RE: Designing a new help system -- Oh boy! ...ugh

[John Posada <jposada01 -at- yahoo -dot- com>]

Hi, Kathi:

I have a screen shot in every help window. Why? Not so
they can look at the image and screen and verify that
they match, but because I've also defined each field
and button in the image as a hotspot and when they
click on the hotspot, they get a popup that explians
what it's for and what the rules are for entering
information in that field. It is easier than listing
each field and the expalination on the page.


--- Kathi Jan Knill <Kathi -dot- Knill -at- template -dot- com> wrote:
> Renee asked for help with these issues:
> 
> 1. Screen shots, good or evil --
> I think they are evil! If the user is accessing
> help, he is already at the
> screen he needs to know about. It can be more
> confusing if even one
> tiny detail is changed between what he sees and what
> is in the screen shot.
> I feel very strongly about this ... it is a pet
> peeve.


=====
John Posada, Merck Research Laboratories
Sr Technical Writer, WinHelp and html
(work) john_posada -at- merck -dot- com - 732-594-0873
(pers) jposada01 -at- yahoo -dot- com - 732-291-7811
"The art of creating software that is usable by individuals is a communication skill. It is not a programming skill."
                    --Bill Atkinson, creator of MacPaint and HyperCard
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