FW: help with tutorial for relational database program (longish)

Subject: FW: help with tutorial for relational database program (longish)
From: Kandis Weiner <kandisw -at- POSITRON -dot- QC -dot- CA>
Date: Wed, 25 Mar 1998 16:16:42 -0500

Greetings Twrlers!

I have been assigned to write a tutorial for a relational database
application and I am encountering numerous problems in the structural
development of the document - I just don't know how best to organize or
structure the information. I would greatly appreciate any assistance from
the great techwrl mind.

I would appreciate any sample tutorials or references to sites or books
with good tutorial ideas. Also any comments (on what follows) or related
experience. If there is interest, I will (eventually) post a summary.
Please feel free to contact me off list (email is in sig).

Background

The original, non-tutorial, sort-of reference guide was divided into
chapters that discussed each table and the properties of each table. The
procedure required to modify tables and their properties was the same
throughout, so one of our first chapters was a how to make modifications to
the database (right-click the table, modify the properties in the dialog
box, click ok. Select Save from File menu to ...) while the rest of the
guide described the properties and gave the acceptable values.

To supplement the reference guide, we provided forms that users would fill
out with the appropriate values for each table and property.

This whole package is a real bear and, although it is easy to modify the
database, understanding what values are appropriate for each table property
and how these values "trickle-down" to other tables is a great deal more
complicated.

I have been working on a potential version of the reformed tutorial.

I formatted it as follows:
overall description of table (2 paras),
example database configuration,
example of a form with the database configurations entered in the table,
screen cap of properties dialog box for that table,
followed by steps. I created steps for each property. In the first
paragraph I described the particular qualities of the property, and then in
a bulleted instruction within the step I tell them how to configure the
property.

I thought this format might work, but several tables have more than 20
properties. The steps in this case would be so long and cumbersome that I
don't think that it actually resolves the problem this document was
supposed to address. Any ideas????

thanks!

Kandis Weiner
Technical Communicator - Systems Test and Communications
Public Safety Division - Positron Industries Inc.
Montreal, Quebec Canada
514.345.2200 ext. 2869
mailto:kandisw -at- positron -dot- qc -dot- ca
http:\\www.positron911.com
Standard Disclaimer: My opinions are my own, but my brain is for rent.




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