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>
> I would really take something like "Users Guide." "Manual" sounds too
> ponderous, like manual labor. I like the word "guide."
>
> I like to think my instructions are guiding all users who need a hand,
> hence "Users Guide."
>
There's an amusing kind of irony there, because "manual" comes from the
Latin word for hand. "Manual" means handbook.
In English usage, it has come to mean something rather more comprehensive
than a "guide", but less so than an encyclopaedia.
I like the following:
"Installation Instructions"
"Instructions for Use"
"Getting Started with <product name>"
"Quick Reference Guide."
"How to <do something>"
"Using <product name>"
I would reserve "manual" (were it my prerogative, though it seldom is) for
something more comprehensive than a set of instructions; something that goes
into engineering details.
With an automobile one generally gets an "Owner's Guide." I like that. It
means "Look in this booklet to find out what you -- the owner -- need to
know." That's all. Nothing more.
But in real life the titles of the publications we design, write and edit
are usually decided for us by the people whose job it is to sell the
product. If the competition has a "User's Guide", then I'll end up writing a
"User's Guide" because that's what I've been hired to do. Boring, innit?
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