Re: Application Manuals

["pat eyler" <p_eyler hotmail com>]

I've been pretty silent of late (and have done almost nothing in
the GNOME world while I was at it).  This is a very good point.

I wrote a couple of task based articles about Gnumeric a while ago.
I think it was time well spent.  I'd like to go back once I'm done
with my current project and do a larger manual built around a series
of tasks.

None of this will ever replace a nice, detailed application manual
though.  I see them as a good introduction to an application, or as
a compliment to the manual.



-pate


> From: Gregory Leblanc <gleblanc cu-portland edu>
> To: gnome-doc-list gnome org
> Subject: Application Manuals
> Date: 07 Nov 2000 13:20:00 +0800
>
> Let me start out by saying this may be kind of a rant, as I've been
> thinking about it for a while (and because neither nautilus or gnumeric
> will compile for me tonight).  There have been a few people working on
> "Task Based Manuals" for some of the GNOME apps.  I've actually done a
> pretty thorough review of one of them, and it was shaping up into a very
> nice manual on how to actually use the program.  However, I'm concered
> that people will start writing these -instead- of our traditional
> application manuals.  I really think that we need both kinds of
> manuals.
> The Application Manuals should cover what each element of the User
> Interface does, with an explanation of nearly everything.  These
> manuals should get the first intense indexing work.  They are in place
> to server as a reference, for when you come across some element of the
> UI that you want to use, but don't understand it's function.
> The Task Based Manuals (for lack of a better term) should have a set of
> steps to accomplish a number of tasks using the application.  These
> manuals would be pulled up when a user has a specific thing that they
> need to get accomplished, and need to know how to use the UI to
> accomplish this.  The steps involved in getting the task completed
> should include screenshots along the way, and should have extensive
> linking to the Application Manual, for more detail on each of the
> portions of the application that are used to accomplish the task.  I've 
> gone through and looked at the software at work which has good
> documentation, or for which we've found good documentation, and in just
> about every case, there is both a good reference guide, and a second
> task-based guide which work together to get people using the application
> quickly, and still allowing them to get at all of the functionality that
> the program offers.  Thoughts, comments, and criticisms welcome,
>
>     Greg
>
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