Re: Screen Capture Placement

[Bruce Ashley <bashley -at- CREATEPRINT -dot- COM -dot- AU>]

I've posted personally but it appears more of you are confused on this
issue so this is for the list.

Placement of screen captures is NOT a matter of personal choice. Its
procedural.

Steps must be in order. I come from a training background and it is
ridiculous to have trainees look at an object and then explain it
afterwards. This makes them have to then look at the object twice.

This is inefficient and confusing.

With screen captures, you should be saying "You need to look at the picture
here" and NOT "The picture here is what you must look at".

Same goes for procedural instructions e.g. "Select Print from the Main
Menu". This is wrong. Users tend to look for "Print" before they realize
that there is another part of the command "..from the Main Menu".

The correct way is "From the Main Menu, select Print".

Think about it.

Would you say "Put the rock there after you have picked it up" or "Pick the
rock up and place it there"? (the second option is the correct one).


Regards,

Bruce Ashley
OZ


        Barb wrote:
        I'm thinking it is helpful to the reader to see the screen
before the
        instruction so he'll know he's in the right place when he takes
the action
        specified in the instruction. Anybody have an opinion they'd
care to share?


I wholeheartedly agree with you. Placing the screen after the
instructions would be confusing. I like to see the screen, take the
elements of the screen in, and then start reading the procedure. This
way, by the time I start following the steps, I've already noted the
screen elements (naming conventions, list boxes, tabs, etc.). So, when
they are mentioned in the procedures, I know what they're talking about
and that I'm in the right place.


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