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Subject:Re> Opinions, please- Sizi From:Auli Ingman <Auli -dot- Ingman -at- X400UX -dot- SASKTEL -dot- SK -dot- CA> Date:Thu, 30 Mar 1995 09:42:06 -0600
Re> Opinions, please: Sizing illustrations
Mark Levinson says ...
..Just as we choose a particular size of type for body text or
headings-- we choose it on its merits and we stick to it
rather than rollercoastering as space permits-- we should do
the same when it comes to magnification of material from the
screen, giving our documentation a consistent look. ...
I agree. If the contents of the screen are legible in the smallest version, then
there is no reason to have larger versions at all. To enlarge them just because
you have the space available must be very unsettling to your reader.
For one manual, I did screen captures that were always the same size, because
they had to fit in the block text space of the Information Mapping (TM) format.
Wouldn't you know it, the SMEs noticed the one screen that was slightly larger.
If you want to emphasize just part of the screen, do that by shading or arrows
or whatever your graphics software support. I think it's important to exhibit
the whole screen so that your reader maintains their orientation.