plans for Feisty

[Matthew Copple]

On Saturday 04 November 2006 09:44, Matthew Paul Thomas wrote:

> >>> * I think the new docs should also include some screenshots, like the
> >>> main window of "users-and-groups" app or synaptic... so it would be
> >>> easier to know how to do a task or what to expect to see...
> >
> > ...
>
> Including screenshots in help is a bad idea, unless they are shrunken
> and/or otherwise altered so that people don't confuse them with the
> interface itself.

It depends on the medium.

In terms of the "books" that now comprise the offline documentation, 
screenshots are a must. The computer screen is a visual medium, and reading 
text-only displays on an LCD or CRT is physically tiring, not to mention 
rather bad for the eyes. One reason e-books have not made print obsolete is 
the fact that we still have not figured out how to make them kind enough to 
the visual cortex to allow for reasonably lengthy reading sessions.

Most readers do not find straight text to be a friendly learning medium. That 
is why newspapers and magazines have introduced spot color and visuals such 
as graphs and color pictures, and why graphic designers rule the web.

For small, one- or two-paragraph blurbs (for example, a help topic on the 
function of a particular menu option in a toolbar), I agree that screenshots 
can get in the way. But when describing a particular task (adding an e-mail 
account or setting up a new hard drive partition), they are absolutely vital.

-- 
Matthew G. Copple
mcopple at gmail.com
https://launchpad.net/people/mcopple
-- 
Matthew G. Copple
mcopple at gmail.com
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