Z4648252@SFAUSTIN.BITNET (Z4648252) (05/26/89)
Greg Csullog writes:
" Fkeys on the screen can be implemented with rollovers. By clicking on
a SHIFT, ALT or CTL button, the screen display of Fkeys could be updated.
Thus, 10 Fkey buttons can be used to display 40 defs. As for WP HELP,
its great if you speak either computerese or WordPerfectese. Our novice
computer users do not have a clue what a lot of WP HELP messages say!"
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Using a complex package such as WordPerfect requires some study. If
your novice users are truly novice, then they need to use manuals and run
through the LEARN section before they do serious work.
The HELP feature is not meant to replace the manual. However, it is
complete enough to help guide one into the proper direction. By pressing
the HELP key and the appropriate function key, then one will have
explanations of that particular function, with minor computer lingo. I
mean, how difficult is "Please press 1, 2, or 3 for futher explanations"
in trying to jog one's memory in comprehending a feature that has been
laboriously explained in the manual?
For personal and commerical use, it would drive a professional touch
typist, running at 80 wpm, up the wall to have to rollover help screens in
order to just see what SHIFT F3 means. It would be far simpler to have
the "ridiculous" template above the function keys of which one could just
look up and glance in a moment's notice.
If, as you say, your novice computer users do not have a clue what
a lot of WP HELP messages say, then they are not being given access to
the manual, its LEARN section, and Function Key Help REFERENCE CARD. Also,
as legal users, they have access to a free 1-800 number for assistance.
As another note, it would be limiting to use the ALT KEY and CTL KEY
for a roll-over since these are used for MACROS and MERGE code features.
Larry Rymal <Z4648252@SFAUSTIN.BITNET>