"Ideal" help system was task-orientated vs. reference help

[Sybille Sterk <sybille -at- wowfabgroovy -dot- net>]

Dear All,

What is you ideal help system? What do you expect to find in the help, if 
you buy a new program you know nothing about?

Nowadays many people choose to buy software on the internet, one, because 
it is cheaper, two, because it is quicker. However, often you then don't 
get a manual with your software, or you get one but you have to print it 
out. In this scenario, how much help is a references help system?

I've been buying software of the internet and find that reference help is 
just not enough to get you started, which means I know have to go out and 
buy a "4 dummies" book. Let me tell you, I am not happy about this.

Quite apart from myself, I know there are many users who don't even look at 
a manual, mainly people who work with computers a lot and just don't have 
time for that kind of documentation. They expect either tutorials or 
task-orientated help, or, even better, both.

The best example of on-line documentation I've found so far is the 
MacroMedia on-line help. There are tutorials for beginners, which lead you 
through the main tasks, advanced tutorials, context-sensitive information, 
which tells you what a desktop item (menu, dialog, toolbar etc) does, and 
task-orientated information either within the context-sensitive topic or 
accessible via this topic.

I suppose it depends on how "your" users access the information they need 
and what kinds of information they want. It also depends on how easy to use 
the software you document is.

However, I find that I myself usually want to know how to perform a certain 
task, so I click on the help and expect to find the information in the 
help. If it's not there, I am generally p****d off. I don't want to dig out 
some huge manual(s), or have to print out a manual before I find the info I 
am looking for. Especially, if I then find out that this information is not 
in the manual.

Looking at Microsoft, even they have just a brief manual and all the other 
information you might need in the help... Not that I think the Microsoft 
help is particularly brilliant...

What do you think?

Sybille
Sybille Sterk
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Email: sybille -at- wowfabgroovy -dot- net
Web Site: www.wowfabgroovy.net
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"This writing business. Pencils and what-not.
Over-rated, if you ask me. Silly stuff. Nothing in it." -- Eeyore
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


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