See the chapter on highlighting for details on planning and designing highlighting guidelines.Īs a book, a user guide must have some combination of the standard book-design components such as the following: Use a consistent and standard scheme of highlighting (bold, italics, alternate fonts, color, caps, and so on). See the chapter on tables for details on planning and designing tables. In user guides, tables are particularly useful whenever reference-type information must be presented. Provide statistical information and other such details in easy-to-access table form. See the chapter on graphics for details on planning and designing graphics. Show readers key components of the objects they will be working with, before and after views, and illustrations of key actions that readers must perform. Instructions-and therefore user guides-also make abundant use of: See the chapter on instructions for details on planning and designing instructions. In general, use the standard design of instructions primarily, this means task-oriented headings and sections and numbered vertical lists for actual steps that readers are to perform. See the chapter on notices for details on planning and designing notices. Use special notices such as warnings, cautions, and notes to alert readers to potential problems or emphasize special points. See the chapter on lists for details on planning and designing lists. Use numbered and bulleted lists to help readers scan information quickly. See the chapter on headings for details on planning and designing headings. Use headings to mark off key contents of the information so that readers can find it quickly. (For an overview of these elements, see the page-design chapter in this online textbook.) As a set of instructions, a user guide should use the style and format that is presented elsewhere in this online textbook: At its core is instruction writing you need to be good at the writing style, headings, lists, notices, highlighting, tables, graphics commonly used in instructions. A user guide can even contain a brief tutorial-for example, getting users started using the product-but if there is too much tutorial, it too goes into a separate book.Ī user guide is a combination of many things presented in this online textbook. When this happens, some elements of the user guide get split out into their own separate volumes-especially the installation procedures, troubleshooting procedures, and the commands. The more complex the product, the greater the page count.
While this definition assumes computers, a user guide can provide operating instructions on practically anything-lawnmowers, microwave ovens, dishwashers, and so on. A user guide can be very brief-for example, only 10 or 20 pages or it can be a full-length book of 200 pages or more.
NEDIT USERS GUIDE SOFTWARE
A user guide is essentially a book-length document containing instructions on installing, using, or troubleshooting a hardware or software product.
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