Re: Suggestions for user manual with alternate versions

["Mason, Catheryn" <CMason -at- INFINITEC-COM -dot- COM>]

        Terry asks "Is there a graceful way to document different versions
of software in the same user manual?"

Terry:
I document a software system that has a menu-driven interface (in a common,
for this field, programming language) and a Windows interface. What I've
done is to include instructions for both interfaces in one manual, with the
following organization:

TOC and front matter, change history, etc.
Getting Started section (applicable to both GUIs)
Part 1: Menu-Driven Interface  (this contains various sections; each
principal menu has its own section -- provisioning, maintenance, operations,
help, etc.)
Part 2: Windows(r) 95 Interface (again, contains separate sections)

I decided on this organization because I wanted to keep all software-related
documentation in one manual, and it seemed to me to be the least confusing
option.  Customers are able to turn to either the first or latter half of
the manual, essentially, and find all of the information that they need. I
explain the arrangement of the document in the Getting Started section, use
long (four inch) tabs to identify Part 1 and Part 2, and each part has its
own index. This approach has worked for me so far. The one thing that I
would *not* do is to have one section (provisioning, for example) contain
both the menu-driven commands and the Windows-based commands. That, I think,
would just be too cumbersome for the user.

Good luck with this.

Catheryn Mason, Technical Writer
Infinitec Communications
cmason -at- infinitec-com -dot- com
Winner, 1999 IABC Bronze Quill Award of Excellence for Technical Writing

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