Talk:Online help: Difference between revisions

Content deleted Content added

Inline

Revision as of 22:36, 9 August 2005

I moved the image in from the main Help page (which didn't actually have any mention of computers, other than in the caption to the image).

File:P-help.gif

A "help" key on a computer keyboard

sheridan 23:25, 2005 Jan 3 (UTC)

Online help vs. Online user guides etc.

There is a distinction between online help and other online documentation (User Guides, Tutorials, Technical References), at least for application software:

"proper" online help is directly linked with the application and is called depending on the current context of this applications' user interface (in Windows, this is typically triggered by the F1 key).
- It must contain of individual self-contained help texts for the various contexts (possibly with links to additional information) and does not necessarily have to be in a content structure that can be read like a book (from begin to end or by selective chapters).
- Online help is frequently used by "common" users of the application while they are using it.
- online help in this sense needs a document format which enables a user or program to "jump into it" at a labeled position. This makes Adobe PDF less likely (I do not know enough about PDF to say it is impossible, but most PDF documents I have seen are not fit for this purpose).
other types of online documentation may be using the same technical format and produced using the same authoring tools. It should have at least a table of context or an index.
- This documentation is typically used
  - by selected types of readers (e.g. power users, support staff)
  - in specific situations (e.g. first contact, learning, maintenance, problem solving)
  - with a specific reading pattern (e.g. from begin to end, selected chapters, specific index entry)
- E.g.
  - a tutorial is most likely read once by a beginner
  - a user guide is read once completely to gain better insight in the capabilities of the application
  - a technical reference is selectively read by power users or support staff when solving a problem

@@ Line 6: / Line 6: @@
 There is a distinction between online help and other online documentation (User Guides, Tutorials, Technical References), at least for application software:
-* "proper" online help is directly linked with the application and is called depending on the current context of this applications' user interface (in Windows, this is typically triggered by the F1 key). It must contain of individual self-contained help texts for the various contexts (possibly with links to additional information) and does not necessarily have to be in a content structure that can be read like a book (from begin to end or by selective chapters). Online help is frequently used by "common" users of the application while they are using it.
+* "proper" online help is directly linked with the application and is called depending on the current context of this applications' user interface (in Windows, this is typically triggered by the F1 key).
+** It must contain of individual self-contained help texts for the various contexts (possibly with links to additional information) and does not necessarily have to be in a content structure that can be read like a book (from begin to end or by selective chapters).
+** Online help is frequently used by "common" users of the application while they are using it.
+** online help in this sense needs a document format which enables a user or program to "jump into it" at a labeled position. This makes Adobe PDF less likely (I do not know enough about PDF to say it is impossible, but most PDF documents I have seen are not fit for this purpose).
 * other types of online documentation may be using the same technical format and produced using the same authoring tools. It should have at least a table of context or an index.
 **This documentation is typically used