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The Mayfield Handbook of Technical & Scientific Writing
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Section 2.8.2.2

User Documentation

User manuals help the user adapt a technology to his or her purpose. The sale of any complex technology, whether computer, car, tape recorder, or spectroscope, implies the inclusion of adequate information to enable the user to use the technology safely and effectively. A good manual (hard copy or electronic) is a necessary tool to enable the user to use the technology. User manuals are valuable aids for training inexperienced users, enabling skilled operators to use the technology, and instructing technicians in how to repair or modify the technology.

User manuals generally provide the following information:

Safety warnings and tips

Typical applications and capability of the technology

Descriptive system overview with illustrations

Functional description of subsystems

Instructions for operating the system

System maintenance requirements

Parts lists

Troubleshooting instructions

These topics may all be treated together in a larger manual, or any of them may be the subject of a specialized manual such as a repair manual, an installation manual, a maintenance manual, or an operating manual.

User Manual Style

General style for user manuals should be clear and concise. The following section from an OCR scanning manual demonstrates clear manual organization and style.


Chapter 3

Scanning Tips

This section explains how to achieve the best recognition accuracy possible. See the online Help for more detailed information.

Improve OCR Accuracy

OCR accuracy depends on the quality of the scanned image. You'll have very few errors if you scan sharp, laser-printed documents. Scanning faxes, dot matrix documents, and poorly printed pages may produce unacceptable results.

Take the following factors into account when you scan a page:

--Caere Corporation, OmniPage Limited Edition Manual


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