As usual, this software documentation tool is used to create training manuals, user guides, product manuals, video tutorials, help articles, and other docs designed to teach a user how to use a program or how to accomplish a procedure. Thus, ERP consultants, IT support managers, HR managers, small business owners and CEOs, and customer support. Jun 01, 2013 With Dr.Explain you can use one source and the only help tool to make documentation in many formats: PDF, HTML, CHM, RTF and DOC. Don't spend money on multiple help tools and utilities.
“As my company’s sole technical writer, I maintain and update over 2,000 pages of user guides for about twenty software applications. Since at least 1998, all help and tutorials at our company were published using Doc-to-Help, a Word-based system that didn’t support embedded videos or PDFs. In early 2018, I spent two months researching alternatives, and knew Manula was “the one” about five minutes into the free trial. My instincts were right. Everybody in the company loves our new user guides, and so do our customers. Manula is super easy to use. The few times I needed support, I got a fast, accurate reply; and the solution was always very simple. This was such a welcome change from our experience with Doc-to-Help support.
Our Word-based documents were more technical than most: almost 100% tables-embedded-into-other-tables and complex layers of numbered and bulleted lists. It has been time-consuming (but fun) to convert our first thousand pages of help into Manula’s Textile-based format. The effort has been well worth it! Our documentation is getting far more views and longer visits than it ever did in the old format. We don’t have numbers yet, but I suspect it is also leading to fewer support tickets, freeing up time for our sales staff.
It takes an IT staff member approximately one minute to set up our website for each new Manula help document. Manula seamlessly integrates into our website, using our custom colors and logos to give a consistent user experience. The layout, table of contents, fonts and tables are inviting and easy on the eyes. We can even hide minor topics from the table of contents, thus keeping our extensive help from appearing too intimidating. I love the ease of updating, the change control system, and ability to support multiple versions. Users who haven’t updated their software see the applicable user guide, while on-plan users see additional topics about the latest features. And because the help is online, I can fix a typo or add a new topic any day of the year. This means there is no longer a rush to get the help finished weeks before an upcoming release. The context help is extremely easy to implement on both my end and the developer end.
We are super happy Manula customers and would recommend it to anyone! An example of our help can be seen here.”
Jon ZamboniUpdated April 17, 2017
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If you are conducting research on a product or service, you may reference a user manual or instructional guide in your paper. Whenever you reference a source in your work, cite it properly so your reader knows where you found your information. In American Psychological Association, APA, style, user manuals are cited as part of a product's information.
Reference List
How To Create A User Manual For A Product
When you cite any information that is packaged with a product, the company is listed as the author, along with the year the product was made and the location of the company. APA formats this information like this:
![Create Create](/uploads/1/2/6/4/126425103/221604936.jpg)
Company name. (Year). Product name: Type of product info. Publisher location: Publisher.
Because the publisher is the company, the company's location will be listed as the publisher's location, and the publisher will simply be listed as 'Author'. For example:
Staples. (2014). Screen cleaning set: Instruction manual. Framingham, MA: Author.
User Manuals With Authors or Outside Publishers
When a product's user manual lists an author, list the author of the manual in place of the company name in your reference list citation:
Gates, B. (1995). Windows '95: User Guide. Redmond, WA: Microsoft.
If a user manual is published by an outside publisher, that publisher information is listed in place of the company information under 'publisher':
General Mills. (2002). Cheerios chess: Instructions. Seattle, WA: Wizards Games.
Citing a User Manual Found Online
If you are citing a user manual that you found online, include a link to the site from which it was retrieved:
Company name. (Year). Product title: Type of product information. Retrieved from URL.
For example:
How To Create A User Manual For Yourself
Blizzard Entertainment. (1998). Starcraft: User manual. Retrieved from http://ftp.blizzard.com/pub/misc/StarCraft.PDF.
In-Text Citations
When you reference or quote a user manual in the text of your paper, include an in-text citation to show where the information comes from. The in-text citation will include the author name of a source -- in this case, the company name -- the year of publication and the page number, if applicable. For example:
![Manual Manual](/uploads/1/2/6/4/126425103/946459207.jpg)
The product kit includes a screen cleaning solution, microfiber cloths, and a 'stain light' to check for scratches (Staples, 2014).
Windows users were instructed to troubleshoot and only reboot their computer as a last resort (Gates, 1995, p. 12).
If the author name or date of publication is included in the leading sentence of a reference, you do not need to include that information in your in-text citation. For example:
Blizzard describes Starcraft as being open to multiplayer formats such as 'Melee, Free for All, Greed, Slaughter, and Capture the Flag' (1998, p. 11).
Cite this Article Choose Citation Style
Zamboni, Jon. 'How to Cite a User Manual in a Paper.' , https://penandthepad.com/cite-user-manual-paper-8653776.html. Accessed 10 December 2019.
Zamboni, Jon. (n.d.). How to Cite a User Manual in a Paper. . Retrieved from https://penandthepad.com/cite-user-manual-paper-8653776.html
Zamboni, Jon. 'How to Cite a User Manual in a Paper' accessed December 10, 2019. https://penandthepad.com/cite-user-manual-paper-8653776.html
Note: Depending on which text editor you're pasting into, you might have to add the italics to the site name.
References
Pen & the Pad