1. User Guide Vs Manual
  2. Hp User Guides And Manuals

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 Guide Vs Manual

User guides are most commonly associated with electronic goods, computer hardware and software, although they can be written for any product.[3]

User manual for blu life one x2. 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.

Sep 07, 2011  Sometimes a short one sheet reference guide is all that is needed. Note: Sometimes there is a cross-over between User guides and Training Manuals. But there is a difference between them. A Training Manual is usually provided during instructor-led classes, where the instructor can demonstrate, e.g., certain tasks.

Hp User Guides And Manuals

  1. As nouns the difference between guide and manual is that guide is someone who, especially someone hired to show people around a place or an institution and offer information and explanation while manual is a handbook. As a verb guide is to serve as a guide for someone or something; to lead or direct in a way; to conduct in a course or path.
  2. User instructions for the AirFit P10 and AirFit P10 for Her masks referred to collectively as AirFit P10 throughout this manual. AirFit P10 has blue headgear while AirFit P10 for Her has pink headgear. Using this guide Please read the entire guide before use. When following instructions, refer to the images at the front and back of the guide.
  3. With a properly created and named user’s manual or guide, a user will find necessary info in minutes without your assistance. Also, only a document presenting a lot of visual data can be easily comprehended. In turn, we can teach you how to create a user guide in minutes – we have the fullest guide on creating user manuals.
  4. If you’re wondering how to create a user instruction manual, you’re lucky you ended up here – this is the FULLEST guide! I believe you know that user guides are essential for any product since they ensure better customer experience, save the time and efforts of customer support agents, and simply “sell” the product.

Contents of a user manual[edit]

The sections of a user manual often include:

A user guide can even contain a brief tutorial—for example, getting users started using the product—but if there is too much tutorial, it too goes into a separate book. See examples of user guides. Style and Format for User Guides. A user guide is a combination of many things presented in this online textbook. Jun 29, 2018  Lenovo User Guide TAB E8 / 8 (Lenovo TB 8304F/TB 8304F1) (TB 8304F, Type ZA3L Ug En 20180611.

  • 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]

The user guide engraved into a model of the Antikythera Mechanism.

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]

  1. ^'Online Technical Writing: User Guides'. hcexres@io.com. Retrieved 13 August 2009.
  2. ^Gary Blake and Robert W. Bly, The Elements of Technical Writing, pg. 143. New York: Macmillan Publishers, 1993. ISBN0020130856
  3. ^'Manuals Brain - all useful manuals at one place!'. manualsbrain.com. Retrieved 2017-08-15.
  4. ^'Boffins decipher manual for 2,000-year-old Ancient Greek computer'. Retrieved 2018-11-29.
  5. ^ 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.
  6. ^ 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.
  7. ^'Google Earth User Guide'. Google. 4 June 2009. Retrieved 13 August 2009.
  8. ^'Getting Started with Picasa: Getting Started Guide'. Google. 15 June 2009. Retrieved 13 August 2009.
  9. ^'Autodesk Topobase 2010 Help'. Autodesk. Retrieved 13 August 2009.
  10. ^Manualdevices - Free User Manual 'Manualdevices - Free User Manual ', Retrieved on 01 August 2019.

See also[edit]

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