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Subject:Re: Click X, or click the X button? From:Robert Lauriston <robert -at- lauriston -dot- com> To:techwr-l List <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com> Date:Thu, 22 Oct 2009 16:22:06 -0700
It slows down users because when the content is cluttered with
unnecessary images they have to scroll more.
Usually when I see that stuff there's lots of other makework filler.
At one of my old jobs, one doc shrank from 2000 pages to 130 after we
switched to a more minimalist approach.
Even if there is some marginal benefit to users, I don't believe that
it could possibly be enough to justify the extra time the tech writer
has to spend doing it.
On Thu, Oct 22, 2009 at 3:00 PM, Leonard C. Porrello
<Leonard -dot- Porrello -at- soleratec -dot- com> wrote:
> I suppose it's busy work if you're stuck in 1987 and unable to single source. In-line with text, I use just an image of the button. And the research indicates that this approach is optimal for the user, aiding in "identifying and locating window elements and objects" (Gellevij 2002).
>
> Leonard
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: techwr-l-bounces+leonard -dot- porrello=soleratec -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com [mailto:techwr-l-bounces+leonard -dot- porrello=soleratec -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com] On Behalf Of Robert Lauriston
> Sent: Thursday, October 22, 2009 1:45 PM
> To: techwr-l List
> Subject: Re: Click X, or click the X button?
>
> You include a screen capture for every button? Even Save and Next?
> Cropped to the button, whole dialog, or what?
>
> To me, that's tech-writer busywork that leads to bloated docs and
> slows down readers. I do that only when the UI is bad and it's clear
> that the user will have trouble finding the UI element.
>
>
> On Thu, Oct 22, 2009 at 1:38 PM, Leonard C. Porrello
> <Leonard -dot- Porrello -at- soleratec -dot- com> wrote:
>> I use an actual screen capture of the buttons and say "Click X" (where X
>> is the screen capture).
>>
>> Leonard
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: techwr-l-bounces+leonard -dot- porrello=soleratec -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
>> [mailto:techwr-l-bounces+leonard -dot- porrello=soleratec -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- c
>> om] On Behalf Of jennysubs -at- mac -dot- com
>> Sent: Thursday, October 22, 2009 12:38 PM
>> To: techwr-l List
>> Subject: Click X, or click the X button?
>>
>> How do you describe button actions? Does it make a difference if
>> you're writing online help vs. print/PDF?
>>
>> I was trained to use the full "click the XYZ button," but recent style
>> seems to be "Click XYZ."
>>
>> The 2004 Microsoft Style Guide says to use Click the X button, except
>> for OK and Save. The 2008 Apple style guide shows both types, but
>> mostly seems to use Click the X button in its examples.
>>
>> That was the style guides. I also did a quick look through some help
>> and PDF files on both Windows and the Mac. Here are my data points:
>>
>> The Mac help style is definitely Click X.
>> Frame help is Click X.
>> Word Help is Click X.
>> Microsoft XP Pro system help is mostly Click X.
>> PDF manuals for Apple iLife apps typically use Click the X button.
>> PDF for Frame 9 uses both, although it's usually consistent within the
>> section.
>>
>> Just wondering...
>>
>> Jenny
>>
>>
>> ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>>
>> Free Software Documentation Project Web Cast: Covers developing Table of
>> Contents, Context IDs, and Index, as well as Doc-To-Help
>> 2009 tips, tricks, and best practices.
>> http://www.doctohelp.com/SuperPages/Webcasts/
>>
>> Help & Manual 5: The complete help authoring tool for individual
>> authors and teams. Professional power, intuitive interface. Write
>> once, publish to 8 formats. Multi-user authoring and version control!
>> http://www.helpandmanual.com/
>>
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>> ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>>
>> Free Software Documentation Project Web Cast: Covers developing Table of
>> Contents, Context IDs, and Index, as well as Doc-To-Help
>> 2009 tips, tricks, and best practices.
>> http://www.doctohelp.com/SuperPages/Webcasts/
>>
>> Help & Manual 5: The complete help authoring tool for individual
>> authors and teams. Professional power, intuitive interface. Write
>> once, publish to 8 formats. Multi-user authoring and version control! http://www.helpandmanual.com/
>>
>> ---
>> You are currently subscribed to TECHWR-L as robert -at- lauriston -dot- com -dot-
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> ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>
> Free Software Documentation Project Web Cast: Covers developing Table of
> Contents, Context IDs, and Index, as well as Doc-To-Help
> 2009 tips, tricks, and best practices.
>http://www.doctohelp.com/SuperPages/Webcasts/
>
> Help & Manual 5: The complete help authoring tool for individual
> authors and teams. Professional power, intuitive interface. Write
> once, publish to 8 formats. Multi-user authoring and version control! http://www.helpandmanual.com/
>
> ---
> You are currently subscribed to TECHWR-L as Leonard -dot- Porrello -at- soleratec -dot- com -dot-
>
> To unsubscribe send a blank email to
> techwr-l-unsubscribe -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
> or visit http://lists.techwr-l.com/mailman/options/techwr-l/leonard.porrello%40soleratec.com
>
>
> To subscribe, send a blank email to techwr-l-join -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
>
> Send administrative questions to admin -at- techwr-l -dot- com -dot- Visit
>http://www.techwr-l.com/ for more resources and info.
>
> Please move off-topic discussions to the Chat list, at:
>http://lists.techwr-l.com/mailman/listinfo/techwr-l-chat
>
>
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Free Software Documentation Project Web Cast: Covers developing Table of
Contents, Context IDs, and Index, as well as Doc-To-Help
2009 tips, tricks, and best practices. http://www.doctohelp.com/SuperPages/Webcasts/
Help & Manual 5: The complete help authoring tool for individual
authors and teams. Professional power, intuitive interface. Write
once, publish to 8 formats. Multi-user authoring and version control! http://www.helpandmanual.com/
---
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