Comments on: My Love Affair with Drop-Down Hotspots Ends http://www.idratherbewriting.com/2008/02/21/my-love-affair-with-drop-down-hotspots-ends/ Technical Communication Blog / Technical Writing Blog Sat, 20 Mar 2010 23:08:14 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: My Love Affair with Drop-Down Hotspots Ends: EServer TC Library http://www.idratherbewriting.com/2008/02/21/my-love-affair-with-drop-down-hotspots-ends/comment-page-1/#comment-114036 My Love Affair with Drop-Down Hotspots Ends: EServer TC Library Wed, 05 Mar 2008 06:56:21 +0000 http://www.idratherbewriting.com/2008/02/21/my-love-affair-with-drop-down-hotspots-ends/#comment-114036 <!--%kramer-ref-pre%-->[...] all works in 'Information Design'  View all works in 'User Interface' My Love Affair with Drop-Down Hotspots Endshttp://www.idratherbewriting.com/2008/02/21/my-love-affai...Johnson, Tom H.Tech Writer [...]<!--%kramer-ref-post%--> [...] all works in ‘Information Design’  View all works in ‘User Interface’ My Love Affair with Drop-Down Hotspots Endshttp://www.idratherbewriting.com/2008/02/21/my-love-affai…Johnson, Tom H.Tech Writer [...]

]]> By: Troy http://www.idratherbewriting.com/2008/02/21/my-love-affair-with-drop-down-hotspots-ends/comment-page-1/#comment-111080 Troy Thu, 28 Feb 2008 15:07:12 +0000 http://www.idratherbewriting.com/2008/02/21/my-love-affair-with-drop-down-hotspots-ends/#comment-111080 @Tom: To me, a help file is meant to be comprehensive. If the audience wants smaller, less thorough documentation, that's where 'quick start' guides and those types of documentation fit in. @Tom: To me, a help file is meant to be comprehensive. If the audience wants smaller, less thorough documentation, that’s where ‘quick start’ guides and those types of documentation fit in.

]]> By: Tom http://www.idratherbewriting.com/2008/02/21/my-love-affair-with-drop-down-hotspots-ends/comment-page-1/#comment-110838 Tom Thu, 28 Feb 2008 05:04:29 +0000 http://www.idratherbewriting.com/2008/02/21/my-love-affair-with-drop-down-hotspots-ends/#comment-110838 Oh, duh. Why didn't I think of that? Thanks techcommdood. Oh, duh. Why didn’t I think of that? Thanks techcommdood.

]]> By: Tom http://www.idratherbewriting.com/2008/02/21/my-love-affair-with-drop-down-hotspots-ends/comment-page-1/#comment-110837 Tom Thu, 28 Feb 2008 05:02:33 +0000 http://www.idratherbewriting.com/2008/02/21/my-love-affair-with-drop-down-hotspots-ends/#comment-110837 Thanks, Troy, for the insight. I think your approach to putting the problem areas and most popular topics on the help's home page is right on target. In fact, my wife was using Picasso the other day and found just the topic she was looking for because it was #1 in the top ten list of problems on the help's home page. I think I'll do that. You make another excellent point -- better to err on too much information rather than too little. This leads into an interesting debate. Sometimes readers want smaller manuals, more concise writing, shorter help files -- they want minimalistic type documentation. The quicker the better, etc. We're always hearing about information overload, keeping it simple, etc. However, I think that this can have a downside. When I'm in the help and the information is lacking, it frustrates the heck out of me. I would rather navigate my way through a dizzy maze looking for the answer rather than find myself going right to the topic and not finding squat. I too would rather jam my help file with info rather than leave it skimpy. Thanks, Troy, for the insight. I think your approach to putting the problem areas and most popular topics on the help’s home page is right on target. In fact, my wife was using Picasso the other day and found just the topic she was looking for because it was #1 in the top ten list of problems on the help’s home page. I think I’ll do that.

You make another excellent point — better to err on too much information rather than too little. This leads into an interesting debate. Sometimes readers want smaller manuals, more concise writing, shorter help files — they want minimalistic type documentation. The quicker the better, etc. We’re always hearing about information overload, keeping it simple, etc. However, I think that this can have a downside. When I’m in the help and the information is lacking, it frustrates the heck out of me. I would rather navigate my way through a dizzy maze looking for the answer rather than find myself going right to the topic and not finding squat.

I too would rather jam my help file with info rather than leave it skimpy.

]]> By: Tom http://www.idratherbewriting.com/2008/02/21/my-love-affair-with-drop-down-hotspots-ends/comment-page-1/#comment-110833 Tom Thu, 28 Feb 2008 04:58:04 +0000 http://www.idratherbewriting.com/2008/02/21/my-love-affair-with-drop-down-hotspots-ends/#comment-110833 Margaret, interesting approach. Are snippets manageable when you have 50-100 of them like you might have? In a month or so, let me know what the outcome is. Thanks for leaving a comment. Margaret, interesting approach. Are snippets manageable when you have 50-100 of them like you might have? In a month or so, let me know what the outcome is. Thanks for leaving a comment.

