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Subject:Re: Learning from others' manuals From:Martha J Davidson <editrix -at- SLIP -dot- NET> Date:Wed, 21 Oct 1998 13:14:36 -0700
At 11:03 AM 10/21/98 -0400, Eileen George wrote:
>
>However, am I the only one who "reads the manual" not only to learn as much
>as I can about the software I'm using, but also to analyze the document's
>structure?
Nope, you're not the only one. I learn new software by reading the manual,
usually from cover to cover. That gives me a good idea how the originators
of the software intend it to be used, and often provides a context to
understand how this piece of software automates the processes it does, so
that I can use it effectively.
By nature, I'm not the sort who likes to "click here and see what happens
when I do that." I'm a bit of a technophobe, so without some sort of
guidance, I often don't learn all I can about a program I'm using.
Eventually I'll find out enough to do what I have to do, but when there's a
manual, or at least a tutorial, I have a much better chance to discover
what else this software does, and even figure out a shortcut or two of my
own.
martha
--
Martha Jane {Kolman | Davidson} mailto:editrix -at- slip -dot- net
"If I am not for myself, who will be for me?
If I am only for myself, what am I?
If not now, when?"
--Hillel, "Mishna, Sayings of the Fathers 1:13"
