How-to#

Guidelines#

How-to guides take the reader through the steps required to solve a real-world problem.

They are recipes, directions to achieve a specific end - for example: how to create a web form; how to plot a three-dimensional data-set; how to enable LDAP authentication.

They are wholly goal-oriented.

How-to guides are wholly distinct from tutorials and must not be confused with them:

  • A tutorial is what you decide a beginner needs to know.

  • A how-to guide is an answer to a question that only a user with some experience could even formulate.

In a how-to guide, you can assume some knowledge and understanding. You can assume that the user already knows how to do basic things and use basic tools.

Unlike tutorials, how-to guides in software documentation tend to be done fairly well. They’re also fun and easy to write.