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.
Re: User interface elements as a section itself in manuals
Subject:Re: User interface elements as a section itself in manuals From:Dan Roberts <DRoberts -at- ISOGON -dot- COM> Date:Wed, 4 Nov 1998 13:15:43 -0500
This message is in MIME format. Since your mail reader does not understand
this format, some or all of this message may not be legible.
Probably depends on how well the tasks guide the user through the job,
and informs them of the results of their decisions. Often, when using a
product new to me, I start trying to perform a task and think "now, do I
want to select value A or value B here? I have no clue" then turn to
What's This help or any online help for more guidance.
Unfortunately, sometimes the Help is less than helpful, telling me only
to specify a value for the field, or to specify X, Y, or Z for the
field. Well, duh!, I got it figured out *that* far myself! <g>
So, I don't think I'd completely remove the information, before checking
to see if there's any juicy bits in there that could help the user.
Dan Roberts
droberts -at- isogon -dot- com
-----Original Message-----
From: Karen Field [mailto:KarenF -at- TRITECH -dot- COM]
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.
<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 3.2//EN">
<HTML>
<HEAD>
<META HTTP-EQUIV=3D"Content-Type" CONTENT=3D"text/html; =
charset=3Dus-ascii">
<META NAME=3D"Generator" CONTENT=3D"MS Exchange Server version =
5.0.1458.49">
</HEAD>
<BODY>
<P><FONT SIZE=3D2>Probably depends on how well the tasks guide the user =
through the job, and informs them of the results of their decisions. =
Often, when using a product new to me, I start trying to perform a task =
and think "now, do I want to select value A or value B here? I =
have no clue" then turn to What's This help or any online help for =
more guidance. </FONT></P>
<BR>
<P><FONT SIZE=3D2>Unfortunately, sometimes the Help is less than =
helpful, telling me only to specify a value for the field, or to =
specify X, Y, or Z for the field. Well, duh!, I got it figured out =
*that* far myself! <g></FONT></P>
<BR>
<P><FONT SIZE=3D2>So, I don't think I'd completely remove the =
information, before checking to see if there's any juicy bits in there =
that could help the user. </FONT></P>
<BR>
<BR>
<P><FONT SIZE=3D2>Dan Roberts</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=3D2>droberts -at- isogon -dot- com </FONT>
<BR>
<BR><FONT SIZE=3D2>-----Original Message-----</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=3D2>From: Karen Field [<A =
HREF=3D"mailto:KarenF -at- TRITECH -dot- COM" =
TARGET=3D"_blank">mailto:KarenF -at- TRITECH -dot- COM</A>]</FONT>
<BR>
<BR><FONT SIZE=3D2>Some of my clients are fond of including an entire =
section in</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=3D2>end-user manuals devoted to describing the dialog =
boxes, screens, and other</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=3D2>UI elements the user encounters in a program. =
</FONT>
<BR>
<BR><FONT SIZE=3D2>To me, this seems to overburden the user. </FONT>
</P>
