Help : graphics or function keys

[Shannon White <shannonwhite -at- YAHOO -dot- COM>]

In response to Geoff's query about including button graphics in Help
files, Laurel wrote:

"After spending lots of time ditzing around with funky
spacing, I finally decided to write the documentation from a function
key perspective. In other words, I replaced "Click [*]" with "Press
[*]."

Searching and replacing the icon bitmap codes with the function key
text didn't take more than an hour and the Help looks better for it."

Well, Laurel, either all of your users come from a pre-GUI time, or you
are doing them a great disservice by referring them, in their times to
need, to function keys rather than the button.

I don't know about your work environment, but if I told someone to
Press F10, they would literally have one finger on the F key and
wonder, then, if they should use the numeric keypad to press 1 and 0 or
if they could do just as well with the regular keyboard.

I thought the point of Help was to make things as self-evident as
possible.  Please, someone, correct me if I'm wrong.  I'm not trying to
make expert users, I'm trying to help someone get the job done when
he/she has an immediate question, in the field, away from a phone to
call the Help desk, with customers sitting there looking like the
salesperson is the biggest idiot ever for not knowing the software.  I
don't even have to think twice to know that F10, in that instance,
isn't going to cut it.  I also don't think that, in a time of need, the
end-user is going to sit there worrying that the Help text isn't as
prettily aligned as it might be.

Just my opinion based on my users. . .

Shannon White
_________________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Get your free @yahoo.com address at http://mail.yahoo.com


 From ??? -at- ??? Sun Jan 00 00:00:00 0000=