FW: Need Help Fast!!!

Subject: FW: Need Help Fast!!!
From: Lynn Perry <CLPerry -at- WALLDATA -dot- COM>
Date: Tue, 20 Oct 1998 15:13:56 -0700

> 1. Would you describe steps with bullets, numbers, or some other form
> of
> enumeration?
1A. For procedures of more than one step, I use numbers. I only use
numbers, however, when it makes sense, for example, the steps must be
completed in a particular order, a particular set of items (such as
answers) matches another set of numbered items (such as questions).

> 2. How many different types of enumerative devices (excluding numbers)
> would you put into a training manual? Why?
2A. I use numbered steps for procedures of more than one step, arrows
for procedures of one step, bullets for lists of related items, and
headings (such as For more information) for calling out specific
categories of things. Sidebars also work in printed doc, though I find
them distracting online. I usually use sidebars for self-contained
concepts, ideas, etc.

> 3. Which of the following would you rather use and why?
> Click the XYZ button.
> Click on the XYZ button.
3A. Click the XYZ button. On is superfluous.

4. Other than quoting titles, do you use italics, and if so, for what?
4A. Our company style has us use italic for notes, but I, personally,
find it difficult to read. In general, I use italic only for book
titles.

5. Currently, we use the following convention. To indicate what option,
button, etc. someone is to select we bold the option button, etc. For
example, (using the asterisks as bold) Click the *ABC* button and
highlight the appropriate line.
5A. Bolding the command or dialog box option is a convention I've seen
frequently. If there are a number of commands or options in a step, I
think it helps. (We don't use it in our help, however, but our users
tend to be in the more advanced category, so maybe we think they don't
need the bolding. I don't know; sometimes standards seem chosen based on
mysterious criteria.)

6. Would you enclose any of the following elements in a box in the text
or
instructions: Names of buttons, windows, or dialog boxes?
6A. I would counsel against using boxed text. If there are a lot of
boxes, the screen can get very confusing. I've also not seen this in
common usage. If you had some design packed around it, it *could* work
in the way I suspect you intend.

7. Do you use underlining and if so, when.
7A. You don't say whether your training is hardcopy or online, so I'm
assuming online. We use underlining for WinHelp style jumps and for HTML
hyperlinks in the text. Recently, we removed the underline in our tables
of contents (and presumably, the index as well) because a list of
underlined items is pretty dang ugly, and we figure the table of
contents menu metaphor is well known enough. If you're talking about
printed, we don't underline anything (nor do I recommend it -- to
confusing, again).

C. Lynn Perry
clperry -at- walldata -dot- com
Opinions expressed are mine alone
Wall Data Incorporated, Seattle WA
Some days it doesn't pay to gnaw through the straps

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