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Subject:Re: Adobe Creative Suite's Design Guide or From:"T. Word Smith" <techwordsmith -at- yahoo -dot- com> To:TECHWR-L <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com> Date:Thu, 12 Feb 2004 10:21:49 -0800 (PST)
Actually, I disagree, I dislike MS online help for the
same kinds of reasons I dislike Adobe's.
If I use the index for Word XP, or do a search, I
often come up with a bizzillion hits, way too many to
be useful. That is, MS online help has the same
problem as the Adobe help for the opposite reason.
Although, in the case of Microsoft, there is *no*
printed doc to thumb through.
And, don't get me started on the help that I see with
Word 2003. Firstly, no index. What!! Secondly, the
search does not do a good job of narrowing the hits;
it's worse than ever. Thirdly, the help **has to
download,** so getting help is not instantaneous--I've
seen my boss wait 60 or more seconds for a single
topic to load, and I've seen him get page-not-found
errors--and our connection to the Internet here is
*huge*; our pipes are not a problem. Fourthly, the
back button doesn't work as expected, the interface is
unintuitive and fails to remember it's position, and
the interface is unlike other help, so there's a
learning curve .... Ack!
But, that hikacking of the browser by Adobe does
stink, yah!
--- Keri Morgret <kerilists -at- morgret -dot- net> wrote:
> I agree! Here is one case where I think MS does a
> better job than Adobe. I
> do not like Adobe's online help system. It hijacks
> the browser window I was
> using, and I can't start typing a word in to the
> index to search on that
> term. I'm not sure if I will break down and (have my
> boss) buy the printed
> manuals, or if I will selectively print out sections
> of the .pdf manual..
> but I don't think I'll be able to rely solely on
> their online help.
(Adobe does a poor job with PDF, too. You think being
"the PDF company," they'd showcase this format. But,
they don't.)
=====
T.
"Money makes the world go 'round is an incomplete statement; money is the fuel, and stupidity is the short bus that burns it." (Bill Swallow-02/04)
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