On Fri, 20 Apr 2007 08:16:34 -0400, "Gary Schnabl" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> said: > > > Michele Zarri wrote: > > Totally agree. Problem is that when people use the guide as a > > reference manual (and most do) they just jump to the section you are > > interested in, expecting to find all the information they need. For > > this reason, it makes sense to me to avoid saying that to change a > > gradient you open the Area page/tab :-D if you just said 10 lines > > above that this is the page to set the area properties, but I am sure > > someone will complain about the quality of the manual if we did so. > The typical users have evolved to the point whereby the GUI component > names could be dispensed with, for the most part. If I were to say > something of my driving a car with a 5-speed tranny, I wouldn't go into > much detail about the gear-shifting procedure (or the specific auto > components involved) but instead I might say to upshift from second to > third. Just about anybody whom I would be talking to would clearly know > and understand fully without my going into needless details. > > PCs have been around a long time now and are commodities today and their > use is very intuitive, by design. It's about time to stop going into as > much detail as in the past when describing how to run various functions, > etc. Some developers don't even include instructions anymore--for some > evidence of that. > > Gary
I agree in part but what is intuitive to an experienced user is not necessarily intuitive to a new user. I spent years using mainframes and it took me quite a while to realize what proportional fonts could do to my output. A decimal tab? What's that? On the OOo Calc forum it is not unknown for someone to recommend picking up a used Excel or Quatro Pro "How to" book to learn the basics of using a spreadsheet. TJe Calc manuals assume a basic knowledge of spreadsheets. Also we are serving a world-wide audience. It may be that computers are very common in, say , the OECD countries but it is not always true in other parts of the world. ----- John Kane Kingston ON Canada [EMAIL PROTECTED] (613) 888-2399 -- http://www.fastmail.fm - Send your email first class
