Menu
Home
People
Places
Arts
History
Plants & Animals
Science
Life & Culture
Technology
Reference.org
User guide
open-in-new
<h2 id="contents-of-a-user-manual">Contents of a user manual</h2> <p>The sections of a user manual often include: </p> <ul><li>A cover page</li> <li>A title page and copyright page</li> <li>A preface, containing details of related documents and information on how to navigate the user guide</li> <li>A contents page</li> <li>A Purpose section. This should be an overview rather than detail the objective of the document</li> <li>An Audience section to explicitly state who is the intended audience who is required to read, including optionals</li> <li>A Scope section is crucial as it also serves as a disclaimer, stating what is out-of-scope as well as what is covered</li> <li>A guide on how to use at least the main function of the system</li> <li>A <a href="/facts/Troubleshooting/XtjnV5XF">troubleshooting</a> section detailing possible errors or problems that may occur, along with how to fix them</li> <li>A <a href="/facts/FAQ/Br4xFnej">FAQ</a> (Frequently Asked Questions)</li> <li>Where to find further help, and contact details</li> <li>A <a href="/facts/Glossary/jWSovqDw">glossary</a> and, for larger documents, an <a href="/facts/Index_(publishing)/amN9DI6s">index</a></li></ul> <h2 id="history">History</h2> <p>User guides have been found with ancient devices. One example is the <a href="/facts/Antikythera_mechanism/GHqvxCwR">Antikythera Mechanism</a>,<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:1" href="#fn:1"><sup>1</sup></a> a 2,000 year old Greek analogue computer that was found off the coast of the Greek island <a href="/facts/Antikythera/VIWlVQAm">Antikythera</a> in the year 1900. On the cover of this device are passages of text which describe the features and operation of the mechanism. </p><p>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.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:2" href="#fn:2"><sup>2</sup></a> Some considerations for writing a user guide that developed at this time include: </p> <ul><li>the use of <a href="/facts/Plain_language/8rVK3bwa">plain language</a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:3" href="#fn:3"><sup>3</sup></a></li> <li>length and reading difficulty<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:4" href="#fn:4"><sup>4</sup></a></li> <li>the role of printed user guides for digital programs<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:5" href="#fn:5"><sup>5</sup></a></li> <li>user-centered design<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:6" href="#fn:6"><sup>6</sup></a></li></ul> <h2 id="computer-software-manuals-and-guides">Computer software manuals and guides</h2> <p>Before <a href="/facts/Unix/0pNL2seI">Unix</a>, for example, <a href="/facts/General_Comprehensive_Operating_System/rmboutPB">GCOS</a>, mainframe documentation were printed pages, available <a href="/facts/On-premise/yGJvghTK">on-premise</a> to users (staff, students...), organized into steel binders, locked together in one monolithic steel reading rack, bolted to a table or counter, with pages organized for modular information updates, replacement, errata, and addenda. </p><p>User manuals and user guides for most non-trivial PC and browser <a href="/facts/Software_application/YQuj7Kog">software applications</a> 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 <i><a href="/facts/Google_Earth/jjJmIjmb">Google Earth</a> User Guide</i><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:7" href="#fn:7"><sup>7</sup></a> is an example of this format. The term <i>guide</i> is often applied to a document that addresses a specific aspect of a software product. Some usages are <i><a href="/facts/Installation_(computer_programs)/EQzPeYv2">Installation</a> Guide</i>, <i>Getting Started Guide</i>, and various <i>How to</i> guides. An example is the <i><a href="/facts/Picasa/Fk2rIJHc">Picasa</a> Getting Started Guide</i>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:8" href="#fn:8"><sup>8</sup></a> </p><p>In some <a href="/facts/Business_software/wjJ6Gm4G">business software</a> 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 <i><a href="/facts/Autodesk/6aydGFN5">Autodesk</a> Topobase 2010 <a href="/facts/Online_help/dAzE62xs">Help</a></i><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:9" href="#fn:9"><sup>9</sup></a> document, which