TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
Subject:Re: buttons graphics in documentation From:joanne grey <j_grey -at- WRITEANGLES -dot- COM> Date:Mon, 22 Jun 1998 21:00:06 -0700
Ginny Allemann wrote:
> Should little screenshots of icons and buttons be placed in-line in print
> documentation (not on-line)?
Ginny,
I think that anything that detracts from the readability of a document
should be re-thought.
What I've done in the past when documenting a piece of software with
many icons is to provide an icon glossary either in the beginning or at
the end of the document. I guess you could even provide one for each
section if there were many icons. I don't think I have ever referenced
an icon without calling it by name or at least function. I'll also
briefly describe an icon if it is especially obtuse, such as "Also
available is the Broadcast icon, which looks like a small camera." or
whatever - of course, that's a usability issue of another color. :-)
