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Subject:Re: Why a Table of Figure From:Marilynne Smith <m -dot- smith182 -at- GENIE -dot- GEIS -dot- COM> Date:Sat, 16 Sep 1995 18:07:00 UTC
>> Stuart Burnfield wrote:
>> Is a Table of Figures necessary?
It can be very necessary. If you take yourself out of the world of the
computer user manual for a moment, and put yourself into a physics or
engineering handbook, or a book of a similar type, and think about the
charts and illustrations you might want to be able to look up quickly, then
you can see the need for a List of Figures. When the table or figure
summarizes the content to such an extent that the reader might want to refer
to it alone, there should be a pointer to help him or her find it.
I liked someone's idea of indexing the figures, I certainly would do that
when it makes sense; however, the reader has no way of second guessing you
on this. A nicer way would be to also prepare a list of figures.
As for computer user manuals, the most important chart (the "cheat sheet")
is usually in the front or back of the book. If you don't put it there, why
not? The reader looks for it there so he or she can find information
quickly. Computer user manuals are a special case when it comes to the
need for a List of Figures.
Marilynne
m -dot- smith182 -at- genie -dot- geis -dot- com
