nPlace cross-references at the end of a topic under the subheading “See Also.” This subheading replaces “Related Topics.” It may be either plain text or bold.Cross-references are jumps within Help, references to print-based documentation, or references to the online tutorial.
nPlace cross-references at the end of a topic under the subheading “See Also.” This subheading replaces “Related Topics.” It may be either plain text or bold.
When you make your decision about whether or not the See Also subheadings are bold in your Help file, consider whether the See Also information should be on the same level as other subheadings in the topic, or whether it is subordinate information. (One exception to placing cross-references at the end of a topic is making them accessible from the nonscrolling region if the cross-references are used for more of a navigational tool than for related information.)
Cross-references are placed at the end of a topic so that the user can finish reading the topic before deciding which information to consider next. Avoid confusion by using the same wording for jump hot spots as the topics they refer to.
nIt is not necessary to indent cross-reference lists without subheadings since they are introduced by “See Also.”
nDo not use a colon after the “See Also” subheading if it is bold.
nAlign the “See Also” subheading, subsequent cross-reference subheadings (for example, “Tutorial” or “User’s Guide”), and text flush left. Capitalize initial letters.
nIf the cross-reference subheading and cross-references that appear below it are the same font, the latter may be indented to help differentiate it from the subheading.
Some topics contain information that is relevant to several pieces of documentation. In these situations, use subheadings to group the different cross-references, preceding them with the standard “See Also” subheading. Align the cross-reference subheadings with the “See Also” subheading. To help differentiate the cross-reference text from the subheadings, indent the text, as in Figure 4.3.
nIf you display cross-references in pop-up windows, either format the “See Also” subheading as a normal jump (green, underlined, with no bold) or place a hot bitmap to the left of the subheading.
There are two ways to indicate that cross-references are contained in a pop-up window. You can format the words “See Also” as a normal jump hot spot, without bold formatting, or you can create a “cross-reference” bitmap and place it next to the “See Also” subheading, as in Figure 4.x.
The user clicks the bitmap to see the cross-references (Figure 4.x).
nPage numbers in cross-references can be difficult to track and update. Unless you have a system for tracking and updating page numbers, avoid putting them in cross-references.
nBy adding cross-references in pop-up windows instead of the main topic, you further subordinate the cross-reference information and set it apart. The advantage is that you can create links to a topic without overburdening the visual presentation of the main topic. The disadvantage is that the user has to display the pop-up window to see the available cross-references.