Re: FW: Graphics in lines of text
As with all responses to techwr-l, (all together now... 1...2...3) It depends!
To some extent, yes, it depends. I'll grant you that much.
Try and hold your immediate reaction (for or against this suggestion) in abeyance and analyze this from the point of view of your users. Don't jump to a conclusion based totally on the difficulty of implementation (though you will have to take this into account, many here can make suggestions on ways to make it less onerous) or your personal preferences.
The marketing person was not speaking to the experience of users but rather to some "study" that purported to show that turning a paragraph of text into a rebus somehow improves its readability. I think that any thoughtful person can dismiss such a study as a pile of piffle stirred with horsefeathers without going to the trouble of looking it up and reading it, but you're welcome to check it out if you like.
If you are documenting a product where many of the controls (onscreen or hardware) are iconic, without explanatory text, then in-line images may be needed.
No, they are never needed. I'm all for illustrating icons, especially obscure icons designed for a particular product. But they can be shown in any number of ways without sticking them in line. Button images can be shown in a wide margin, mortised into the side of the column, in a key across the top or bottom of the page, in an appendix, or on a quick reference card, for example.
However, the question was not about obscure buttons but about standard keys on the keyboard. A single picture of a keyboard with callouts for special function keys might be appropriate, but peppering the text with key images is not. In any case, just exactly what _is_ a "standard" keyboard? In a corporate data entry facility (back office operation, in other words), the writer might know the answer to that question, because all the keyboards are likely the same. But in general we do not know if the user is at a 101-key US keyboard, on any of several brands of laptop keyboards, on a keyboard configured for something other than English, on an IBM terminal keyboard of one kind or another, on a Macintosh, ....
Once you've determined why this is a bad idea - for the users of your documentation - explain that to the marketing types. Don't expect to be able to rely on "this is too difficult" or anything along those lines. Make your case based on usability and the needs of customers... two things most marketing folks have a basic appreciation for.
I agree with that sentiment entirely.
Dick
References:
FW: Graphics in lines of text: From: Daniel_Hall
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