Index/TOC Needed in HTML &/or Browser-Based Help?

["Barbara Vega" <BarbaraV -at- libertyims -dot- com>]

Hello all

I have been told that in the Microsoft Vista version to come out, the
TOC and Index have been eliminated, in favor of a much more efficient,
improved search engine. Supposedly they have found that virtually no one
uses the TOC or index any more, and this is much of their reasoning for
eliminating it. I have also heard that this is not a final final
decision but that it is likely to be passed (I got this info in a
seminar attended given by Weilenski (sp?) of WritersUA)

At any rate, I do get complaints from time to time from users, that thus
and so is wrong in the index, or that so and so should be in the index,
etc, which says to me that at least some of our users use the index.
Moreover, our training personnel and professional services (support)
personnel have requested that the TOC be reorganized based on customer
comments/confusion.

We have customers who are very computer savvy, down to customers who are
probably much more comfortable in the book and paper world and are just
making the "jump.". I would wager that it is the book and paper ones who
are more reliant on the toc and index, but they are important as well.

What are your experiences? Do you think it is worthwhile to expend
energy in developing a really tight TOC, or one at all? Ditto for the
index? Or do you feel that Microsoft's approach is better - spend more
resources on a more jazzed up search engine?. 

BTW I am probably a 100% search engine person myself, but I am in the
field. 

Thanks

Barbara V

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