Writing a User Manual
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Are you getting paid for it? If so, crack on. If not, stop what you are doing and give yourself a slap.
Dave Find Me On: Web|Facebook|Twitter|LinkedIn
Folding Stats: Team CodeProject
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Try incorporating some nonsense statements and see if anybody notices... :-D "Click the Fubar button in the lower right corner. Then paint the horse yellow and fly away to the moon! If that doesn't work, please contact the [Insert company name here] helpdesk."
Why can't I be applicable like John? - Me, April 2011
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Beidh ceol, caint agus craic againn - Seán Bán Breathnach
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Da mihi sis crustum Etruscum cum omnibus in eo!
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Just because a thing is new don’t mean that it’s better - Will Rogers, September 4, 1932 -
And women can figure out how to start the application? :confused:
Why can't I be applicable like John? - Me, April 2011
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Beidh ceol, caint agus craic againn - Seán Bán Breathnach
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Da mihi sis crustum Etruscum cum omnibus in eo!
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Just because a thing is new don’t mean that it’s better - Will Rogers, September 4, 1932 -
MehGerbil wrote:
nobody is ever going to read.
I normally write the first & last pages, then copy & paste Greek news articles into all the other pages in between. Still, when end users call for support, they insist they have read the manual.
"Coming soon"
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TPFKAPB wrote:
Real men don't read manuals.
..ever since the introduction of the word "discoverability", and the omission of a user-manual with Windows, I've been working under the idea that software-interfaces should be predictable, self-explanatory and intuitive. A manual that says "click here to do X" does not really help much. A reference OTOH.. FWIW, you're implying that a programmer cannot be a real man :)
Bastard Programmer from Hell :suss: if you can't read my code, try converting it here[^]
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I hate that, it's the part I think all developers hate and most, including myself are not very good at.
VS2010/Atmel Studio 6.0 ToDo Manager Extension
Version 3.0 now available. There is no place like 127.0.0.1 -
Try incorporating some nonsense statements and see if anybody notices... :-D "Click the Fubar button in the lower right corner. Then paint the horse yellow and fly away to the moon! If that doesn't work, please contact the [Insert company name here] helpdesk."
Why can't I be applicable like John? - Me, April 2011
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Beidh ceol, caint agus craic againn - Seán Bán Breathnach
-----
Da mihi sis crustum Etruscum cum omnibus in eo!
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Just because a thing is new don’t mean that it’s better - Will Rogers, September 4, 1932 -
Eddy Vluggen wrote:
What makes you so sure on that?
Because the questions I get indicate that they've never read anything outside of a TV Guide, much less the user manual I provided. I work with people who lose a file every time the default location in Windows Explorer changes. They just save the file to whatever default location comes up - so if that default location changes for any reason they lose files. Me: So where did you save the file? Them: eh? Me: What location did you save the file - where did you choose to save it? Them: Same place I always save it. Me: So you selected to save it at C:\Users\moron\porn\dungeon\farmanimals Them: I didn't select a folder. Me: What was the file name, I'll just do a search on your harddrive. Them: eh? Me: Here is a rubber ball. Go play with it out in the parking lot.
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Then your manual sucks. "Clicking the print button prints the current document or selection." Yeah baby, tell me.
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Eddy Vluggen wrote:
What makes you so sure on that?
Because the questions I get indicate that they've never read anything outside of a TV Guide, much less the user manual I provided. I work with people who lose a file every time the default location in Windows Explorer changes. They just save the file to whatever default location comes up - so if that default location changes for any reason they lose files. Me: So where did you save the file? Them: eh? Me: What location did you save the file - where did you choose to save it? Them: Same place I always save it. Me: So you selected to save it at C:\Users\moron\porn\dungeon\farmanimals Them: I didn't select a folder. Me: What was the file name, I'll just do a search on your harddrive. Them: eh? Me: Here is a rubber ball. Go play with it out in the parking lot.
I always offer some way option to show the just-saved file in windows explorer. When this is some kind of "export", I even default to doing this automatically. And yes, for internal tools this option is labeled "Where did I save this?"
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I always offer some way option to show the just-saved file in windows explorer. When this is some kind of "export", I even default to doing this automatically. And yes, for internal tools this option is labeled "Where did I save this?"
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Eddy Vluggen wrote:
What makes you so sure on that?
Because the questions I get indicate that they've never read anything outside of a TV Guide, much less the user manual I provided. I work with people who lose a file every time the default location in Windows Explorer changes. They just save the file to whatever default location comes up - so if that default location changes for any reason they lose files. Me: So where did you save the file? Them: eh? Me: What location did you save the file - where did you choose to save it? Them: Same place I always save it. Me: So you selected to save it at C:\Users\moron\porn\dungeon\farmanimals Them: I didn't select a folder. Me: What was the file name, I'll just do a search on your harddrive. Them: eh? Me: Here is a rubber ball. Go play with it out in the parking lot.
MehGerbil wrote:
I work with people who lose a file every time the default location in Windows Explorer changes. They just save the file to whatever default location comes up - so if that default location changes for any reason they lose files.
You're not updating the entries in the "Recent File List"? There's a "documents" section in the start-menu :) No, still wouldn't be any help to the type of user you describe; someone who isn't interested in what he/she is doing, cannot be helped. It'd be a prayer without end, and I'd be supporting MS-Word related problems in no time - explaining what a 'document' is, isn't my job. We got cheap books that explain those idea's. KISS. You don't need an engineer to personally explain what a file-path is. And you're right - if they don't read books, they'll probably skip the personalized manual in the same way.
Bastard Programmer from Hell :suss: if you can't read my code, try converting it here[^]
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If you every write a technical manual that contains a fault finding table or a flowchart, make sure to add a cure such as "Apply liberal sprinkling of Pixie Dust". :)
Dave Find Me On: Web|Facebook|Twitter|LinkedIn
Folding Stats: Team CodeProject
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It depends on the type of manual, how it will be delivered/maintained and the audience it will have. The pages for the manual I wrote for Visual Lint[^] are among the busiest on our website, so the many hours I put into working on it (valuable coding time!) have definitely been worthwhile. I am of the opinion that being able to write good technical content is an essential skill for a software developer, so even if the content is not going to be particularly useful to anyone you can look at it as a useful training exercise.
Anna :rose: Tech Blog | Visual Lint "Why would anyone prefer to wield a weapon that takes both hands at once, when they could use a lighter (and obviously superior) weapon that allows you to wield multiple ones at a time, and thus supports multi-paradigm carnage?"
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Why, then, is it called _man_ual? ;)
