using offline documentation online
Current interactive programs usually provide some form of online documentation in addition to the traditional hard-copy user's manual. To save the expense of writing two documents covering the same material, it is not uncommon to find offline manuals that are available interactively as well as printed versions of material originally organized for online use. Because of the difficulties inherent in using the same material in different ways, neither approach is totally satisfactory. The THUMB system minimizes these problems by structuring offline documentation for interactive use. An expert on a particular text ( e.g. , its author) prepares a detailed representation of the organization of material within the document. Once this data structure (which resembles a thorough table of contents and heavily cross-referenced index) is available, users access information free from the strictures of linear text, simple indices, and page numbers. The expert's task is nontrivial, but it requires less effort than writing a new document. Creation and revision of text are made easy by supportive utilities. THUMB monitors reader's requests in order to provide experts with feedback about a document's use. Readers need not be aware of THUMB's underlying data structure or the tools available for experts.
use documentation online interaction program user user writing material version organization systems structure text author representation data structures contention indexing access informal paging task utility monitor order feedback tools users text structure online assistance word processing user interface