Re: Order in diagram callouts?

[Christi <christi -at- sageinst -dot- COM>]

on 2/10/00 9:48 AM, Geoff Hart at Geoff-H -at- mtl -dot- feric -dot- ca wrote:
> Unless I'm misunderstanding you, it seems to me that neither of your
> suggestions is the best way to proceed. If the panel itself has labels on
> the connection points, then you should use the same labels that appear on
> the panel in your diagram. There are no obvious cons to this approach, and
> one huge pro: the diagram directly matches what the user will see when they
> perform the task. If the panel (for whatever reason) uses no labels, then
> you should consider using numbers rather than letters because numbers show a
> sequence of steps better than letters do.

The labels on our instrument are the consistent every time for every user.
The panel does have labels, but (1) they vary for each user depending on
their specific panel, and (2) there are actually many different possible
places that users might connect to on the panel, and I'm just illustrating
the general connection process.
Also, the figure is illustrating what is discussed in steps. I thought
letters would be better so as not to be confused with the step numbers.

> <<Example 2 - ordering the reference letters in order that the user will
> have to make the connections.>>
> 
> If neither of my suggestions makes sense to you (e.g., because I
> misunderstood the question), then this is always the preferred way to go:
> match the documentation to how the user will use it, not to some arbitrary
> sequence.

This was my inclination. I was looking for 'backup' to support me.

=)


Christi Carew

Sage Instruments
Freedom, CA, USA
www.sageinst.com