Our user guide templates can be used to create user guides, user. Italicized text is also utilizes to refer readers to the linked section in the manual. We welcome ideas and suggestions for other techwhirl templates library materials. Over 80 techcomm experts reveal their favourite technical writing tools every technical writer knows it. Some indication of the kind of software youre writing would help. When you write a great help manual you do two things help customers find and use appropriate solutions easily and slash your business customer support costs significantly. No wonder, many of us make use of this software once we think of how to write an instruction manual. If you are writing short memos, reference guides, or release notes for developers and engineers, then ms word will do just fine, especially if its a 10 or 20 page document. Professional manual use this template to create a user s manual or employee handbook. The only office procedures manual template youll ever. Here are five different samples that can be put to use when you need to find the best sop template for your needs. Here we have a high quality user manual template for you that can help you a lot to prepare manuals for your customers.
Even more, customers will be glad to recommend your product, and leaders in your business niche will easily recommend your brand to other experts and their customers. A procedure manual offers you with an outline for a stepbystep process for executing an action. Where can i find a good template for a software application. User manual templates are ready to use documents that anyone can utilize to make user manuals for a particular product, device or software etc. So, if you are not familiar with the procedure manuals, then try our manuals. The first step in writing a good user manual is to get the actual writing process as far away from the engineers as possible. You can either use the starter user manual template out of the box as it is, or you can easily adapt it to match your corporate design. Summarize the main points of the booklet in the most succinct way. It really depends on your audience, purpose, and contentlength. Jun 04, 2007 many users never actually get as far as the user manual. For example, when you purchase a special software or computer application from a company, they may send you user guide in cd of the software or as soft file that you can open in your computer easily to get instructions about software installation and its legal uses.
X research source for instance, instead of using both onoff switch and power switch in your user manual, choose one or the other term and stick with it. It is therefore useful to have this kind of manual and to have a separate manual for training as well. According to patricia robb, author of laughing all the way to work. The summary outlines the uses of the systems hardware and software requirements, systems configuration, user access levels and systems behavior in case of any contingencies. Nov 22, 2019 the chicago manual of style and the microsoft manual of style might also be useful style guides when writing your user manual. Software, computers, games, and devices require user manuals, guides that explain how to use the product and how not to. Sometimes, a combination of formats is the best approach. You should include followup steps that would improve the ability of the users to reinforce what they have already learned. In order to get past this point the user manual must make a strong and positive first impression. This user guide template is one in a series of templates to help readers plan and manage communications and content management activities, resources and deliverables. When this happens, the user, the product and the writing team all suffer in some way. Process of writing training manual can be hard enough for you if are doing for first time but a professionally created training manual template will guide and assist you properly in this matter.
This writing style helps the user understand the application. It is often tossed aside as being either secondary, or just too difficult to deal with. Many users never actually get as far as the user manual. Software documentation can be structured in 1 of 2 formats, the reference manual and the user guide.
Heres everything you need to create an effective office procedures manual template. It doesnt simply mean writing technical content, as most people outside the niche assume. Include them with your products to help your customers learn more about them. Sep 30, 2019 software documentation can be structured in 1 of 2 formats, the reference manual and the user guide. This template contains a title page, page, table of contents, chapter pages, and an index. Include the link for defect or determine the defect number if test status is fail. Generally the technical documentation template was provided as a user guide or instruction manual. A reference manual format is devoted to explaining the individual features of a software application button, tab, field, and dialog box and how they work. This manual is a set of instructions that will guide a professional to complete a process or build an application.
User guide templates 5 x ms word our user guide templates can be used to create user guides, user manuals, getting started guides and other types of technical documents. These documents include memos, fliers, graphics, brochures, handbooks, web pages, instructions, specifications, catalogs and today the technical documentation is progressively being delivered online. What is the best software package to use for writing a. User manual template template for user manuals, user. There are different kinds of templates you can create. I would like to prepare a procedure manual using a template. Some useful tips in making a great training manual template comes next. This is why writing a great help manual is one of the.
Its a more specific term, which refers to the technical communication in fields like computer software and hardware, aeronautics, chemistry, robotics, engineering, and other technical fields in its simple explanation, it means conveying complex. A user manual is a formal writing piece with a specific structure, and should be written by someone who is intimately familiar with the product such as a technical writer or the product designer. Some templates are fairly simple while others are very detailed. A procedure manual template is available in formats like psd, pdf and ms word and that makes it easy for you to download and edit as per your requirements. You can save your time and energy with word training manual templates to write easily understandable training manuals for your employees or staff. Manuals are one of the most important documents in any kind of business. As a result, the guide may make assumptions about the readers skill level that are often incorrect. Benefits for the employees, for the employers and also for the clients. A user guide is an online or printed book that describes how to use a software application. Procedure manual template that is available on our website is suited to explain any kind of procedure. The software developer knows more than anybody what makes the software work, but that doesnt mean the developer should write the guide. Customize the template to suit your needs before using. Its a more specific term, which refers to the technical communication in fields like computer software and hardware, aeronautics, chemistry, robotics, engineering, and other technical fields.
