Editing User guide (section)

==Computer software manuals and guides==

Before [[Unix]], for example, [[General Comprehensive Operating System|GCOS]], mainframe documentation were printed pages, available [[on-premise]] to users (staff, students...), organized into steel binders, locked together in one monolithic steel reading rack, bolted to a table or counter, with pages organized for modular information updates, replacement, errata, and addenda. {{cn|date=January 2024}}

User manuals and user guides for most non-trivial PC and browser [[software application]]s are book-like documents with contents similar to the above list. They may be distributed either in print or electronically. Some documents have a more fluid structure with many internal links. The ''[[Google Earth]] User Guide''<ref>{{cite web |title=Google Earth User Guide |url=http://earth.google.com/userguide/v4/ |date=4 June 2009 |access-date=13 August 2009}}</ref> is an example of this format. The term ''guide'' is often applied to a document that addresses a specific aspect of a software product. Some usages are ''[[Installation (computer programs)|Installation]] Guide'', ''Getting Started Guide'', and various ''How to'' guides. An example is the ''[[Picasa]] Getting Started Guide''.<ref>{{cite web |title=Getting Started with Picasa: Getting Started Guide |url=http://picasa.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=93183 |date=15 June 2009 |access-date=13 August 2009}}</ref>

In some [[business software]] applications, where groups of users have access to only a sub-set of the application's full functionality, a user guide may be prepared for each group. An example of this approach is the ''[[Autodesk]] Topobase 2010 [[Online help|Help]]''<ref>{{cite web |title=Autodesk Topobase 2010 Help |url=http://docs.autodesk.com/TOPOBSCLNT/2010/ENU/Autodesk%20Topobase%202010%20User%20Documentation/index.html?url=WSfacf1429558a55de9af080101d7e8b304-7c61.htm,topicNumber=d0e342 |publisher=Autodesk|access-date=13 August 2009}}</ref> document, which contains separate ''[[System administrator|Administrator]] Guides'', ''[[User (computing)|User]] Guides'', and a ''[[Software developer|Developer's]] Guide''.