TrueCrypt Graphics and Thumbnails

Zephyrus's picture
Submitted by Zephyrus on Fri, 03/06/2009 - 18:00

Since I have elected to use html/webpage format for my instruction set, instead of using word or another graphic/layout editor, I've created the actual XHTML/CSS instruction template. Since this is a very time consuming process, I've included both elements of the novice and expert instruction set in one pdf with explanation here:

The list format displayed (1, a, i) will be used in the novice instruction set along with screenshots to guide the user through the basic steps of creating the encrypted drive.

The paragraph and subheading format displayed in the pdf will be used as a reference guide in the expert instruction set to guide already knowledgable users to important advanced topics such as keyfiles and their detailed use.

The screenshots provided are all the same width and height, and I will try to keep that the standard throughout the document. If this rule must be broken, I plan on only changing the height of the images and not the width to keep the document consistent.

Hope this is what you are looking for!

E-Instructions

jstn's picture
Submitted by jstn on Sat, 03/07/2009 - 21:09.


Jack,
As the instructors have already mentioned, the approach that you’ve taken on this project has worked well. In this milestone, you thoroughly explained the layout and design aspects of your instructions as well as how they are to be interpreted. Overall, I feel your template is concise, yet thorough, and will keep the reader's attention while promoting quick reference. I, too, have elected to present my instructions via a website and, although it is difficult to tell from converting to PDFs, I anticipate your design will prove to be very effective. That being said, although you covered how you plan to handle each section in your blog post, I had a little difficulty separating the novice user design from the experienced user design in the attached PDF.

Graphics and Thumbnails instructor feedback: Zephyrus

Nathaniel's picture
Submitted by Nathaniel on Sun, 03/08/2009 - 16:56.

I have a few comments and suggestions:

  • Your graphics seem to be well selected. They are, however, a little grainy (you might play with the resolution here). I also like your plan for keeping the images consistent!
  • Do you plan on supplementing your graphics with elements that will focus the user's attention (circles, arrows, highlights, etc.)?
  • I appreciate how the design of your instruction sets will reflect the different audiences. At this point, however, I do worry a little about how text-heavy both sets look This may change as you begin to flesh-out these thumbnails in the actual instruction sets.
  • Remember to continue to focus (as you already are) on creating sets that differ in kind rather than degree.

thumbnail feedback

Submitted by grfnpt on Sun, 03/08/2009 - 21:32.

First off I liked your screenshots and how you got just the part of the screen that you are going to need to show the user what to do and didn't include anything extra that might confuse them. Most of these images also seem pretty straight forward so I dont know if you were going to include arrows or circles or something to draw a users attention to certain aspects of the graphics, but they are probably not necessary for these images.

Finally, I liked the outline format you have for the novice instruction set with the (1, a, i). However in your pdf it was a little difficult to tell where the novice ended and the expert one started.

Patrick Griffin
pgriffin@purdue.edu