Re: Documenting a Touch-Screen Interface

["Melissa Akers" <Makers -at- Lumisys -dot- com>]

When I documented a touch-screen program, I simply used the word "select"
(select Delete), so they could use the button on the screen or the keyboard
if it applied.

Melissa

----- Original Message -----
From: "Balchunas, John" <JBalchunas -at- orgtek -dot- com>
To: "TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com>
Sent: Tuesday, March 13, 2001 9:24 AM
Subject: Documenting a Touch-Screen Interface


> Hey everyone,
>
> Anyone have any experience documenting touch-screen interfaces?
>
> My department is soon to begin a large-scale revision of one of our
operator
> manuals for a product which has a touch-screen interface.  The original
> author of the manual inserted Microsoft Drawing Objects into the text when
> referring to a touch screen button.  I have crudely attempted to
illustrate
> the result using plain text below (if you can imagine basically a shaded
> text box around Probe Priming Menu with extra space above to accommodate
the
> box):
>
>      | |
> 7. Touch | Probe Priming Menu |.  The following window appears.
>
>
> In my opinion, this takes up a lot of wasted space (if you add up the
extra
> space above required for each button over the course of an entire manual
it
> probably increases the overall page count by 25-30%).
>
> Any thoughts as to how to refer to/indicate touch-screen buttons.  I have
> considered something as simple as placing the button text in
> bold/small-capped font with brackets around it.  Something along the lines
> of what follows (if you can imagine small caps/bold for Probe Priming
Menu):
>
> 7. Touch [Probe Priming Menu].  The following window appears.
>
> Anyway, any thoughts as to how to refer to touch-screen buttons?
>
> Any insight would be appreciated...
>
> Thanks,
>
> John Balchunas
> Technical Writer I, Labeling and Packaging Development
> Organon Teknika Corporation
> 100 Akzo Avenue
> Durham, NC 27712
> tel. 919.620.2053
> fax: 919.620.4170
> email: jbalchunas -at- orgtek -dot- com <mailto:jbalchunas -at- orgtek -dot- com>



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