Abundant Mechanical Writing: Advance Your Readers’ Access With A Visual Index
OVERVIEW
Bodies are visual creatures. They attending at your product, and look, for archetype, a button or affectation. They desire to acquisition outside approximately that ascendancy or indicator. A Visual Index is a child’s play however able file access thing that enables your Readers to acquisition the advice that they desire.
This article describes the Visual Index idea and tells how to actualize one for your file.
A VISUAL INDEX
A Visual Index is a picture of your product or action with links to the important advice in the related file. Using a Visual Index, your Readers can attending at the picture, and quickly spring to the put in your file that describes the thing of absorption.
Your file may comprehend distinct Visual Indexes (the plural of “index’ is “indexes” not “indices”).
STARTS WITH A PICTURE
The Visual Index starts with a picture of your product or action. There are several kinds of pictures to employ, based on the product type:
* Physical Product (for archetype, a barbeque or video disk recorder)
Pictures of the product (all important views).
* A Procedure or Action: A flowchart of the steps and decisions in the procedure or action.
* Software Product 1: Screenshots of the software.
* Software Product 2: Before and after images of the assignment that the product does.
* Group: An group chart.
Name THE PICTURE
Name all the User-Product Interplay Points (U-PIP) on the picture. A U-PIP is anywhere that your User and the product may interact. U-PIP’s comprehend controls, displays, and important physical features of the product (such as handles, latches, etc.). Accommodate a important (to your Reader) name (designation) for the U-PIP. (Employ that identical exact name everywhere you consult to that U-PIP.)
Aside: Provided your product uses sounds to notify the User, then comprehend a table of those sounds, what they beggarly, and a link into the important world of your file (describing the sound).
LINK THE U-PIP’s TO YOUR File
Up to this mark, the Visual Index is aloof love any well-labeled picture of your product or action. But, when you add links into your file, the well-labeled picture becomes a Visual Index.
The link should be to a cut of your file that you accept your reader would most desire to arrive to receive the advice approximately that U-PIP. (This is a essential catechism whenever you actualize an index: “does my reader desire to come to this put in my file for this thing?”)
Your means of adding links to the picture depends upon the publishing mechanism for the file. Provided the file is published as:
* A Printed file, then employ sheet numbers for the links;
* An Electronic File, then employ hyperlinks that a Reader can click on to chase. Provided the file is published as HTML, then the visual index can be an angel map.
Archetype 1: A Affliction IN MY FOOT
I accept a affliction in my foot when I airing. Provided I activity to a website approximately feet, it would be too efficient for finding outside approximately my affliction, provided I could look a picture of a foot with several areas where the affliction could be. Links from the foot areas to particular interlacing pages would enable me to acquisition the advice approximately my particular foot affliction quickly.
Archetype 2: PHOTO CORRECTING SOFTWARE
Exhibit a picture with the errors that your software can use, before and after correction. Here the U-PIP’s are each of the photo errors.
Archetype 3: A Direction ON WRITING USER DOCUMENTATION
The Visual Index is a flowchart for creating the User File. Because the Direction is presented in HTML, the Visual Index is fabricated from an angel map, with hyperlinks into the sections of the Direction important to each thing in the flowchart.
Backside Border
A Visual Index is a child’s play idea. However love abounding child’s play concepts it is too able. Best shot to comprehend one in your abutting file. You’ll be doing your Reader a abundant supply.