atw: Re: Screenshots in user doco - Yes or No?

I think this will end up as a real...It depends.....

Any "Windows" look and feel software we produce we don't provide 
screenshots. That software is mainly diagnostic and tuning, and the 
audience is technical so there's no reason......EXCEPT (see...always one 
of those) configuration and setting screens.  If their screen doesn't 
match what the pic in our document shows..well it won't work.

Of course that's about 1% of what we do. The main products, well they 
aren't  standard interfaces, reasonably complex processes, and highly 
graphical, so we tend to use a lot of pics in the user manual...but only 
(as a few others have said ) where it assists in reducing complexity, and 
only in the user documentation. Then there's our stuff that runs on ISO-VT 
terminals, well, as some may be touch screens, some maybe keypad, some may 
use dials and potentiometers....it's pointless. You'd  have to provide 
documentation for every type of third party terminal, and it changes a lot 
(custom features) so we tend to write function/process type documents for 
these, and we find that people really, really like those documents....so 
it depends. 

I think the main points are don't include every screen, and take an 
objective look,  does the image reduce complexity? Cut down on long 
rambling descriptions? Provide key reference information at a glance? 
Probably best summed up as....don't put it in just because it's there.

Cheers

CB
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