User guide

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For a full guide to tướng an item owned by its operator, see Owner's manual.

A user guide, also commonly known as a user manual, is intended to tướng assist users in using a particular product, service or application. It's usually written by a technician, product developer, or a company's customer service staff.

Most user guides contain both a written guide and associated images. In the case of computer applications, it is usual to tướng include screenshots of the human-machine interface(s), and hardware manuals often include clear, simplified diagrams. The language used is matched to tướng the intended audience, with jargon kept to tướng a minimum or explained thoroughly.

Contents of a user manual[edit]

The sections of a user manual often include:

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A cover page
A title page and copyright page
A preface, containing details of related documents and information on how to tướng navigate the user guide
A contents page
A Purpose section. This should be an overview rather than thở detail the objective of the document
An Audience section to tướng explicitly state who is the intended audience who is required to tướng 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 tướng use at least the main function of the system
A troubleshooting section detailing possible errors or problems that may occur, along with how to tướng fix them
A FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)
Where to tướng find further help, and liên hệ details
A glossary and, for larger documents, an index

History[edit]

User guides have been found with ancient devices. One example is the Antikythera Mechanism,^[1] 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 tướng best document software programs was undecided. This was a unique problem for software developers, since users often became frustrated with current help documents.^[2] Some considerations for writing a user guide that developed at this time include:

the use of plain language^[2]
length and reading difficulty^[2]
the role of printed user guides for digital programs^[3]
user-centered design^[3]

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 tướng 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^[4] is an example of this format. The term guide is often applied to tướng 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.^[5]

In some business software applications, where groups of users have access to tướng 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^[6] document, which contains separate Administrator Guides, User Guides, and a Developer's Guide.

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