RE: Clarification on Help file question

Subject: RE: Clarification on Help file question
From: "Wright, Lynne" <Lynne -dot- Wright -at- Kronos -dot- com>
To: Joe Weinmunson <litlfrog -at- gmail -dot- com>, "techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com>
Date: Fri, 3 Feb 2017 19:10:09 +0000

Ok. So, I'd do something like this:

Select one of these options in the Enter Information By section:
<Note: I always list options in the order that they appear in the UI, from top-to-bottom, left to right, no matter which is the predominate option>

- Geographic Region: <explain what this option does, relative to using Zip Code to give the user an idea of when/why they would select this option, as opposed to the others. ie. does it change the available fields? Does it extract info/populate the window in a particular way? For example: "Select this option, enter part or all of a region name in the Geographic Region field to display available values, and select the region that contains the address that you are adding. The x, y, and z fields are populated with values based on region."

- Zip Code: Select this option, then enter part or all of the zip code in the Zip Code field....etc. This is the most commonly used method (why? Does it populate the most fields?)

- Neither: No fields are auto-populated.

If I also may suggest: when referring to UI elements, pick one simple, user-friendly term and use that term consistently. For example, with "radio buttons (dots)"... Users probably won't know what a radio button is (that's what programmers call them, but from a user perspective, what do they have to do with radios? Nothing!) ; and they're not just dots... selecting them performs an action. Using two terms for the same object makes your sentences longer and more wordy, which makes it more difficult for the reader's brain to absorb/keep up with what they actually need to do. That's why in my example above, I use "options"; and by naming the UI section that they appear in, the reader can easily understand what you're referring to.



-----Original Message-----
From: techwr-l-bounces+lynne -dot- wright=kronos -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com [mailto:techwr-l-bounces+lynne -dot- wright=kronos -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com] On Behalf Of Joe Weinmunson
Sent: February-03-17 1:38 PM
To: techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
Subject: Clarification on Help file question

A couple of people have helpfully pointed out something in my question earlier. The "three options" I refer to are 1) entering in a customer address by manually typing in everything; 2) using a list of ZIP codes that includes city, state, and phone number info; and 3) using a list of geographic regions (towns, counties, whatever) that includes the city, state, ZIP, and phone.

--
Joe Weinmunson

âWhat you read when you donât have to determines what you will be when you canât help it.â
--Oscar Wilde
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Clarification on Help file question: From: Joe Weinmunson

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