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11-Dec-01 4:34:48 PM, KMcLauchlan -at- chrysalis-its -dot- com wrote:
>I got tired of bitmap issues related to screen-caps,
Why not get rid of the screen caps altogether?
I'm documenting software applications which treat data in a graphical way. The only time we use screen captures is to help the user visualize what something is *supposed* to look like. E.g. if your data looks like
this < picture > try applying the XYZ Filter after which it should look like this < picture >. But we certainly do not supply a picture of dialogs, e.g. for standard data selection, etc. What's the point?
In online doc, most screen captures are a total waste of space.
In most printed doc I've seen the screen caps are just fluff, padding. E.g. to print, choose File > Print. The print dialog appears. < picture of Print dialog >. If the user is sitting at the computer and the dialogue has
a title, then he or she doesn't need the screen shot. If he or she is on the train, there may be some slight benefit to seeing the dialog though I doubt it. Anyway whatever benefit there might be is outweighed by
the cost:
- printing costs which are passed on to the customer
- production complications (color, resizing, moor(?) effect in scroll bars...) which makes the doc harder to maintain
- difficult to support cross platform
- gets out of date fast (one tiny thing changes on the dialog, you have to redo the whole image)
- makes book bulkier, harder to carry, read.
- takes up pixels and is redundant in most cases, since the dialog is displayed on screen anyway.
In short, my opinoin is that most screen caps are really there for aesthetic and marketing reasons. "Make the book look thick ... don't scare the reader with too much grey text ..." But I doubt that serious usability
testing would show that screen caps in the doc improve the user's productivity. Or not?
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