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I'm a tech writer designing documentation (online and written) for a
software product. The software product is business or technical in
nature (not retail or for home use really). So the designed audience
doesn't need to have their hands held in the documentation, but a good
walkthrough is what I have attempted to create.
Screenshots have been used in two basic ways. The first is to simply
break-up the text: screenshots of the Options menu.
* For the most part, I have gotten rid of these figuring that a
step telling them to select the Schedule Options from the
Options menu was enough.
The second is to diagram an action. For example:
1. Select Schedule Options from the Options menu.
The Schedule Options dialog box will appear.
<<screenshot>>
My question is whether it is better to show the initial screenshot
confirming that they are indeed at the Schedule Options dialog box. Or
if it is better to have them fill out the options on the Schedule
Options dialog box and then display some sample options on the
screenshot.
Of course the best solution would be to show both screenshots as a
before and after display, but to me that would take up too much
unecessary space.
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