RE: Getting rid of the manual

Subject: RE: Getting rid of the manual
From: "Jones, Donna" <DJones -at- zebra -dot- com>
To: "List,Techwriter" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com>
Date: Tue, 25 Jul 2006 12:11:00 -0500

Our company stopped printing manuals a couple/few years ago. We put the
guides as PDFs on a User CD instead and make them available via the web,
too. For the first year or more, we kept the printed manuals available
through print-on-demand. Guess what? No one other than people within our
own company ever ordered one. We discontinued print-on-demand and
haven't heard a peep in complaint. We do get occasional feedback about
the electronic manuals, so I know that at least a few people read them.

I would absolutely hate it if a product that I used had information
available only as help files. Nothing is more frustrating than trying to
find information that's hidden in little electronic pieces. If I want to
read all about the product or browse through topics, I don't want to
have to print every single help screen or chain myself to my computer to
read it. Even if I have to print a manual (or parts of it) myself from
PDF, that's better than not having one at all.

Rather than "instead of a manual," why don't you provide the better help
files "in addition to a manual"? If you set things up correctly, you can
generate both from the same source files. And as I pointed out, you can
easily deliver your manuals electronically to eliminate the cost and
hassle of printing them.

Donna

- CONFIDENTIAL-
This email and any files transmitted with it are confidential, and may also be legally privileged. If you are not the intended recipient, you may not review, use, copy, or distribute this message. If you receive this email in error, please notify the sender immediately by reply email and then delete this email.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

WebWorks ePublisher Pro for Word features support for every major Help
format plus PDF, HTML and more. Flexible, precise, and efficient content
delivery. Try it today! http://www.webworks.com/techwr-l

Doc-To-Help includes a one-click RoboHelp project converter. It's that easy. Watch the demo at http://www.DocToHelp.com/TechwrlList

---
You are currently subscribed to TECHWR-L as archive -at- infoinfocus -dot- com -dot-

To unsubscribe send a blank email to
techwr-l-unsubscribe -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
or visit http://lists.techwr-l.com/mailman/options/techwr-l/archive%40infoinfocus.com


To subscribe, send a blank email to techwr-l-join -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com

Send administrative questions to lisa -at- techwr-l -dot- com -dot- Visit
http://www.techwr-l.com/techwhirl/ for more resources and info.


Follow-Ups:

References:
Getting rid of the manual: From: David Loveless

Previous by Author: RE: FrameMaker 7.2 and 7.1
Next by Author: RE: Reviewers who don't review
Previous by Thread: Getting rid of the manual?
Next by Thread: RE: Getting rid of the manual


What this post helpful? Share it with friends and colleagues:


Sponsored Ads