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I'm looking at combining some very technical material with a user guide.
Both are fairly small (less than 100 pages). Previously we used two
separate documents, but I'm considering integrating the material. I want
to do it in a way that neither intimidates less technical users nor
"turns off" the techies. Has anyone else done this successfully? If so,
how?
My initial thought was to somehow set apart the technical notes
(different font, icons, sidebars, text boxes, etc.) but keep it
integrated organizationally with the user stuff. It seems like I've seen
this done somewhere.... But would this be confusing or overwhelming to
the less-technical user? I've also considered putting it in an appendix,
putting it at the end of the chapter, etc. (I'm limited to using Word
with its slip-and-slide text boxes, so that may be a factor.)
For online help, I could easily use hypertext, but the printed doc is my
concern here.
Thanks,
Jane Bergen
Jane Bergen, Technical Writer,
AnswerSoft, Inc. Richardson, TX
(972) 997-8355
janeb -at- answersoft -dot- com
