TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
Subject:On-line documentation vs Hard copy From:Bob Gembey <bob -at- SUPERNOVA -dot- NL> Date:Thu, 29 Apr 1999 03:25:41 -0500
There is a clear trend developing in software products to minimize the hard
copy documentation provided with a product, replacing it by on-line
versions.
I don't think that it is satisfactory to take the existing hard copy manuals
and just add the necessary hyperlinks to allow for jumping from one topic to
another. IMHO, reading on-screen and reading a book are different
experiences, and readers have different needs that must be met. A manual,
although not a novel, does have a certain continuity in it, and readers tend
to browse through it looking for information. On-line they have other
expectancies, which we must fulfill. Is it enough to just provide a search
engine in addition to the electronic index, or a tree-view to show the
structure of the documentation in addition to TOC's and introductory
sections? Are there changes we must make to the document content and
internal structure?
I would appreciate exchanging ideas with others who have already or are
presently going through this process.
Bob Gembey
SuperNova Technology
bob -at- supernova -dot- nl
