User guide
Encyclopedia
A user guide or user's guide, also commonly known as a manual, is a technical communication
Technical communication
Technical communication is a method of researching and creating information about technical processes or products directed to an audience through media. The information must be relevant to the intended audience. Technical communicators often work collaboratively to create products for various...

 document
Document
The term document has multiple meanings in ordinary language and in scholarship. WordNet 3.1. lists four meanings :* document, written document, papers...

 intended to give assistance to people using a particular system. It is usually written by a technical writer
Technical writer
A technical writer is a professional writer who designs, creates, and maintains technical documentation...

, although user guides are written by programmers, product or project managers, or other technical staff, particularly in smaller companies.

User guides are most commonly associated with electronic goods, computer hardware
Computer hardware
Personal computer hardware are component devices which are typically installed into or peripheral to a computer case to create a personal computer upon which system software is installed including a firmware interface such as a BIOS and an operating system which supports application software that...

 and software
Computer software
Computer software, or just software, is a collection of computer programs and related data that provide the instructions for telling a computer what to do and how to do it....

.

Most user guides contain both a written guide and the associated images. In the case of computer applications, it is usual to include screenshot
Screenshot
A screenshot , screen capture , screen dump, screengrab , or print screen is an image taken by a computer to record the visible items displayed on the monitor, television, or another visual output device...

s of the human-machine interface(s), and hardware manuals often include clear, simplified diagram
Diagram
A diagram is a two-dimensional geometric symbolic representation of information according to some visualization technique. Sometimes, the technique uses a three-dimensional visualization which is then projected onto the two-dimensional surface...

s. The language used is matched to the intended audience
Audience
An audience is a group of people who participate in a show or encounter a work of art, literature , theatre, music or academics in any medium...

, with jargon
Jargon
Jargon is terminology which is especially defined in relationship to a specific activity, profession, group, or event. The philosophe Condillac observed in 1782 that "Every science requires a special language because every science has its own ideas." As a rationalist member of the Enlightenment he...

 kept to a minimum or explained thoroughly.

Contents of a user manual

The sections of a user manual often include:
  • 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 guide on how to use at least the main functions of the system
  • A troubleshooting section detailing possible errors or problems that may occur, along with how to fix them
  • A FAQ
    FAQ
    Frequently asked questions are listed questions and answers, all supposed to be commonly asked in some context, and pertaining to a particular topic. "FAQ" is usually pronounced as an initialism rather than an acronym, but an acronym form does exist. Since the acronym FAQ originated in textual...

     (Frequently Asked Questions)
  • Where to find further help, and contact details
  • A glossary
    Glossary
    A glossary, also known as an idioticon, vocabulary, or clavis, is an alphabetical list of terms in a particular domain of knowledge with the definitions for those terms...

     and, for larger documents, an index
    Index (publishing)
    An index is a list of words or phrases and associated pointers to where useful material relating to that heading can be found in a document...


Computer software manuals and guides

User manuals and user guides for most non-trivial software applications are book-like documents with contents similar to the above list. The Starta User Manual is a good example of this type of document. Some documents have a more fluid structure with many internal links. The Google Earth
Google Earth
Google Earth is a virtual globe, map and geographical information program that was originally called EarthViewer 3D, and was created by Keyhole, Inc, a Central Intelligence Agency funded company acquired by Google in 2004 . It maps the Earth by the superimposition of images obtained from satellite...

 User Guide
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
Installation (computer programs)
Installation of a program is the act of putting the program onto a computer system so that it can be executed....

 Guide
, Getting Started Guide, and various How to guides. An example is the Picasa
Picasa
Picasa is an image organizer and image viewer for organizing and editing digital photos, plus an integrated photo-sharing website, originally created by Idealab in 2002 and owned by Google since 2004. "Picasa" is a blend of the name of Spanish painter Pablo Picasso, the phrase mi casa for "my...

 Getting Started Guide
.

In some business software
Business software
This article is about software made for business, if you were looking for the business of selling software, see Software business.Business software is generally any software program that helps a business increase productivity or measure their productivity...

 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
Autodesk
Autodesk, Inc. is an American multinational corporation that focuses on 3D design software for use in the architecture, engineering, construction, manufacturing, media and entertainment industries. The company was founded in 1982 by John Walker, a coauthor of the first versions of the company's...

 Topobase 2010 Help
Online help
Online help is topic-oriented, procedural or reference information delivered through computer software. It is a form of user assistance. Most online help is designed to give assistance in the use of a software application or operating system, but can also be used to present information on a broad...

document, which contains separate Administrator
System administrator
A system administrator, IT systems administrator, systems administrator, or sysadmin is a person employed to maintain and operate a computer system and/or network...

 Guides
, User
User (computing)
A user is an agent, either a human agent or software agent, who uses a computer or network service. A user often has a user account and is identified by a username , screen name , nickname , or handle, which is derived from the identical Citizen's Band radio term.Users are...

 Guides
, and a Developer's
Software developer
A software developer is a person concerned with facets of the software development process. Their work includes researching, designing, developing, and testing software. A software developer may take part in design, computer programming, or software project management...

 Guide
. These guides are a valuable tool for On-the-job training
OJT
OJT is a three letter acronym for "On-the-Job Training", which is a form of training taking place in a normal working situation.See Training....

.

See also

  • Release notes
    Release notes
    Release notes are documents that are distributed with software products, often when the product is still in the development or test state...

  • Moe book
    Moe book
    A moe book is a type of instructional book using bishōjo characters for tutorial purposes, with some illustrated in comic book format.A close American counterpart would be the M16 issued during Vietnam War.-History:...

  • Technical writer
    Technical writer
    A technical writer is a professional writer who designs, creates, and maintains technical documentation...

  • Manual page (Unix)
    Manual page (Unix)
    Man pages are the extensive documentation that comes preinstalled with almost all substantial Unix and Unix-like operating systems. The Unix command used to display them is man. Each page is a self-contained document.- Usage :...

  • Instruction manual (gaming)
  • Reference card
    Reference card
    A reference card or quick reference card is a concise bundling of common syntactic rules and idioms of a particular formal language. It serves as an ad hoc memory aid for an experienced user....

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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