There was a period when word-processing was done in a dos based environment rather than a windows environment. All commands had to be through the key board making it difficult to operate. All this has changed since the advent of Windows and other graphics based operating systems. The popular programs of those days now have been replaced by graphics based programs like Microsoft Word. The word processor seen in the Windows 98 platform has evolved throughout adding new features and looks. This has resulted in users needing help for many of the features in the software. This paper is a review of the Ms Word 2003 user manual for the software.
Ms Word is the first software that comes to mind when one needs to type a document. “When it comes to choosing a word processor, it’s almost a no-brainer. Microsoft Word isn’t the only choice for Windows, and it’s not the least expensive, but it certainly has the largest market share.” (Microsoft word 2003 word processing software: Compare prices, 2006). The software has many features many of which will never be used by the average user. Whatever be the matter, the company has made available a user manual and help file for making use of all these features. The manual is very attractive to look at befits the company that has produced it.
There are a lot of graphics in the manual which is especially useful since a visual presentation is more beneficial than written text. The first graphic is how a normal blank page in Word will appear when the New menu is clicked. Next, there is a section on the title bar at the beginning of the tutorial. The graphics of the title bar showing the menus, File, Edit, View, Insert, Format etc is clearly shown. The next graphic shows the screen that will appear when one of the menus is selected. The picture that is described here is the result of clicking on the tools menu. Sub-menus (spelling and grammar, research, word count etc) like what is seen in Word application are displayed. An explanation that the ellipse (in the form of a right arrow) shown across some of the sub-menus will provide additional options.
Other common phrases like clicking, double clicking, text selection, the cursor and its placement is also clearly described. All the keys other than the text keys are also explained. For example the manual tells what the space or backspace key will do to the text and the cursor in the typed word document. Other features for formatting text like bold, italics, highlighting are also provided clearly. Ways to open a file, to save it, to cut text, to paste text is also shown in a systematic way. For example, to cut text and paste it elsewhere, the steps in numbered steps are clearly marked out. It first says to type a sentence after which the user is asked to select the area which is to be cut.
Then the user is asked to click on edit (or right click) then select the option ‘cut’. It even shows the balance of text that will remain on the page after the cut option is selected. It shows the option to choose the ‘scissor icon’ seen in the menu bar. Then it asks the user to place the cursor where the text is to be pasted. The user is then directed to select Edit again (or right click) and select the paste option. Here also the choice of using the ‘paste icon’ is given. This method of tutoring is easy to grasp and will be useful once the user gets the hang of it. Even the sections on ‘options’ (language settings, spelling and grammar) is explained in ways that can be clearly understood.
But where the manual fails is the more advanced options like for example using macros. It is true that this area is meant for advanced users who will have a basic knowledge of macros and other programming techniques used in Basic and Visual Basic. For a user who is not exposed to such areas, the manual is of real help at all. To a layperson, this area of the manual is not very useful and in most cases not used at all.
In contrast, the help section (by pressing F1 or selecting ‘Help’ form the taskbar) is quite useless and unhelpful. There is no real graphical presentation so essential for a user in a ‘graphical user interface’ environment. The manual, whether published by Microsoft or other approved publishers are much more useful when compared to using the help file in Ms Word. The anecdotal reference of a lost helicopter pilot comes to mind in this instance.
The chopper pilot managed to convey by writing on the Plexiglas as to where he was. One reply put out a sign saying that the pilot was inside a helicopter. The pilot immediately knew that the building was occupied by Microsoft. On landing he told that he took his bearings with respect to the Microsoft building and located the airport. Asked how he could know that the answer came from the Microsoft office, he said that it was similar to the MS help in the software. The answer correct technically, but totally useless in a practical setting.
References
Microsoft word 2003 word processing software: Compare prices. (2006). ConsumerGuide Products. Web.