UI description standards

["Michael West" <mbwest -at- bigpond -dot- com>]

Alec wrote:

> I think that you can remove screen shots from the documentation. 
> If you guide the users step-by-step and use the same labels as in 
> the product UI, then everything should be fine.

That depends entirely on the complexity of the interface. Using the right
label is essential, but if I (as the reader) don't know where to find the
silly thing in a complex UI, a little bit of graphical assistance will save
me time, page flipping and frustration.

And by "little bit" I certainly don't mean a huge full-screen capture. Just
give me a tidy, well-cropped picture of the thing I'm looking for. And if it
is something that may not always be visible, give me a link or cross
reference to the info I need to get to the thing.

Few things annoy me more than "help" that gives me half an answer and fails
to tell me where I can find the other half.

-- 
Michael West

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Use Doc-To-Help's XML-based editor, Microsoft Word, or HTML and 
produce desktop, Web, or print deliverables. Just write (or import) 
and Doc-To-Help does the rest. Free trial: http://www.doctohelp.com


 - Use this space to communicate with TECHWR-L readers - 
   - Contact admin -at- techwr-l -dot- com for more information - 


---
You are currently subscribed to TECHWR-L as archive -at- web -dot- techwr-l -dot- com -dot- 

To unsubscribe send a blank email to 
techwr-l-unsubscribe -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
or visit http://lists.techwr-l.com/mailman/options/techwr-l/archive%40web.techwr-l.com


To subscribe, send a blank email to techwr-l-join -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com

Send administrative questions to admin -at- techwr-l -dot- com -dot-  Visit
http://www.techwr-l.com/ for more resources and info. 

Please move off-topic discussions to the Chat list, at:
http://lists.techwr-l.com/mailman/listinfo/techwr-l-chat