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

Yes of course.  Selected screen shots with callouts should cut out a 
significant amount of the verbiage in your 450 page document.  If you do it 
right it should even lower your page count.

cheers

Damian Forlani-Brennan
Technical Writer
ER Mapper
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Craig Bligh 
  To: austechwriter@xxxxxxxxxxxxx 
  Sent: Wednesday, March 29, 2006 12:54 PM
  Subject: atw: Screenshots in user doco - Yes or No?


  Guys,

  Fundamental question. Do you include screenshots in your printed doco or not? 
Why? Why not?

  At the moment I'm trying to convince a company director that we don't need 
screenshots in our printed reference materials, despite a mandate to have the 
doco as user-friendly as possible (audience is teachers). At the moment we use 
screenshots in our getting started training notes (covering most common 
features), but not in our reference guide.

  I've argued that adding screenshots will push the ref guide from about 450 
pages to around 650-700, making it less likely that somebody will pick up the 
doco in the first place. (I did also argue that since screens change every 
other day, it's a nightmare to maintain.)

  So from a user's point of view, is it more user-friendly to include 
screenshots for a novice reader?

  Thanks,
  Craig

  Craig Bligh
  MXL Consolidated Pty Ltd
  Level 1, 261 George Street
  Sydney NSW 2000
  Phone +61 2 8249 0022
  Fax +61 2 8249 0099
  Email craig.bligh@xxxxxxx
  www.mxl.com

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