]]> By: techcommdood http://www.idratherbewriting.com/2008/02/21/my-love-affair-with-drop-down-hotspots-ends/comment-page-1/#comment-110818 techcommdood Thu, 28 Feb 2008 04:32:33 +0000 http://www.idratherbewriting.com/2008/02/21/my-love-affair-with-drop-down-hotspots-ends/#comment-110818 Create conditions for your content. Turn off all those which don't fit the context. Create conditions for your content. Turn off all those which don’t fit the context.

]]> By: Tom http://www.idratherbewriting.com/2008/02/21/my-love-affair-with-drop-down-hotspots-ends/comment-page-1/#comment-110814 Tom Thu, 28 Feb 2008 04:29:46 +0000 http://www.idratherbewriting.com/2008/02/21/my-love-affair-with-drop-down-hotspots-ends/#comment-110814 Let's say that in your online help book, you have a topic called "Getting Started with X Widget." And in this same topic you have 6 hotspots: Installing X Widget Configuring X Widget with Macs Configuring X Widget with PCs Configuring X Widget with Linux Uninstalling X Widget Troubleshooting Installation Problems It looks great because you've compressed the info into a small space. However, now let's say you want to produce a quickstart guide, and you only want the most common installation procdure in there -- Installing X Widget X. You don't want any of the other hotspots, because you're going for brevity. How would you do it? You can't pull the topic apart except by making each hotspot a snippet and applying conditions, which seems like it would be cumbersome. Do you see what I'm getting at now? Let’s say that in your online help book, you have a topic called “Getting Started with X Widget.” And in this same topic you have 6 hotspots:

Installing X Widget
Configuring X Widget with Macs
Configuring X Widget with PCs
Configuring X Widget with Linux
Uninstalling X Widget
Troubleshooting Installation Problems

It looks great because you’ve compressed the info into a small space. However, now let’s say you want to produce a quickstart guide, and you only want the most common installation procdure in there — Installing X Widget X. You don’t want any of the other hotspots, because you’re going for brevity. How would you do it? You can’t pull the topic apart except by making each hotspot a snippet and applying conditions, which seems like it would be cumbersome. Do you see what I’m getting at now?

]]> By: Paul http://www.idratherbewriting.com/2008/02/21/my-love-affair-with-drop-down-hotspots-ends/comment-page-1/#comment-110128 Paul Tue, 26 Feb 2008 20:10:48 +0000 http://www.idratherbewriting.com/2008/02/21/my-love-affair-with-drop-down-hotspots-ends/#comment-110128 Forgive me for sounding dumb, but I'm not sure what you are trying to do that hotspots won't let you do? Can you elaborate on how hotspots don't chunk like you want them to? Forgive me for sounding dumb, but I’m not sure what you are trying to do that hotspots won’t let you do?

Can you elaborate on how hotspots don’t chunk like you want them to?

]]> By: Margaret http://www.idratherbewriting.com/2008/02/21/my-love-affair-with-drop-down-hotspots-ends/comment-page-1/#comment-108268 Margaret Fri, 22 Feb 2008 22:22:26 +0000 http://www.idratherbewriting.com/2008/02/21/my-love-affair-with-drop-down-hotspots-ends/#comment-108268 In Flare, if you chunk the info into separate topics, and then turn the topics into snippets, you can include them into varied outputs. It adds an extra level to the editing phase, but it works. I am only just getting into serious snippet creation, so maybe, ask me again in a month if my love affair with snippets comes to an end. In Flare, if you chunk the info into separate topics, and then turn the topics into snippets, you can include them into varied outputs. It adds an extra level to the editing phase, but it works. I am only just getting into serious snippet creation, so maybe, ask me again in a month if my love affair with snippets comes to an end.

]]> By: Troy http://www.idratherbewriting.com/2008/02/21/my-love-affair-with-drop-down-hotspots-ends/comment-page-1/#comment-108229 Troy Fri, 22 Feb 2008 20:29:29 +0000 http://www.idratherbewriting.com/2008/02/21/my-love-affair-with-drop-down-hotspots-ends/#comment-108229 That's the main reason why I've never used hotspots. As far as users being intimidated with many books/chapters, I never really thought of that as a problem. I guess I'd rather err on the side too much information, as opposed to not enough. Maybe it's the creative writer in me, but I can't bring myself to just "jump" right into the help, so I usually provide an introductory topic ("Welcome to your lovely help file") in which I provide links to problem areas or most-popular topics. For me, that seems to be the best solution to the problem. As far as printed output goes, have you tried attaching build tags to the hotspot areas? That way, in electronic help you could have the hotspots, but in printed help, you have the actual links or text. That’s the main reason why I’ve never used hotspots. As far as users being intimidated with many books/chapters, I never really thought of that as a problem. I guess I’d rather err on the side too much information, as opposed to not enough. Maybe it’s the creative writer in me, but I can’t bring myself to just “jump” right into the help, so I usually provide an introductory topic (“Welcome to your lovely help file”) in which I provide links to problem areas or most-popular topics. For me, that seems to be the best solution to the problem.

As far as printed output goes, have you tried attaching build tags to the hotspot areas? That way, in electronic help you could have the hotspots, but in printed help, you have the actual links or text.

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