RE: Writing tasks for online help. Specific vs. General

[Diane Evans <DianeE -at- LOCKSTREAM -dot- com>]

>Is it better to write a general category with information included (less 
>topics in the project) or better to have many topics with short, specific 
>information

I recently wrote a help file with two sections.  The first was a
step-by-step method of the average process (Planning a doohickey, building a
doohickey, publishing a doohickey).  The second is an alphabetical listing
of every item on a menu or contol bar.  The user can follow one section for
a step-by-step tutorial, or search in the other section for a specific
question. (I suppose a good index would have worked, too, but this is the
way they wanted it.)

Diane Evans 
Information Developer
Lockstream, Inc.
425-709-6840 x 230

Ask for the moon, and settle for its reflection in the pond in your back
yard.



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