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Subject:Tables vs. steps From:geoff-h -at- MTL -dot- FERIC -dot- CA Date:Tue, 16 Sep 1997 13:03:55 -0500
Ron Sering wondered about the relative advantages of
procedural tables vs. numbered steps. Ron, it's going to
depend strongly on what you're trying to accomplish and the
nature of the information itself.
Both formats let you separate the main information from
elaborations on that information. For example, the first
line of a numbered step can state "Do X", in boldface, and
the next line, in Roman and indented, can provide details.
Skilled users simply read the boldface and skip the
details; neophytes can read both. You can do the same in a
table, but with the essential info. in column 1 and the
details in column 2. Which is more efficient depends on how
much information goes into the "details" column.
If you will be repeating the same elements constantly,
there's a good possibility that using these elements as
column headers in a table will be more efficient; I suspect
from your message that this is the situation you're in.
With the table, readers quickly see that (for example) the
name of the first menu is in column 1, the name of the
first submenu is in column 2, the name of the third submenu
is in column 3, and the results of the series of menu
choices are in column 4. If you use the column titles
"Menu", "First submenu", "Second submenu", and "Results",
readers can see the sequence of menus at a glance, yet you
needn't repeat the words "menu, submenu 1, and submenu 2"
and the conclusion "you will now see..." in each step. With
numbered steps, you'd have to repeat this information each
time, which is arguably harder to read.
That's a good starting point for further discussion. Which
of the two situations applies to your question? Can you
give a specific example?
--Geoff Hart @8^{)} geoff-h -at- mtl -dot- feric -dot- ca
Disclaimer: Speaking for myself, not FERIC.
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