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Subject:RE: front matter in manuals From:"Joe Malin" <jmalin -at- tuvox -dot- com> To:"TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com> Date:Mon, 31 Oct 2005 10:39:31 -0800
I don't put that sort of section in.
I do put in a preface that contains typographical conventions and
formats.
I also make the first chapter an introduction, stating the manual's
purpose, audience, and "prerequisities". That last category states what
I think the reader's background should be.
Perhaps nobody reads this stuff. I do it for *myself*, to make my
assumptions explicit. If nothing else, the reviewers will understand
what I'm trying to accomplish. They may correct me, of course, but I
believe in making all communications explicit.
I kinda think that mebbe people will take my work more seriously if it
looks like a real book and not just some fluff that came with the box.
Joe Malin
Technical Writer
(408)625-1623
jmalin -at- tuvox -dot- com
www.tuvox.com
The views expressed in this document are those of the sender, and do not
necessarily reflect those of TuVox, Inc.
-----Original Message-----
From: bounce-techwr-l-216553 -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
[mailto:bounce-techwr-l-216553 -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com] On Behalf Of Carrie
Baker
Sent: Monday, October 31, 2005 4:29 AM
To: TECHWR-L
Subject: front matter in manuals
Our manuals have front matter that include subjectssuch as, who is
intended to read the books, objectives, using the documentation etc.
For some reason the following section also appears there:
"Document conventions: This guide assumes you have a working knowledge
of your computer and its operating conventions, including how to use a
mouse, standard menus and commands. It also assumes you know how to
open, save and close files. For help with any of these techniques,
please see your Windows documentation."
Our user guides are intended for quite technical people, and today, when
everyone knows how to use a computer, is such a section redundant?
What do you normallly include at the beginning of a (software) user
guide?
Thanks
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