WebAIM - Web Accessibility In Mind

E-mail List Archives

Re: alternatives to screenshots for Help pages?

for

From: cdwise@wiserways.net
Date: May 17, 2005 12:11PM


Except that many people with dyslexia and other impairments understand
images and diagrams much better than bulleted text. I know someone who can
take an exploded diagram and assemble a machine or piece of furniture in
less time than I can even find a legend on the page.

That same person would take over 2 hours just to read your 3 page bulleted
list.

By providing both methods it accommodates a variety of learning methods.


Cheryl D. Wise
http://wiserways.com
http://starttoweb.com - online training for web design & development


On 5/17/05 2:32 AM, "KNOCK Alistair" < <EMAIL REMOVED> > wrote:

> [In my opinion....]
>
> Screenshots can be a help and a hindrance to all users. I'm sure some
> people benefit from the 70-80 page colour A4 documents that some of our
> departments publish, but considering that the entirety of the text can
> usually be summed up in two or three pages of bulleted action lists, the
> decimation of trees seems unjust. The copy should always be able to
> stand alone, so that the user can use it in conjunction with the system
> itself.
>
> Out of interest, how complex is the site, if it's judged to require
> screenshots to guide the user? Also consider the resource implications
> of having to update screenshots as well as guidance notes.
>