Re: Documenting the user interface
From: Janice Gelb <janice -dot- gelb -at- sun -dot- com>
Subject: Re: Documenting the user interface
Mike Starr wrote:
"Combs, Richard" <richard -dot- combs -at- Polycom -dot- com> wrote:
Every etc. needs to be explained, or users twist in the
wind? Nonsense.
That approach leads to at least two bad consequences:
-- Almost no one uses that 400-page manual because they
get sick of wading through useless information like
"The First Name field is where you enter the user's
first, or given, name. The maximum length is 30
characters. The valid characters are the letters
a through z, A through Z, ..."
I don't want to speak for Richard but I doubt
that he's saying that non-intuitive fields
should never be mentioned. I don't think you
can compare options about line spacing to a
self-evident field like First Name. There's
(And, btw, I wouldn't use Word Help as an example
of ideal documentation. The few times I've had to
use it, I've found that they are usually ok about
telling you what option you need to accomplish
something but they rarely tell you where to find
the $#*(@ thing!)
-- Janice
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