Re: Users Guides vs. Help

[Preben Randhol <randhol pvv org>]

Dan Mueth <d-mueth@uchicago.edu> writes:

| Hi,
|   I have noticed than many applications (eg. gnomecard and gnomecal) have
| a Users Guide in addition to having "Help" buttons (eg. in the preferences
| window).  Currently, many applications with a Users Guide do not have
| anything at "properties-0.html" etc. where the "Help" buttons would
| connect to.
| 
| Is the solution:
| 	1) change the "Help" links to point to pages of the Users Guide
| or 	2) write a separate set of pages for "Help" and Users Guide
|  

I think that one could keep a light tutorial of the most important
gnome apps in the user guide, but have a longer and more detailed help/tutorial
for each app. The user guide could contain a "getting started" selection
of the apps help/tutorial. The reason is that otherwise the User Guide
will be extremely long and needs to be maintained very often. 

Also I think it is easier to get the user to read a 4-5 page "Getting
started with GNOME Calendar" than just hit them in the head with a
20-30 page detailed document. 

Other than that I think that if GNOME is to be successful it needs
Help buttons throughout the apps that are linked to good and precise
help.

Just my thoughts

-- 
Preben Randhol                 Affliction is enamoured of thy parts, 
[randhol@pvv.org]              And thou art wedded to calamity. 
[http://www.pvv.org/~randhol/]                    -- W. Shakespeare