I agree with Neeraj. Several years ago when I was working at HP, we did some usability studies (HP is heavy into usability) and we found that most docs and users could actually get along with just three heading levels. But we used four levels because there were often small topics that needed separating. Sorry, but I don't have the studies now. We also use four heading levels here at HDS.
Neeraj makes a good poing about scrolling. Users don't like to have to scroll very far to find what they are looking for. To minimize the amount of scrolling users must do to display the information they are looking for, you can include a set of links at the beginning of each chapter Note that these links are NOT a chapter TOC. TOC information is already included in the Bookmarks. Instead, these links are manually created Xrefs to the tasks or information that the writers and/or SMEs have determined that users need most. The Xrefs can link to any heading, paragraph, figure, or table, as needed. Creating the links is a bit of work, but we have a reason for it. Our goal at HDS is that users should be able to find any information they are looking for in a PDF in 3 clicks or 30 seconds or less. We start with a link on the front cover that takes them to a table in the Preface. The table includes linked chapter names and a one sentence descripton of the chapter contents. The chapter links take the users to the beginning of the chapter or appendix of interest. BTW, our beta tests confirm that this works. Diane Gaskill Hitachi Data Systems ===================== -----Original Message----- From: framers-boun...@lists.frameusers.com [mailto:framers-boun...@lists.frameusers.com]on Behalf Of Neeraj Jain Sent: Wednesday, July 15, 2009 1:20 AM To: Evanth, Henrik Cc: framers@lists.frameusers.com Subject: Re: OT: Heading levels in a UG I think that a UG should not have more than 4 heading levels. More the heading levels, more the user will be forced to scroll up and down or click the expand all/collapse all button if it is going to be converted into online format. ________________________________________________ Your smile can help you clear all types of interviews Regards, N. Jain http://www.neerajjain8.com ________________________________ From: "Evanth, Henrik" <henrik.eva...@sonyericsson.com> To: "framers@lists.frameusers.com" <framers@lists.frameusers.com> Sent: Wednesday, July 15, 2009 12:55:30 PM Subject: OT: Heading levels in a UG Hi All I have an off-topic question that may or may not interest you. We are having a discussion at the office regarding the maximum levels of heading that a User guide/User manual can/should contain. Do you know of any best practice rules that define how deep a publication should/could be. Personally I think that 6 levels is too deep for a user, but that is just a personal preference that I cannot back up with "evidence". Heading 1 Heading 2 Heading 3 Heading 4 Heading 5 Heading 6 Insights, comments or instructions are highly appreciated. Best Regards /Henrik _______________________________________________ You are currently subscribed to Framers as neerajja...@yahoo.com. Send list messages to fram...@lists.frameusers.com. To unsubscribe send a blank email to framers-unsubscr...@lists.frameusers.com or visit http://lists.frameusers.com/mailman/options/framers/neerajjain8%40yahoo.com Send administrative questions to listad...@frameusers.com. Visit http://www.frameusers.com/ for more resources and info. _______________________________________________ You are currently subscribed to Framers as dgcal...@earthlink.net. Send list messages to fram...@lists.frameusers.com. To unsubscribe send a blank email to framers-unsubscr...@lists.frameusers.com or visit http://lists.frameusers.com/mailman/options/framers/dgcaller%40earthlink.net Send administrative questions to listad...@frameusers.com. Visit http://www.frameusers.com/ for more resources and info. _______________________________________________ You are currently subscribed to Framers as arch...@mail-archive.com. Send list messages to fram...@lists.frameusers.com. To unsubscribe send a blank email to framers-unsubscr...@lists.frameusers.com or visit http://lists.frameusers.com/mailman/options/framers/archive%40mail-archive.com Send administrative questions to listad...@frameusers.com. Visit http://www.frameusers.com/ for more resources and info.