Designing and Writing Online Documentation
Help Files to Hypertext
Published on 16. January 1990
Book
Hardback
384 pages
978-0-471-51399-5 (ISBN)
Description
This guide explains how to change your software from frightening to friendly. By spelling out the step-by-step process for designing effective human-computer interactions, the author shows readers how to create the online documentation systems that help users learn and use software painlessly. William Horton stresses the practical needs of the user and illuminates the use of help menus, messages, windows, dialogues, tutorials and Hypertext/Hypermedia systems with hundreds of examples. There is a detailed glossary clarifying abstract terms and buzzwords, plus over 300 references to sources of additional material.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
New York
United States
Publishing group
John Wiley and Sons Ltd
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Illustrations
glossary, references
Dimensions
Height: 94 mm
Width: 42 mm
Weight
850 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-471-51399-5 (9780471513995)
Copyright in bibliographic data is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or its licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Content
Introducing online documentation - the information deluge ...and the trickle; what is online documentation?; what should and should not go online - how to decide what should go online; put online documents that gain value; designing human-computer dialogs - what makes a good dialog?; understand who uses the product and why; making information accessible - strategies for finding information; mechanics of accessing information;organizing online documents - elements of organization; structure documents in a simple pattern; displaying online documents - the screen is not the page; display documents in the most useful location; pictures, sound, and motion - pictures; sounds; writing online documents - apply the basics and attend to the differences; use short, simple, familiar words; messages, commands, and menus - make messages helpful; prompt for inputs;help facilities - what is help and what is it for?; types of help facilities; online books, bulletins and databases - online books and manuals; bibliographic databases; Hypertext and Hypermedia - what are Hypertext and Hypermedia?; advantages, promises and potential; the future of online documentation - technologies and trends to watch; unresolved issues.