Re: WinHelp 95 help approach

[Kent Newton <KentN -at- METRIX-INC -dot- COM>]

>Date:    Mon, 22 Jan 1996 00:19:47 -1000
>From:    Shauna Jeanne Jones <shauna -at- ALOHA -dot- NET>
>Subject: Re: WinHelp 95 help approach

>-- snipped --

>Besides, if you were using the program, would you want to have to have
>*both* the online help and the manual open in order to learn something
you
>need to know?

Maybe I'm just an old fogey, but I like to use manuals.  I feel like I've
got more control over what I'm looking for: I'm not at the whim of some
on-line help *designer* to determine which links are important.  I've
seen too many help systems with illogical links or no links where some
should be.  With a paper manual, I can eaily flip to where I want.  Also,
with on-line help, I have to toggle back and forth between the help
screen and the application screen.  With a manual, I can keep the manual
open while I follow the steps.  This makes it easy to compare the
instructions to the current screen; with on-line help, you have to
ALT+TAB back and forth.  Annoying.

(As a side note, I've been after my boss to buy the department a serious
set of reference materials -- American Heritage Unabridged Dictionary,
Thesaurus, Dictionary of Technical Terms, etc.  Instead of spending the
$100 or so dollars to buy one set of manuals, he wants to upgrade two PCs
with quad speed CD-ROMS and buy an electronic reference library!  What
kind of logic is this.  Besides spending more money than necessary, the
electronic is more trouble than its worth.)

Kent Newton
Senior Technical Writer
Metrix, Inc.
kentn -at- metrix-inc -dot- com