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Most docs are still organized by a hierarchical tree, which is used to
generate PDF bookmarks and online help navigation (as well as
conventional front-matter TOCs with page numbers if useful). I use
search more often, but I still want those navigation options.
On Thu, Jul 10, 2014 at 12:36 PM, Andrew Harvie <withanie -at- gmail -dot- com> wrote:
> Based on purely anecdotal evidence, I suspect that many of the people using
> my documentation are using the Search function to the exclusion of all
> other means of navigation. Heck, even I turn to the search before the
> table of contents.
>
> This might be evidence that I've created a lousy TOC, but I wonder if it
> isn't also a trend in how people look for information. I've heard that many
> people will enter URLs into the Google search field instead of the address
> field and will search for what they already know how to find.
>
> Just wondering if this is anyone else's experience, and if so, what if
> anything, are you doing to improve the search experience for your readers?
>
> My HAT gives me the option of creating context filters for the search, and
> I'm considering a smallish number of filters that more or less duplicate
> the major sections of the TOC, which is already organized primarily by user
> task. Or, perhaps the filters should be feature-based rather than
> task-based?
>
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