A user guide, also commonly called a technical communication document or manual, is intended to give assistance to people using a particular system.[1] It is usually written by a technical writer, although user guides are written by programmers, product or project managers, or other technical staff, particularly in smaller companies.[2]
User guides are most commonly associated with electronic goods, computer hardware and software, although they can be written for any product.[3]
The user manual should be largely task-oriented, rather than heavily descriptive. Because the manual is written to help users understand how to execute specific tasks, the writer needs to have an understanding of those tasks as well, and as a result, going through each. NAIIS-User-Manual.Docx Page 4 1 Introduction The Non-Annex I Inventory software (NAIIS) web application is a web-based tool developed for use by Parties not included in Annex I to the Convention (non-Annex I Parties) to estimate and report their. Manual Download Agreement. These Download Terms and Conditions ('Agreement') constitute a legal agreement between you (either an individual or single entity) and Nikon Corporation or its associated company ('Nikon') setting forth the terms and conditions governing your download of the operation manual for our products (“Manual”).
- Version 5.0 User Guide. The PastPerfect 5.0 User Guide is available in print, as PDFs, and through our interactive user guide. Bound copies of the user guide can be purchased at our online store. PDF chapters can be viewed or downloaded below.
- Dr.Explain is based on a unique interface analysis and screen capture system. Thanks to this system, Dr.Explain can automatically analyze an application’s user interface, take screenshots of all controls and elements, and then add explanatory callouts to all images in the draft help system.
- Help+Manual is much more than a help authoring and documentation software, it is a full suite of tools. Everything you need is included in the price, along with free support. Teamwork and multi-user editing? Integrated Version Control? Translation management? Image tools and project management? Double Check!
- A user guide, also commonly called a technical communication document or manual, is intended to give assistance to people using a particular system. It is usually written by a technical writer, although user guides are written by programmers, product or project managers, or other technical staff, particularly in smaller companies.
Most user guides contain both a written guide and associated images. In the case of computer applications, it is usual to include screenshots of the human-machine interface(s), and hardware manuals often include clear, simplified diagrams. The language used is matched to the intended audience, with jargon kept to a minimum or explained thoroughly.
Contents of a user manual[edit]
The sections of a user manual often include:
- A cover page
- A title page and copyright page
- A preface, containing details of related documents and information on how to navigate the user guide
- A contents page
- A Purpose section. This should be an overview rather than detail the objective of the document
- An Audience section to explicitly state who is not as well as who is required to read, including optionals
- A Scope section is crucial as it also serves as a disclaimer, stating what is out-of-scope as well as what is covered
- A guide on how to use at least the main function of the system
- A troubleshooting section detailing possible errors or problems that may occur, along with how to fix them
- A FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)
- Where to find further help, and contact details
- A glossary and, for larger documents, an index
History[edit]
User guides have been found with ancient devices. One example is the Antikythera Mechanism[4], a 2,000 year old Greek analogue computer that was found off the coast of the Greek island Antikythera in the year 1900. On the cover of this device are passages of text which describe the features and operation of the mechanism.
As the software industry was developing, the question of how to best document software programs was undecided. This was a unique problem for software developers, since users often became frustrated with current help documents[5]. Some considerations for writing a user guide that developed at this time include:
- the use of plain language[5]
- length and reading difficulty[5]
- the role of printed user guides for digital programs[6]
- user-centered design[6]
Computer software manuals and guides[edit]
User manuals and user guides for most non-trivial software applications are book-like documents with contents similar to the above list. They may be distributed either in print or electronically. Some documents have a more fluid structure with many internal links. The Google Earth User Guide[7] is an example of this format. The term guide is often applied to a document that addresses a specific aspect of a software product. Some usages are Installation Guide, Getting Started Guide, and various How to guides. An example is the Picasa Getting Started Guide.[8]
In some business software applications, where groups of users have access to only a sub-set of the application's full functionality, a user guide may be prepared for each group. An example of this approach is the Autodesk Topobase 2010 Help[9] document, which contains separate Administrator Guides, User Guides, and a Developer's Guide.
References[edit]
- ^'Online Technical Writing: User Guides'. hcexres@io.com. Retrieved 13 August 2009.
- ^Gary Blake and Robert W. Bly, The Elements of Technical Writing, pg. 143. New York: Macmillan Publishers, 1993. ISBN0020130856
- ^'Manuals Brain - all useful manuals at one place!'. manualsbrain.com. Retrieved 2017-08-15.
- ^'Boffins decipher manual for 2,000-year-old Ancient Greek computer'. Retrieved 2018-11-29.
- ^ abcChafin, Roy (January 1982). 'User Manuals: What Does the User Really Need?'. SIGDOC '82 Proceedings of the 1st annual international conference on systems documentation: 36–39 – via ACM Digital Library.
- ^ abMcKee, John (August 1986). 'Computer User Manuals in Print: Do They Have a Future?'. ACM SIGDOC Asterisk Journal of Computer Documentation. 12: 11–16 – via ACM Digital Library.
- ^'Google Earth User Guide'. Google. 4 June 2009. Retrieved 13 August 2009.
- ^'Getting Started with Picasa: Getting Started Guide'. Google. 15 June 2009. Retrieved 13 August 2009.
- ^'Autodesk Topobase 2010 Help'. Autodesk. Retrieved 13 August 2009.
- ^Manualdevices - Free User Manual 'Manualdevices - Free User Manual ', Retrieved on 01 August 2019.
See also[edit]
- DO YOU NEED TO CREATEONLINE MANUAL,USER GUIDE?
- CREATE DOCUMENTATIONMUCH FASTERDr.Explain documents screens and web pages automatically.
- ON YOUR TECH DOCSDr.Explain & Tiwri.com form a true multi-user platform for collaboration.
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Software User Manual Example
Dr.Explain is based on a unique interface analysis and screen capture system. Thanks to this system, Dr.Explain can automatically analyze an application’s user interface, take screenshots of all controls and elements, and then add explanatory callouts to all images in the draft help system. After that, all one needs to do is add descriptions to the callouts, and save the result in the HTML, CHM, RTF, or PDF format.
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Help file and online manuals creation Advantages
The Dr.Explain will analyze the structure of your software interface and will generate help topic drafts for it automatically. If you are a Web developer, then the HTML parsing capabilities will help you quickly document all significant parts of your Web site as well. It doesn't matter what technology or tools you used to design your software GUI. The Dr.Explain can make help documentation for any solution.
The Dr.Explain tool is exceptionally useful for authoring help files with many screenshots and technical illustrations. The built-in capturing tool analyzes internal structure of captured windows or web forms and automatically creates numbered annotations for all significant GUI elements: buttons, fields, options, menus, toolbars, and so on. You must just add some descriptive text to complete the topic. With other help authoring tools those operations would take hours while with the Dr.Explain you can accomplish it in minutes.
With the Dr.Explain you can easily generate a complete array of end user help in various formats from a single source file. The Dr.Explain can make CHM help files, create online help manuals and prepare printable manuals in RTF and PDF formats. Electronically distribute your help file with application; put it on your product website; or deliver it as a printed manual within the box.
How To Write User Guide For Software Application
Many software vendors have already appreciated the simplicity of the Dr.Explain help file maker. The produced help files and online manuals can be easily built in any solution and invoked from any programming language. The common use cases include but are not limited to the following technologies: C, C++ (MFC & WTL), Visual Basic, C#, VB.NET, ASP.NET, WinForms, WPF, Delphi & Object Pascal, Clarion, FoxPro, PHP, Perl, HTML, JavaScript, and many more.
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