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Re: Why We Need Good Software Manuals (& online help)
Subject:Re: Why We Need Good Software Manuals (& online help) From:"W. Michaels" <stinky5 -at- TELEPORT -dot- COM> Date:Wed, 24 Jan 1996 05:42:43 -0800
Mike wrote:
> I firmly believe that both the online help and the manual should be as
> thorough and comprehensive as possible and that they both should
> contain essentially the same information.
I agree that everything in the manuals should also be in the help files. As
a user, I like both (if they are "thorough and comprehensive"). My help
files separate the discussions from the procedures. If the users want a
quick answer, they follow the procedures. If the users want discussion, they
jump to "more about this."
Re: Eric's 'quibble' about terminology:
> Aren't we confusing two different issues?
> Online help, as I know it, is just that--the help is just enough to get the
> user past being "stuck."
> Online _documentation_ is another ball of wax and certainly
> should be comprehensive.
My online help is not a strict duplicate of the manual. It's restructured to
appear quick and to the point, but everything's there. Would you still call
that "Online documentation"?
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W. Michaels : stinky5 -at- teleport -dot- com
Michaels Documentation Services
