Re: Why use screen shots at all? [WAS Survey: "Screen shots"]

[kcronin -at- daleen -dot- com]

So you don't buy into the whole "picture is worth a thousand words" thing,
eh? I think it depends on your audience. You sound like you're VERY
experienced, and are happy with a chock-full-of-words manual. Many
neophyte users do not share your level of confidence.

I remember when I was taking my first computer courses, my favorite
textbook was the one that showed me screen caps of what I should be
seeing, screen by screen. I was so computer-phobic, and so afraid of doing
anything wrong, that it was enormously reassuring to see the images in the
book reinforce what I was seeing on my screen.

It also depends on what you're documenting. If it's a table-based screen
that is just populated by text fields, I agree that a few pictures can go
a long way. But what about screens with more complex content? I can't
imagine my 3rd-party Photoshop and Illustrator books not having screen
caps. That's an extreme example, but the reality is many apps display more
than plain text in their GUIs.

I do agree that screen caps are for the most part redundant and
unnecessary in online help (after all, you can already see the screen, so
why look at a smaller picture of it?), but I do think screen caps have a
place in printed documentation. And the need for them seems
well-established, and extends far beyond poorly-thought-out marketing
schemes.

You said "... I doubt that serious usability testing would show that
screen caps in the doc improve the user's productivity." My own
experience, having learned a lot of software from a lot of books, leaves
me with an opinion contrary to yours.




 - Keith Cronin

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