Looking for Tutorial Input for Books
In putting the Parts and Assemblies books back together into a single volume, I’ve come across a problem: I’ve got too much stuff for one book. I’m sure this is why I tried to separate the books to begin with. According to the publisher, they can only physically bind together 1176 pages into a single book. And wouldn’t you know it, I’ve got a grand total of 1377 pages. I know a couple of you have commented on the tutorials already. Would it be ok if the step-by-step instructions covered a generic case (general workflow description), and the detailed step-by-step for a specific part/situation were given in a video?
This might go something like this:
Description:
The Fillet feature is intended to create a fillet/round on an edge or between faces, and can use a selection of edges, faces, loops, or features. You can fillet solid or surface bodies, but you cannot fillet multiple bodies in a single feature. You can make a single fillet between two surface bodies if the fillet is large enough to connect them and you use the Face fillet option.
Where to find it:
You can find the Fillet command on the Insert menu, Feature toolbar, on the RMB menu, or on context bars. You can also use gestures, S menu, or shortcuts to invoke the command.
Workflow:
The workflow for using a fillet can make use of pre-select or post-select, although post-select gives you more control. Post-select workflow:
- invoke fillet command
- select type of fillet (face, constant radius, variable radius, etc.)
- make selections of faces, edges, features, loops, etc.
- set options such as constant width, curvature continuous, setback, etc.
Example:
See video tutorials 5-14 through 5-20 in the downloaded materials for detailed demonstrations of fillet capabilities.
So I guess what I’m asking is if you think it is ok to replace a “do this, do that” kind of list with a video where you are essentially looking over my shoulder as I describe how to do something? I really dislike the “do this, do that” stuff. In addition to being really difficult to write and get all the steps correct and take into account all the possible things users might do wrong, that approach only teaches you how to do a specific set of tasks. The SolidWorks training manuals use this method, with good success for the most part, and I don’t really need to duplicate that.
When I typically post to user-boards I shorthand it to be concise:
Select Sketch>Insert>Boss/Base>Extrude>Up to Surface>Select Surface 1>OK
Then back it up with a video. I would not want to plow through a pile of videos if is straightforward to me. But when you get stuck you need the extra help.
I prefer to learn via video tutorials. I tend to fall asleep reading long written tutorials. (wasn’t that your question nobody answered until now?)
@matt
People, who is 100% sure that they will buy you book could pay now, and when your book will be ready, they recive it through the download (via digital version) or by a shipping/transportation with your exclusive pre-oder feature, for example, your wishes written on the first page (or a T-shirt with your smiling face). Thats the practice that is used to stimulate you creativity and working process ($) =), although thats how big companies like EA games or even Valve (via STEAM) do, and that is a true good idea. The only thing is- that you need to pay some time to make that Credit card online transactions work correctly.
Huh, according to this example I really think you are going too much into details. Users and buyers of the BIBLE are rarely total beginners to explain them where and why radius is used and where is the icon!? Publishers are totaly right to limit the pages, who really needs 1200 pages of whatever tutorials I ask you? Yo2u get lost after some 200 or 300 pages and there is majority left to be read,..mygod,… I d prefer compact and smaller book, like someone says before. Maybe 2 volumes would come more handy, BIBLE #1 for beginners and BIBLE #2 for experts. Just a suggestion,…
@Frederic Martin
I agree with Frederic, videos are more useful for new users who need step by step tutorials, Easier to follow for non-English speakers as well.
I prefer to learn via video tutorials. I tend to fall asleep reading long written tutorials. (wasn’t that your question nobody answered until now?)
Frederic, solidworm,
Yeah, that was part of what I was asking that no one else seemed to pick up on. Maybe I’m just looking for a justification to get out of writing out steps. I hope my voice is easy enough to understand, but you could probably get the idea just from seeing the picks with the cursor.
Matt,
I really like the format of your surfacing book. I prefer two or three thinner books over one monster tome. If Solidworks would hire you to do their help system you would put yourself out of business. I suspect that your personal integrity might not fit in with their corporate structure.
Rick,
Thanks. Yeah, I’m looking to refine the format idea started in the surfacing book.
Matt, I did not say anything about using the Help file. The Command Search is not Help but a very powerful tool for accesing or finding commands and also for customizing toolbars.
If you need a short demo on how to use all the functionality of Command Search let me know.
My point is that wasting valuable space with telling people where to find stuff can be replaced with simply showing them how to find it.
Yeah, Alin, I know what the Search is. Still, it’s part of the provided documentation. If it were adequate, I’d be doing something else.
Video should defenitely be there. Also think about the Pre-order feature, i think i would be nice.
Pre-order? Maybe you could explain that one?
Matt, I looked at the entire post and saw what you meant. The video idea may be the way to go, but I guess my question is are these files downloadable to make a DVD of them and how will this affect the cost of the final product. Will it be more or less?
How about thowing out a sample of what you are looking to do or a camparison so we can look at it and vote on the one we maybe more open to? I’d hate to make a purchase on a book knowing now that something that may have been useful to me has been omitted. It’s not like I’m at a book store where I could page through it and say”yeah, this is the one I want”. Thanks Matt.
I think much space can be won by using less wordy sentences instead of
The Fillet feature is intended…
You can find the fillet…
The workflow for using a fillet …
Also agree with Alin that new commands can be searched and if needed toolbars and menus customized.
Mighty,
I don’t know how many times I’ve looked up a feature in software I didn’t know, and the Help tells you everything about it except where to find it. Not everything is as simple as a fillet. There are a lot of things that are only on RMB menus in specific situations. In a case like that, where do you find it? I can’t typically write a book based on a customized interface. I have to assume a stock, out-of-the-box interface.
Tell me, using search or whatever means you have, where to access the “Delete Feature or Delete Hole” dialog box?
Part of the issue here is also that I’m not writing an informal description of stuff for a website. I’m writing technical stuff that a bunch of English majors are going to scrub through. I have to write in a certain style to please the publisher’s editors. There is some value in using complete sentences, and being specific about what you are talking about.
But I do agree about wordiness in general. I do tend to get too wordy, and editing out junk is something that doesn’t really come naturally to me.
Same here. Usually I use Command Search only once, in order to drag and drop the icon on a toolbar. I built a few toolbars that way from scratch, starting from empty toolbars. Also is a good guide tool, even if you are only interested in just finding in what menu or toolbar is a given command residing.
Alin, that’s pretty optimistic. The reason my books sell is because the official documentation is in complete. Suggesting people should just rely on Help misses the point.
Also, I’m not trying to democratize the writing, I’m trying to come up with a cohesive vision that makes sense. One thing I’ve learned is that there will always be critics. My job is to recognize what criticism to take to heart and what to set aside.
Where to find a feature is getting more important as many features and functions are no longer in pull down menus. I think that all functions should be accessible from the pull down menus. They stay out of the way unless needed. The function may be lurking on a palette that is not displayed.
I prefer to use organized tools rather than search for it everytime tools. I am one of the few users who still likes to arrange documents graphically in folders. It must be old style as Mac Lion and Win 7 do not support it.
Alin, Good Idea, use search once and then put the command in a sensible tool bar. Sometimes the icons / pictograms are a bit obtuse.
Matt, I believe you can cut a lot by eliminating the “where to find it” section for each command.
As you know, starting with 2012 one can use the Command Search to:
– execute a command
– customize the toolbars (drag and drop the icon to the toolbar of choice)
– find one of the places where that command is already located (menus or toolbars).
You might want to dedicate a larger space to explaining how to use this tool in the beginning of the book, instead of spending space discussing about all possible default places where all commands can reside.
I think pages and pages of this formatted description would become pretty boring/stale/bland for both the writer and the reader even though it is technically complete and has useful info. Will it have any illustrations or colour or just the words? That would make it quite a lot worse to behold IMO. Sort of like sitting down to read a dictionary…
I would cull the where to find it unless it is hidden/obscure and just show a largish icon at the beginning of the discussion, and only comment about the workflow where there is something not too obvious that users would benefit from knowing. SW itself is pretty intuitive, so I would concentrate on conveying what isn’t communicated already, which is often quite a lot. Those two measures would probably cut the text down by a quarter or a third and make it more interesting. Coupled with some small basic illustration I think even if covering all the tools was somewhat repetitive/daunting it would be more of a familiar layout to the readers eye than something that makes your eyes glaze over after 20 mins. Hope that helps 😉 although my views are frequently minority ones.
I like that kind of description for Solidworks features. Step by step is only needed for beginners, and then only for the first few models. Perhaps a starting out with Solidworks book is needed. It might even use the tutorial parts.
The spicy stuff will be what to do when this feature fails. What kind of geometry is troublesome? Sometimes a variable radius fillet will succeed when constant radius fails. When do full round fillets fail? Of course 2013 will not need this kind of information.
Did you ever think of putting examples into a workbook/example book that changes with each release and putting the stuff that doesn’t change into the book itself. Then you could sell a workbook with each new release just like SW does. (Now ducking)
TOP,
That’s interesting. It might be more efficient to do it that way. Never thought of it before.