RE: Screenshots in hotspots: a good idea?

["Sarah Kampman" <skampman -at- acornsys -dot- com>]

> I was wondering if it might be a good idea to include screenshots in drop
> down hotspots, a feature easily implementable using RoboHelp.
>
> Thus, the new version would look something like:
>
> 1. Do this. The <hs>"foo" dialog</hs> will appear.
>
> 2. In the "foo" dialog, click "bar". The <hs>"foobar" dialog</hs> will
> appear.
>
> ... where <hs> foo </hs> indicates a hotspot that will display the
> appropriate screenshot when "foo" is clicked.
>
> Thus, if the user wants to know what a particular dialog box should look
> like, he/she will click on the hotspot. If he/she does not require
> assistance about how the screenshot looks or the different options
available
> from a dialog box, it will remain hidden and thereby enhance readability.


I've been fooling with drop-down hotspots in RH lately, and have a couple of
comments/suggestions. If I remember correctly, they're only supported in IE;
in Netscape, they default to always being shown...so your space-savings may
not work for all users. I don't remember if the link formatting is displayed
in Netscape--I think it is, but I can't check because Netscape 6.2 just
crashed when I tried to open a file that uses drop-down hotspots. Point of
interest, there.

In addition, links always have an element of mystery about them. If I saw a
hyperlink like the one you show, I would guess that it would take me to
another page--which can be scary if I think I'll never find this page again.
To solve this problem, you might consider taking the link out of the middle
of the step and putting it into its own little statement (though this will
look strange to Netscape users, who can already see the dialog). For
example:
    1. Do this. The foo dialog will appear. (_Show_me_the_foo_dialog_.)


Hope that helps!
  Sarah (skampman -at- acornsys -dot- com)



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