atw: Re: Screenshots in user doco - Yes or No? [SEC=UNCLASSIFIED]

Yes,

If your screens have unique titles then you are able to leave them out ...
depending.

If what you are trying to explain is not bleedin' obvious, put in the
screen shot.
An occasional screen to confirm where we are all up to can help a lot.
Like the road signs after a major turnoff  "you are still heading towards
Sydney  104 km"

If the location of the fields are not at all bleedin' obvious, try using an
arrow from the text across anything else and onto the screen.  At first
this looks dreadful, but it makes the location of something bleedin'
obvious.  Other people use a red box or an ellipse.  This enables the user
to only look at the current point of interest, not have to sit back and
enjoy the beautiful design features in the screen.

Of course, better screen design would help a lot here.

_____________
Bob Trussler




                                                                           
             "Craig Bligh"                                                 
             <Craig.Bligh@mxl.                                             
             com>                                                       To 
             Sent by:                       <austechwriter@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>  
             austechwriter-bou                                          cc 
             nce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx                                             
                                                                   Subject 
                                            atw: Screenshots in user doco  
             29/03/2006 03:54               - Yes or No?                   
             PM                                            Protective Mark 
                                                                           
                                                                           
             Please respond to                                             
             austechwriter@fre                                             
                elists.org                                                 
                                                                           
                                                                           



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

MXL: Wise Software Solutions for the Global Education Market


**************************************************
To post a message to austechwriter, send the message to 
austechwriter@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

To subscribe to austechwriter, send a message to 
austechwriter-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with "subscribe" in the Subject field.

To unsubscribe, send a message to austechwriter-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with 
"unsubscribe" in the Subject field.

To search the austechwriter archives, go to 
www.freelists.org/archives/austechwriter

To contact the list administrator, send a message to 
austechwriter-admins@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
**************************************************

Other related posts: