Genii Weblog

Need help with Midas screenshots

Thu 28 Jul 2005, 08:28 AM



by Ben Langhinrichs
The screen shots I made for CoexEdit have been very popular (see CoexEdit screenshots), partly because they tell a story and partly because people like eye candy (see Ed Brill's comment on Hannover screenshots near the bottom of this post).  Now, I working with our other products, and creating screenshots for those as well.  The first is the Midas Rich Text LSX, since it is our most popular and long lived product.

My first thought was to have a [screenshot] + Midas = [screenshot] layout, like that below, with each screen shot clickable to get a larger version, but even two examples such as these two below lead to redundancy.  The reports example can lead from the view to several different possible reports, so should each one start with the same view screen shot and lead to the report? Should I skip the A + B = C approach and just show the different reports as screen shots?  

My second thought was that I could turn this into a story the way I did with CoexEdit, but I don't think Midas needs explaining in the same way CoexEdit does.  Should I skip the A + B = C approach and just show the end results?  

Finally, whichever way I do this, do you think I should include snippets of Midas code as screenshots or as a page of textual code?

Any ideas?  Any reaction?

Report It! sample db - Create nested tabbed tables







Report It! sample db - Create clickable summary reports





Copyright © 2005 Genii Software Ltd.

What has been said:


346.1. Alan Lepofsky (07/28/2005 06:31 AM)

I love the A+B= approach, well done! I'd say focus some on features that developers will use and some on things everyday users will use. For example, a while ago you and I talked about how hard it is to add a link of text with a URL hot spot (i.e. the steps here: Creating links to a web page) and how much easier it could be with Midas. You also answer a lot of ND6 forum questions with "Midas can do that", so take a look at what the most common "solutions" are that Midas provides and cover those. I'd assume sending HTML mail would be up there!


346.2. Richard Schwartz (07/29/2005 02:49 PM)

I lime the "+ Midas" approach, but better yet... make the "+ Midas" a hotspot or mouse rollover that shows the code!

-rich


346.3. R (07/30/2005 07:58 AM)

Opps :-) I _lime_ a gin and tonic on occasion. I _like_ the "+ Midas" approach.

-rich