I manually modify some icons using PhotoPaint.)
* Lower the icon on the line (I usually lower them about 6 pts) to
reduce the amount of influence on line spacing. Depending on the size
of the icon and your format, this can prevent any "weirdnesses" in
line spacing.
* Limit other formatting. When I first tried including icons, I was
also using bold and italics for some other items. The result was an
incredibly messy and confusing page. I reassessed what I was using the
formatting for and discovered that some of it wasn't necessary.

Hope this helps!

Barb
Barbara Philbrick, Caslon Services Inc.
Technical Writing. caslonsvcs -at- ibm -dot- net
Cleveland, OH