TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
Subject:RE: Screen shots for online help From:MList -at- chrysalis-its -dot- com To:techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com Date:Tue, 19 Aug 2003 13:41:43 -0400
Goober Writer [mailto:gooberwriter -at- yahoo -dot- com]
> If a screen shot EXPLAINS something, then by all
> means, show it in the Help. If it's just a "you are
> here" or "this is the screen" graphic, I fail to see
> the usefulness...
It's not about Help, but... we supply a product that's
used on a variety of platforms. The Windows users
always get several pages of installation instructions,
including screen-shots.
For the same task, users of Solaris, AIX, HP-UX, and
Linux get a few lines of numbered steps and... done.
(We have no products for the Mac.)
Jeez, we used to be able to sneer at MS and AOL users
(for the degree of comprehension and associated handholding),
but now both companies are big customers, so I have to
watch my step... and hope they don't check the archives...