Re: Help for Web-based applications - ideas?

[SusanH -at- cardsetc -dot- com]

Hi Lois,
You wrote
"From what I can see, traditional context-sensitive Winhelp-type solutions
do not seem very practical on the Web (and they would be quite difficult to
implement). I have yet to see any Web applications that involve field-level
help... But what type of help system should a web-based application have?"

You've received a number of useful replies.

We all recognise that context-sensitive Help through WinHelp or Microsoft
compressed HTML Help enables the Help developer to create field level Help
as a separate layer. Unfortunately, as Jim Hager and Geoff Hart pointed
out, implementing field-level Help for a Web-based application involves
embedding a lot of calls in the form itself.

For a Windows application/WinHelp beta release of our product, I used three
Help layers: two layers of context-sensitive Help, field-level and task,
and general Help (= Help topics with TOC, index and FTS).

Then we moved to a Web-based application, where forms would be generated.
It was not possible to adopt the type of pop-up solution that Geoff Hart
described but which I did prototype early in the project... but the
following solution may be of interest to you.

The "Need Help?" link from each form links to the context-sensitive Help
topic (new window) that includes on the left hand side two panes: Pane 1
lists the key fields on the form (as links), and the second pane is where
the field topics are displayed when a user clicks a field link.

The right hand pane of the c-s task window, includes
1. the task topic which is still able to address "being in control" issues
rather than nitty gritty "what does this element mean for me" issues
2. a "Need general information?" link that opens the full Help system with
TOC in the current Help window.

I don't believe a more complex task window is preferable to the Windows
Help solution BUT I do believe that layering information is critical to
application users. This way I can still give my users three focus scopes
=on a form object, or on "what I am doing here?" or on browsing the
information domain.

My authoring tool has an option for generating the html file names from the
contex IDs associated with the topic... so I am still getting generated
header files from the developers and associating the task topics with the
IDs.  Hope that explains what I am doing...  Just write to me offline if
you want more info.

I totally agree with Geoff Hart's comment on affordance. In fact, it is
amazing to see how infrequently developers of Web-based applications use
the richer text environment of the browser in their applications. There is
a great opportunity with Web-based applications to provide text prompts to
the user.

As an example, let me cite an Australian bank's net banking application.
Before you can pay a bill, you have to define the biller. The first step is
obviously an oft-misunderstood step because the actual bill-paying form
includes a two-line paragraph reminding the user of this pre-requisite and
advising them to choose Add Biller. Unfortunately, instead of making Add
Biller a link to the add biller function, the form then leaves the user to
search the interface looking for an Add Biller option... (which as it
happens is outside the current user focus and NOT immediately obvious!!)
Now I see that as an example of Windows developers applying the same
function separation rules to Web application design. In other words,
EVERYONE is learning on the Web-based application front, not just the Help
developers!!!!

Susan Harkus

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