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Subject:40 buttons on one screen From:Ashok Gopal <ashokgopal -at- vsnl -dot- net> To:"TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com> Date:Fri, 06 May 2005 09:55:07 +0530
Okay, the heading is a slight exaggeration--but only slight.
I have to write the online help for an application which essentially
consists of one main screen with a bewildering number of buttons, boxes and
lists for a host of functions. Context-sensitive help will make the user's
life a a lot easier, but the application developer says it does not have the
time and resources for context-sensitive help. Nor does it have the time for
a printed manual (where one can put the "all in one screen" over a
doublespread and insert callouts for each list and button, explaining
briefly what each is for, with references like "see chapter 3 for more
information"). It wants online help (yesterday) and nothing else.
My problems are as follows:
1. The "all in one" screen looks frighteningly complex--even to me. How do I
reduce "screen fright" in online help? Using a screen capture of the whole
screen is not viable--it would have to be used same size for anything to be
legible. I could have a part-by-part introduction of the screen, with topics
like "Overview of the top right corner of the screen" , which of course
sounds very dumb. Is there a smart/obvious way to reduce "screen fright" in
these circumstances?
2. Every time I describe how a task is to be done, I have to start with
something like "In the bottom left corner of the screen, click...". I could
insert a slightly enlarged image of this corner and have a red arrow
pointing at the specific part the user should be looking at, but the
practical difficulty is that screen layouts haven't yet been frozen. Any
other options to consider at this stage?
Is there a totally different way to approach this problem?
(The application is going to be used by people of the level of "operators"
who will simply perform tasks they have been asked to do. They are already
doing these tasks, but they are using different applications for different
tasks. Now all those applications have got squeezed into this one
application with a mega-complex screen. I can of course join everyone else
in mocking the design, but that won't help me earn my money.)
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