Re: Documenting Floating windows - how would you do it?

[Hillary Jones <hillary -at- NICHIMEN -dot- COM>]

If I were Carla I'd use one of the first two options--I hate being on a
roll
going through steps and suddenly have to flip to a totally different
chapter
to keep going, and this has been the case with other users I've seen
using
documentation, too.

I know that I've used manuals that had an intro section that explained
aspects
of the interface (such as universal windows), and I always skip that
boring
stuff. My experience (it's pretty small; therefore I'll humbly accept
disagreement
from others) is that people don't sit and read documentation; they just
start
to work and flip in the manual when they get stuck. That's why in my
opinion
Carla should go with the second option: put it in every module. Happy
users
who are getting their tasks done might be worth the extra expense.

Also, Misti writes:

> Something else to consider: users seemto find Appendices more useful for that
> sort of function than an extra chapter at the end of the book.  Maybe it's more
> visible, or maybe folks are used to the idea that the Appendices are where the
> important stuff usually is.  I don't know why, but it seems to be the case.
> (I get fewer calls about material in the appendices than I do about similar
> material in the body of the document.)

Is it possible that people just aren't reading the appendices? If you
have a way
of tracking what parts of the document your users are reading, could you
share it?

Hillary Jones

hillary -at- nichimen -dot- com

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