Re: Graphics in Text; was Looking for Opinions/Criticism

["Susan W. Gallagher" <sgallagher -at- EXPERSOFT -dot- COM>]

Picking up on the graphics in text thread, just because
I can't keep my opinions to myself  ;-) ...

Sumbuddy wrote:
>
>*>> To access this dialog box, do one of the following:
>*>> · click {bmp of button} on the toolbar
>*>> · from the Search menu click Find String
>>> · from the shortcut menu click Find String>Larry Weber wrote:
>
And then sumbuddy else said:
>First, I would add the name of the dialog box to the first statement and
include a picture of it.  

Thought for cent one:
***Why?*** There is not one end user whose primary goal is to open the
dialog box. These instructions are not task- or user-centric, they're
program-centric. Ask yourself what task the user is attempting to 
accomplish and reconstruct the instructions to support the task
rather than the program.

For example, in the instructions above, rather than introduce the 
procedure with "to access the dialog box", use "to find text" or
"to search for text".

Thought for cent two:
I know the MS standard is to plop the picture of the toolbar button
on the page and be done with it, but I disagree. Interpretation of
pictures is highly subjective and we have no guarantee that a user,
replete with all sorts of conceptual baggage, will view the toolbar
button in the way the designer intended.

For example, the standard toolbar graphic for "copy" is a picture of
two document pages. We're all familiar with this graphic, but what
about seeing it for the first time, in text, with no fly-by help to
tell us what it means, like this:

      #. Click <graphic> on the toolbar.

All but the most visual learners will substitute a word for the
<graphic>, but we've given them no direction, so maybe they'll
subvocalize "pages" or "documents" rather than "copy". The problem
is, we don't know what they'll see--how they'll translate that 
picture based on their individual preconceptions. 

Including the word that we want them to associate with the picture,
like this:

        #. Click Copy <graphic> on the toolbar.

Or,

        #. Click <graphic> (Copy) on the toolbar.

facilitates the association of the graphic with the appropriate term and/or
action in the users mind.

So, here's my two pennies. I'm done.  ;-)


-Sue Gallagher               http://pw1.netcom.com/~gscale/susanwg/
sgallagher -at- expersoft -dot- com     http://www.expersoft.com

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