Rant of the Day #1 - User Manuals

[Saracen999]

This might be a one-off, or I might really unload. Others are welcome to join in, of course, with their own rants.

RotD #1 is multi-language manuals.

Okay, I get that supporting multiple languages is both esential for many manufacturers, and a burden.

I also get that it's easier on them for manufacturers to include all documentation in all relevant languages and not have twenty or thirty different stock lines, so I get including all languages.

But, manufacturers, two things :-

1) When you're printing a diagram, often so small that users need a scanning electron microscope to read them damn thing, DO NOT put two dozen languages into a single 100-page book, when each language manual is only 6 to 8 pages long. They are a confusing, awkward to read nightmare.

I mean, a lot of people only RTFM if forced to, and this is one reason why.

Put multiple versions in if you need to. Then us users can keep the one, simple, short guide in our (or our preferred) language and recycle the rest.


2) When your online "download" section offers about 20 language versions of the guide, don't put loads of other languages into the English one, (that being the one I use, though other versions may do the same.


3) Yes, I know I said two things. So I thought of a third.

When your total 'explanation' is a series or semi-cryptic diagrams and a few words for each, do not use a load of languages on every flaming diagram. It makes them very hard to read.


Why the rant? Because this has been getting more and more common,. and I've battled through three different product types recently and it's tested my patience nearly to distraction.

Manufacturers - try getting a senior manager who knows nothing about a given product, or better yet, buy a few examples from other companies, and try to get to grips with the product from these horrible manuals. Then retrain your own documentaion designers with what works for customers as a priority, not what makes life easier for you.

Arghhhh.

Now, where did I put my shredder?

[kalniel]

IKEA have solved this problem by banning text from their manuals

[[GSV]Trig]

I would think in this day and age they'd just have a QR code on the box or device itself and that just pings you to a website where you can find the manual in your language..

[kompukare]

IKEA have solved this problem by banning text from their manuals

But speaking of Nordic textless manuals, which came first: Lego instructions or Ikea manuals?

[Ttaskmaster]

Coffee machine giving you trouble again, Holden?

[matts-uk]

You were trying to find useful information in a user manual?

There's your problem.

[ik9000]

Isn't it EU law that product manuals must ship in all member state languages? We might just see a shift to UK only manuals now we've left but I doubt it will be worth the cost of changing the systems now. More and more places are doing pdf downloads and nothing in the box for sustainable reasons (which kind of makes sense for some things, but is downright annoying for others - powertools for example). In that instance I agree with you that it seems pointless putting everything in the pdf, however if that's how the print one ships then it might not be worth their time changing it (as they see it at least). I have pdf software that will let me rip out all the useless pages (and make my own notes, highlighting etc) so I can live with it tbh.

[jimbouk]

I assumed it was just down to cost. Wasteful though it is if you can make and ship the same box anywhere in the world it's a lot simpler than having a different box per language (or combination of languages). Can you imagine the labour cost of having to unpack and repack boxes with different manuals because your product isn't selling as well in one market as expected? But yeah, generally they stay in the box if there box is being kept, or go on the recycling otherwise.

[Saracen999]

I would think in this day and age they'd just have a QR code on the box or device itself and that just pings you to a website where you can find the manual in your language..

Exactly what I did, and found some 20+ manuals.

Aha!

Found UK English. Great.

And it contains .... the PDF of the paper version, with a gazzilion language captions per diagram.

Hence the rant.

[ik9000]

Exactly what I did, and found some 20+ manuals.

Aha!

Found UK English. Great.

And it contains .... the PDF of the paper version, with a gazzilion language captions per diagram.

Hence the rant.

In the future someone will be using those manuals to translate the lost languages of the oil and steel ages from before the pre-climate catastrophe near-ELE. A modern rosetta stone if you will.

[kalniel]

In the future someone will be using those manuals to translate the lost languages of the oil and steel ages from before the pre-climate catastrophe near-ELE. A modern rosetta stone if you will.

I can imagine that.. with IKEA hieroglyphs still confusing people

[Saracen999]

I can imagine that.. with IKEA hieroglyphs still confusing people

I now have the mental image of a 47th Century Ancient Languages AI going "But .... but .... " and it's head exploding. Which is roughly the effect Ikea (and some user manuals) have on me.