Re: Self Documenting Interfaces

["Dan Kaminsky" <effugas best com>]

-----Original Message-----
From: Preben Randhol <randhol@dusken4.samfundet.ntnu.no>
To: Dan Kaminsky <effugas@best.com>
Cc: gnome-gui-list@gnome.org <gnome-gui-list@gnome.org>
Date: Friday, July 24, 1998 2:48 AM
Subject: Re: Self Documenting Interfaces


>* "Dan Kaminsky" <effugas@best.com
>|
>| I'm gonna take back my claim that voicing tours is preferable.  However,
a
>| text-annotated visual tour of a program and what it can do *IS* a good
>| thing.  There's no better way to learn an app than to watch it in use,
>| rewind, fast forward, etc.
>
>Yes there is. The way that you in fact *do* the things you need to
>do. If you try to learn a person how to use a program, it is always
>better that you sit and explains wile she/he does the things. If you
>do it she/he won't learn what to do.
>
>Therefore it is better to have a Guided tour like this (this is a
>very simple example and might not be necessary) :
>
>To save a file:
>
>When you are finished writing choose save file from the menu File. Now
>choose where you want to store your document. [here some info of
>directories could stand] (for more info see <clicable> directory)
>
>Now you choose which file format you want [short info on this] (more
>info on fileformats)
>
>And then you simply press OK.


So, if it's so great on paper, why is it so awful acted out on screen?  :-)
Isn't it easier to prevent the paper->screen mistranslation?  really, you
should have both...as the screen does stuff, the lines of text describing
what's next to do come up.