usability of WinHelp features
Title: usability of WinHelp featuresok, I'm in the midst of planning my own RoboHelp project (rather than pouring my text into a standard company format) and I'm wondering about the usefulness of some WinHelp features - do they really help communicate information to the reader/user?
* Hotspot popups in graphics. In the paper doc, I've got a screen capture, followed by a table summarizing the functions of the various buttons on the screen. When I go online, I can either keep the table, or turn them into hotspots on the graphic. Hotspots take up less room on the WinHelp window than tables do; otoh, ya can't print hotspot text if ya print the topic, but you can print the table below the graphic.
* Popups for field definitions in procedures. In the paper doc, each screen (or partial screen) is followed by a table that describes the fields that require user input. When I go online, I can either keep the table, or list the fields and use popups to provide the field descriptions. Again, using popups takes less space in the WinHelp window, but they don't print out if the reader/user prints the topic.
* Tasks in the TOC. Each general topic has a number of related tasks. I can provide a list of tasks in each topic, and/or under the topic in the TOC. I think putting the tasks in the topic window is a good thing, but not sure about the usefulness of also including the tasks in the TOC.
* And a general aesthetic question. I've got a Head1, then a H2 topic with no H3s, then a few H2 that *do* have H3 topics in them. When I go online, I've got a H1 book that opens to display a page, then a book, then a book. And that just looks odd. Is it just me, or would that bother other folks?
If anyone has any sort of input from their customers about their online help - what was useful, what wasn't, what was annoying - I'd appreciate hearing it. Thanks!
Dan Roberts
droberts -at- isogon -dot- com
Previous by Author:
Re: Marvel at my stupidity
Next by Author:
Re: Simple Verbiage Question
Previous by Thread:
Re: I'm back with a Question
Next by Thread:
Re: usability of WinHelp features
Search our Technical Writing Archives & Magazine
Visit TechWhirl's Other Sites
Sponsored Ads