Re: When to use screen shots (was: screen dumps in books)

[Melissa Fisher <mfisher -at- AUTOMATEDLOGIC -dot- COM>]

I use screen shots pretty sparingly in user manuals. As most folks have
indicated, I only use them when I think they will be of use. My rule of thumb
is, if you can't add something to a screen shot to make it somehow more useful
than the actual screen itself, don't show it. Mind you, I write user manuals for
Windows software, with few text-based screens. My opinions are naturally biased
to this environment.

In your situation, I think I'd be inclined to show a shot of a screen full of
text with the places where a response is required indicated by callouts or
circles and arrows and a paragraph on the back of each one explaining what each
one was... etc. But only because I'd be afraid a user might miss one of the
responses, or might have a hard time finding a particular one on a crowded
screen. This may not be an issue for you and your audience.

HTH,
Melissa Fisher
mfisher -at- automatedlogic -dot- com





From: "Brierley, Sean" <Brierley -at- QUODATA -dot- COM> on 01/19/99 02:41 PM GMT

Please respond to "Brierley, Sean" <Brierley -at- QUODATA -dot- COM>

To:   TECHWR-L -at- LISTSERV -dot- OKSTATE -dot- EDU
cc:    (bcc: Melissa Fisher/ALC)

Subject:  When to use screen shots (was: screen dumps in books)




Hallo:

I am getting some very interesting points regarding the use of screen
shots. I would like some more opinion on this matter.

I am a screen-shot minimalist. Once in a while I will offer a screen
shot to reassure the reader that they are, indeed, on the true path.
However, I do not offer every screen shot with this purpose.

Question, ought we provide step-by-step screen shots with our text? As
one person wrote me, some find it reassuring to see the book mimics what
they see on-screen.

I often (in Windows/Mac) use screen shots instead of text to show
settings. In other words, having the reader set the
values/parameters/switches (whatever you want to call them) as shown in
a graphic.

In a text-based environment with 80- and 132-character columns, my
preference is to show only the text of those lines that solicit a
response, using a fixed-width font, but wrapping to meet the needs of
the document's page layout. My thought is that seeing each and every
prompt that appears on-screen reproduced in text would be reassurance
enough, rather than 30 lines of 132 character text, of which 6 require a
response.

So, how about it? When to use screen shots (including re-typing or
capturing text-based screens) and when not to? Am I too minimalist?
Thoughts?

Thanks. I am open to some persuasion on this.

Sean
sean -at- quodata -dot- com

>>>Youy just hit the key regarding why have screen shots. "user
>>>sees on their
>>>terminal under normal circumstances?"
>>>
>>>What about abnormal circumstances? I'm sure you are aware
>>>that you don't always
>>>get what you expect on a screen and the screen shot confirms
>>>to the user that
>>>they are on the right path. Screens give the user assurance
>>>that they are doing
>>>it right when they see on the screen the same image as in
>>>their documentation.


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