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Subject:Re: What should my H... From:Bonni Graham <bonnig -at- AOL -dot- COM> Date:Thu, 14 Apr 1994 20:30:09 EDT
Julie Barker asks:
"Why use screen captures when the user already has the real thing in front of
her when she presses the help key?"
Because (at least on most standard VGA monitors) a good half the time the
help window covers up the screen. For non-customizable programs, a screen
dump can be a good navigational device in online help. I've used help with
screen dumps in it -- they're great "What is it?" tools if you can't program
in something like Word 6.0 has -- the balloon help.
"4. Many parts of the user interface (dialogs, menus, etc) are re-used
over and over throughout the product. The same dialog (for example,
File Open/Save) pops up with minor variations in several places.
By not including pictures of the objects everywhere, we avoid
unnecessary duplication, saving on disk space and updating overheads."
I have an even easier way to save the disk overhead and updating time: Only
write the help topic for the repeatedly-used dialog once and hyperlink to it.
You raised a number of good points, but reading after I read through your
post I realized that your suggestions are very situation-specific. The
resizing problems you talk about having in WorldView are not present in every
viewer. Many viewers allow color, too.
And, at least in Windows, you can't necessarily assume the user is in the
program -- .hlp files can be run independently. I've also seen .hlp files
used as sales tools before, where they're the only online thing sent to the
customer. In that case, no screen dumps = no sense. (On a purely personal
note: they're part of my resume -- same problem.)
The points you raise are valid to think about -- in fact they must be thought
about before deciding on either format or delivery system. But the
conclusions that worked for you may not work for everyone. There is no easy
one-solution-for-everyone answer to this question. (Is everyone humming "It
Depends on the User" yet?)
Bonni Graham
Manual Labour
President, SDSTC
BonniG -at- aol -dot- com