But to make it simpler and easier, there are five most common tools or applications, that you can use to create a manual. If waiver use or copy permissions need to be obtained, describe the process. Lastly prepare the trainees to the next manual of the program, if any. User manual template template for user manuals, user guides. The starter user manual template is fully compatible with microsoft word, openoffice, and libreoffice. User guide and handbook are other names of the user manual and these can be prepared for all technical products that a use may not be able to handle without basic instructions.
Manual microsoft word templates are ready to use and print. The user guide aka user manual provides the information and instructions needed to set up and use a product. If your software, for example, is like microsoft word, then it would be easy to suggest a user guide template. For writers and teachers working solely from word, doctohelp is the perfect authoring and content management tool. You can reap a lot of benefits with a good manual containing wellresearched procedures. D to understand, software user manuals are sometimes written from the point of view of a developer rather than a user. To determine tests based on test types this field can. While this definition assumes computers, a user guide can provide operating instructions on practically anythinglawnmowers. A wellconstructed user guide provides information geared to the typical user of the product, and provides both procedures and a context for completing the procedures in concise and jargonfree language. Mar 07, 2019 user guide and handbook are other names of the user manual and these can be prepared for all technical products that a use may not be able to handle without basic instructions. Here you will find different types of manual templates such as user manual templates, instruction manual templates, training manual templates, word manual templates, and hr manual templates. Standard operating procedure sop templates for word. Click the office button in the upper left hand corner and select word options.
Optionally you can have the following fields depending on the project requirements. The first step in writing a good user manual is to get. This user guide template is designed to support either a workflowbased or functional approach to the tasks associated with the. Apr 07, 2015 11 user guide writing tips klariti templates. I would like to prepare a procedure manual using a. The benefit of learning this information is to create professional. Making a manual might seem to be a tedious and complicated process to some.
Correspondingly, people use mo word as a traditional tool for creating any texts and documents. Professional manual use this template to create a users manual or employee handbook. How to write a great help manual help authoring software. A survival blog for todays administrative assistant, you should arrange your duties in a logical format in a table of contents to map out how you. A user guide is a combination of many things presented in this online textbook. Where can i find a template for preparing a procedure manual i need to prepare it in the right format. Provide a list of the major sections of the users manual 1.
Manual writing software like madcap includes responsive design technology. User manual template this microsoft word general purpose manual template, have a wrap page, table of content, and entire documentation your organization. A user guide can be very brieffor example, only 10 or 20 pages or it can be a fulllength book of 200 pages or more. I have the same question 656 subscribe to rss feed. Writing test case in a standard format lessen the t. User guide templates i always think the earth is a spaceship that didnt come with an operating or a user manual or user guide, but readers on earth every eitem e stand for electronics and system comes with a written document which gives step by step guidance while using. Instructions illustrate organization how to modify each section to their particular requirement. As the name implies, user guides are written to help people understand an software application or it system. Microsoft office word is probably the most widely used word processor. Many transform existing microsoft word documents to an online elearning site, while others write from scratch in doctohelps content editor.
Before you start making a user manual template for your product, you need to know which one to use. Before writing a training manual, you should have completed some type of frontend analysis, including. Files in the microsoft word format should not be a problem for madcap. When writing a user guide, use simple language with short sentences. A sop template will help with all that needs to be done and will get that done quickly. User manual template and guide to create your own manual in. Apr 29, 2020 a good test case template maintains test artifact consistency for the test team and makes it easy for all stakeholders to understand the test cases. If you are looking for any of these manual templates then scroll down below and download your template.
Basically, the procedure of user guide creation looks like the following. Save the software manual template file in the appropriate directory for microsoft word to recognize it as an active template. Often filled with jargon, acronyms, and directions that require a ph. This is another way of saying that you can present your content on any platform.
Standard operating procedure template word, download. Sadly, not all writers make use of available software tools maybe there are just too many types of authoring tools to choose from, or often the learning curve can be quite challenging however, there are also people that use awesome. You can follow the question or vote as helpful, but you cannot reply to this thread. Software for writing user manuals and training guides.
670 1314 81 1039 952 1159 1448 1202 683 154 293 606 245 304 504 1503 1468 716 1053 401 393 384 1419 65 943 388 1316 385 916 743 820 887 729 965 784 467 898 370 421 936 27 1293 1296