Tips & Tricks


Advices, suggestions and ideas on developing and improving help and manual writing and production.

Making Music Accessible: The Role of Help Authoring Tools in Music Education

Female student learning how to play the guitar [Featured]

In the realm of music education, the sweetest symphonies often emerge from a cacophony of challenges. Traditional approaches to learning music — one-on-one lessons, theoretical classes, ensemble rehearsals — have proved their value over centuries, yet they sometimes create an intimidating barrier for those new to the craft. What if we could make the process of music education less daunting and more accessible to everyone, everywhere? Enter the era of help authoring tools — an age where the harmonious union of technology and education is transforming how we learn music.
In this article, we’ll journey through the remarkable ways these innovative tools are revolutionizing music education. From simplifying complex theories to offering personalization and collaboration, help authoring tools are not just changing the tempo of the learning process; they’re orchestrating a new symphony of accessibility, inclusivity, and enjoyment in the realm of music education. Let’s explore the crescendo of possibilities these tools are creating, and how they’re hitting the right notes to democratize the music learning process.

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Why Providing Documentation is Key to Success in the Game Industry

Family having a good time while gaming [Featured]

In the fast-paced, competitive landscape of the gaming industry, every detail can make a difference between being another title in the crowd and reaching the pedestal of players' favorite games. While many elements contribute to a game’s success — stellar graphics, compelling storytelling, innovative gameplay — one factor often remains underestimated: comprehensive and well-structured game documentation. This vital aspect of game development extends beyond simple instruction manuals and FAQs; it delves into comprehensive game design documents, technical details, and a reservoir of solutions for common player queries.
Let’s take a deep dive into why robust documentation can be the hidden gem in your game development toolkit and how help authoring tools might just be the key to unlocking the door of success in the game industry, enabling you to produce top-notch documentation that keeps your players engaged, satisfied, and invested in your gaming universe.

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Maximizing the Return On Investment (ROI) of Your Help Authoring Software

Maximizing the Return On Investment (ROI) of Your Help Authoring Software [Featured]

Investing in help authoring software can be a significant investment for any company, but it can also provide a significant return on investment (ROI) if used effectively. Help documentation is essential for providing support to customers, improving the user experience, and increasing customer satisfaction. Let’s explore strategies for maximizing the ROI of your help authoring investment by optimizing the efficiency and effectiveness of your documentation. We will cover topics such as choosing the right help authoring tool, investing in training and resources, and leveraging analytics to track the impact of your documentation. By following these tips, you can ensure that your help authoring investment is paying off and that it provides the greatest possible value to your company and your customers.

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How To Create An Appealing Online Documentation

How To Create An Appealing Online Documentation [Featured]

It is easy to assume that content is the only element users care about whenever they use a documentation. But such an assumption is absolutely far from reality. Design is one of the most crucial elements of any online documentation.
A visually-appealing documentation such as a user guide that contains relevant images and have appropriate videos embedded in it alongside with fonts and theme that aligns with the website design is always visually appealing to users and more user-friendly! Here are 5 easy tips for creating visually appealing online documentations that are user-friendly.

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Benefits Of Optimizing Your Online Help And Manuals For Search Engines

Benefits Of Optimizing Your Online Help And Manuals For Search Engines [Featured]

Millions of internet users across the globe are constantly searching for answers and solutions on the web via search engines. Google alone processes 3.5 billion searches per day and 1.2 trillion searches per year worldwide. These huge figures have not gone unnoticed across several companies and businesses who now do all they can to match their content with search engine queries. But what about technical content such as helps and documentations? Should companies and technical writers post their online help systems to servers that can be accessed and indexed by search engines? And if they do, are there any benefits over other companies and writers who don’t? Let’s find out.

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Online User Guide Writing Tips

Online User Guide Writing Tips [Featured]

Online user guides and manuals are absolutely convenient for users because they can be accessed easily and almost anywhere. As such, online user guides and manuals must be written appropriately to make them effective and user-friendly.
Unlike the print user guides and manuals, online manuals are often accessed via mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets. Although they aren’t restricted to such devices: learn more about the best formats to publish your help files.
So what should you consider when writing online user guides and manuals? Let’s get back to the basics.

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7 Key Reasons Why You Need A Responsive HTML Website

7 Key Reasons Why You Need A Responsive HTML Website [Featured]

Would you love your website to look great with a stunning and richer user experience across all devices, platforms, and screen sizes?
It’s easy to conclude that you need such a website because of smartphones and tablets users. Period. But you should look beyond the current devices and imagine future devices such as smartwatches, Google glass, virtual and augmented reality, or any other new devices tech experts may throw at us. Responsive websites and development will work for them too. Let’s see how important responsive HTML websites are.

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How To Create User-Friendly Documentations With Simplified Technical English

How To Create User-Friendly Documentations With Simplified Technical English [Featured]

The English language is one of the most widely used languages in technical writing. But the English language is complex - rich in idioms, verbal phrases, figure of speeches, synonyms, ambiguous words and terms that may confuse secondary speakers and even native speakers. This is one of the key reasons why some users don’t read help manuals.
While documenting, almost every technical writer contends with the daunting task of communicating complex technical terms in very simple and easy-to-understand words, sentences, and instructions. In most cases, the technical writer’s effort is measured by user feedback.
So to make technical documentations such as user manuals, help files, safety guides etc. easier to understand and user-friendly, the Aerospace and Defence Industries Association of Europe (ASD) developed Simplified Technical English (STE), otherwise known as the ASD-STE100 or the Thumbs-up technique.

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