Two column manuals

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Two column manuals - 8/28/2005 7:57:03 AM

Pippin

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I am curious why so many manuals are written up in two columns? This seems to cause a lot of page re-scrolling, as well as trying to read very small print. There must be more advantages to this than a full page layout. Curious as to what gives.

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RE: Two column manuals - 8/29/2005 4:38:24 AM

Rooster

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Maybe it's a hold over from the days when manuals were printed and you had to squeeze as much ink as possible onto the page?

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RE: Two column manuals - 8/29/2005 4:57:33 AM

rhondabrwn

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Narrow columns are easier to read (and less fatiguing on the eyes) than very broad full page width articles. That is why newspapers are printed in narrow columns.

I know it doesn't always transfer well to a computer screen though so it might be nice to have an "onscreen read only" version included as well as a print version in the traditional two column mode.

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RE: Two column manuals - 9/28/2005 5:42:28 AM

Rooster

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I remember my tech pub writer friends telling me something about "optimal line length" in publishing.

Lines too long leave you scrambling to find the next sentance on the left side of the page because your eyes have to travel so far and they get sort of lost on the way. Lines too short lead to fatigue because you are constantly going left right left right left right as you read a slingle paragraph. Ideal length is sometimes considered to be about 11 cm across.

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