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

["Giordano, Connie" <Connie -dot- Giordano -at- FMR -dot- COM>]

Darren,

We're looking ways to make it glaringly obvious too.  Since I'm documenting
a web-based app, I decided to take the page idea and further it
graphically--when documenting a set of tasks on a page, I give it the torn
edge look, and break it out by grouped functions.  So far the QA folks like
it a lot.  Our beta clients are visiting in about 2 weeks, so maybe I'll get
"real" user feedback.

-----Original Message-----
From: Darren Barefoot [mailto:dbarefoot -at- mpsbc -dot- com]
Sent: Thursday, December 02, 1999 12:59 PM
To: TECHWR-L
Subject: RE: Designing a new help system -- Oh boy! ...ugh


Hi,

I was a bit dismayed to read the general opposition to screen shots in help
systems, as we're planning on using them where appropriate. Our need is
further compounded because we are single-sourcing out of Robohelp (pray for
us, if you get a chance), and so what you get in the help system more or
less is what goes in the printed docs. So, confusing to the reader or not,
we've chosen to include them.

We're exploring using some sort of visual key--a border or label or
something--that clearly indicates what the screen shot is. I have read (and
it occasionally happens to me) that users may sometimes get mixed up between
the images within a help system and the interface itself. We aim to try to
avoid this. DB.