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.
User interface elements as a section itself in manuals
Subject:User interface elements as a section itself in manuals From:Karen Field <KarenF -at- TRITECH -dot- COM> Date:Wed, 4 Nov 1998 09:35:02 -0800
I work as an editor and writer in software documentation, and I need some
feedback. Some of my clients are fond of including an entire section in
end-user manuals devoted to describing the dialog boxes, screens, and other
UI elements the user encounters in a program. For example, after a section
describing how to do a task, a section follows entitled "Dialog Box
Information" that describes in painful detail each field/check box/whatever
in each dialog box.
To me, this seems to overburden the user. When I open a software manual, I'm
looking for a specific task, and I don't care what UI elements I encounter
as long as Iknow what to do when I get there in the procedure itself.
Can anyone enlighten me on how this is useful to the user? If you agree with
me, please offer your reasoning as well. You can reply to me directly if you
like: karenf -at- tritech -dot- com