contains separate <i><a href="/facts/System_administrator/zNhThrh9">Administrator</a> Guides</i>, <i><a href="/facts/User_(computing)/zQRzG0KG">User</a> Guides</i>, and a <i><a href="/facts/Software_developer/WGTS1Jv9">Developer's</a> Guide</i>. </p> <h2 id="see-also">See also</h2> <ul><li><a href="/facts/Owner%27s_manual/7XRCHQ8G">Owner's manual</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Release_notes/KeEmUGXr">Release notes</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Moe_book/ewJ64slV">Moe book</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Technical_writer/TW2BpTkk">Technical writer</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Manual_page_(Unix)/S2yYjy0J">Manual page (Unix)</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Instruction_manual_(gaming)/JTtC4CMa">Instruction manual (gaming)</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Reference_card/Eo1vtLRq">Reference card</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/RTFM/V8hMrFdk">RTFM</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/HOWTO_articles/3keNHNvs">HOWTO articles</a></li></ul> <h2 id="references">References</h2> <ol> <li id="fn:1"><p>"Boffins decipher manual for 2,000-year-old Ancient Greek computer". Retrieved 2018-11-29. <a href="https://www.theregister.co.uk/2016/06/15/antikythera_mechanism_inscriptions_deciphered/" target="_blank">https://www.theregister.co.uk/2016/06/15/antikythera_mechanism_inscriptions_deciphered/</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:2"><p>Chafin, Roy (January 1982). "User manuals: What does the user really need?". Proceedings of the 1st annual international conference on Systems documentation - SIGDOC '82. pp. 36–39. doi:10.1145/800065.801307. ISBN 089791080X. S2CID 6435788. <a href="089791080X" target="_blank">089791080X</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:3"><p>Chafin, Roy (January 1982). "User manuals: What does the user really need?". Proceedings of the 1st annual international conference on Systems documentation - SIGDOC '82. pp. 36–39. doi:10.1145/800065.801307. ISBN 089791080X. S2CID 6435788. <a href="089791080X" target="_blank">089791080X</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:4"><p>Chafin, Roy (January 1982). "User manuals: What does the user really need?". Proceedings of the 1st annual international conference on Systems documentation - SIGDOC '82. pp. 36–39. doi:10.1145/800065.801307. ISBN 089791080X. S2CID 6435788. <a href="089791080X" target="_blank">089791080X</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:5"><p>McKee, John (August 1986). "Computer User Manuals in Print: Do They Have a Future?". ACM SIGDOC Asterisk Journal of Computer Documentation. 12 (2): 11–16. doi:10.1145/15505.15507. S2CID 35615987. <a href="/wiki/Doi_(identifier)" target="_blank">/wiki/Doi_(identifier)</a> <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:6"><p>McKee, John (August 1986). "Computer User Manuals in Print: Do They Have a Future?". ACM SIGDOC Asterisk Journal of Computer Documentation. 12 (2): 11–16. doi:10.1145/15505.15507. S2CID 35615987. <a href="/wiki/Doi_(identifier)" target="_blank">/wiki/Doi_(identifier)</a> <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:7"><p>"Google Earth User Guide". 4 June 2009. Retrieved 13 August 2009. <a href="http://earth.google.com/userguide/v4/" target="_blank">http://earth.google.com/userguide/v4/</a> <a href="#fnref:7" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:8"><p>"Getting Started with Picasa: Getting Started Guide". 15 June 2009. Retrieved 13 August 2009. <a href="http://picasa.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=93183" target="_blank">http://picasa.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=93183</a> <a href="#fnref:8" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:9"><p>"Autodesk Topobase 2010 Help". Autodesk. Retrieved 13 August 2009. <a href="http://docs.autodesk.com/TOPOBSCLNT/2010/ENU/Autodesk%20Topobase%202010%20User%20Documentation/index.html?url=WSfacf1429558a55de9af080101d7e8b304-7c61.htm,topicNumber=d0e342" target="_blank">http://docs.autodesk.com/TOPOBSCLNT/2010/ENU/Autodesk%20Topobase%202010%20User%20Documentation/index.html?url=WSfacf1429558a55de9af080101d7e8b304-7c61.htm,topicNumber=d0e342</a> <a href="#fnref:9" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> </ol>