Creating Online Help (Part 2): Strategies and Implementation

Developing the Help Table of Contents

The table of contents in a Help system provides an outline typically of book icons that, when selected, display a series of page icons that link to associated topics. Users search through the books of a table of contents to search for subject matter that appears most promising. First-level books—the left-most aligned books—represent the most general subject matter. Once selected, they can display page icons that link to topics or display other books that may open to even more specific information in a block of associated topics. Although book and page icons are the most often used images inside tables of contents, some Help authors prefer to use other images instead.

Tables of contents can include multiple levels of books. To ensure that you see all of them, expand every level until you see only page icons that link directly to topics. Book icons represent general subject matter, whereas the page icons inside the book icon represents, most typically, the headings to your Help topics.

Try following these guidelines when developing your table of contents:

• Limit each branch to three levels. In the case of very large Help systems, allow some branches to have four levels.

  Note: The number of icons that appear when a user opens a book icon defines the breadth of that part of the hierarchy. The breadth of all parts of the hierarchy makes up the total breadth. Naturally, breadth tends to decrease depth and vice-versa. Thus Help authors should follow the following guideline as well.

• Within limits, users do better scanning a list than descending to ever-deeper levels. Thus moderately broad hierarchies, say 8 to 10 icons, are desirable.
• For HTML Help systems that you are not merging, consider linking book icons to overview style topics. Unlike Windows Help, HTML Help book icons are able to link to topics. However, avoid linking books to topics in HTML Help if you intend to merge multiple Help systems together. The results can be problematic.

Managing the Hierarchy

Help authors cannot simply choose the ideal proportions for their content's hierarchy. The breadth and depth necessarily reflect the software product. Even so, Help authors can exercise significant control over the dimensions of their hierarchies by subdividing large lists into groups or combining two small groups.

Some of the most important decisions concern the top level of the hierarchy (see Figure 12). One of these is whether to group all procedure topics under a single top-level book icon—labeled "How to..." or "Procedures"—or whether to place the main branches of procedure topics at the topic level.

Figure 12. Basic first-level table of contents prototypical model (left); Microsoft IP version 6 Help (right)

The basic first level table of contents model is most ideal for Help systems that are not too involved. The left image in Figure 12 represents a basic, streamlined Help system that introduces the Help content, explains how to use it, and presents procedures, tips, tricks, and troubleshooting-related topics. The right image divides content into procedures and concepts with sub-book categories providing more specific information.

However, for more complex Help systems, consider shortening the distance your users need to go to reach procedure topics by putting them on the first level. You could link more conceptual information directly to the book icon followed by steps (see Figure 13, left) or you could include your conceptual information under a book icon you could call "Reference" (Figure 13, right).

Figure 13. Procedure-based Help model (Microsoft Internet Explorer, left); procedure-based table of contents prototypical model (right)

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