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Learning
to use new software
Learning
to use software that's new to you can be a pleasure or a pain;
it's up to you. In this report I will be putting forward techniques
that help me in flattening out the learning curve a little.
So
often software is promoted on the basis of its ease of use, but
this is relative. Sometimes a utility program designed to tackle
a specific need can work miracles at the click of a mouse button,
but this is never true of a program designed to use your creative
or selective powers. And this is what most programs are about.
Even utilities such as a firewall or anti-virus offer so many
possibilities in configuration as to tax the brain.
And as soon as you've got the program to your liking, a new version
appears. Isn't that so?
I've
had many programs on my computer now for years, but still haven't
used all their features. You only have to look around a bookshop
or library to see the number of guides to well-known programs.
And that's on top of the official guide. If they were easy to
use there'd be a lot of authors out of work and the computer bookshelves
would be empty.
If the version of a program that I have works OK for me I don't
upgrade without checking that the upgrade has new features that
I need. Many changes are simply cosmetic and made for sales purposes.
Exceptions are those programs that look after the security of
my computer; anti-virus, firewall, spyware zapper and email filters
because I feel that as hackers and scammers get smarter then so
must I.
I
confess that I'm a Windows user. Although Windows has many problems
and may not be the best platform it has given programmers a standard
interface that makes learning new Windows programs easier. For
example many of the menus are found in the standard position at
the top of the screen and when opened show standard options. There
are many other ways where a seasoned Windows user gets a flying
start for many programs running on Windows.
Over
the years I've developed strategies to help me cut through the
jungle of bits and pieces of information that makes up the help
files and guides to software programs and I list them in no particular
order below.
1)
Before downloading a new program read through the sales literature
to see what it can do. Here you will find all the uses for the
program plainly laid out for your inspection. If you know what
the program can do in detail you know what to look for in the
help files and in the program.
2) Read the help files. If they are small, read them through once
to get the general idea, but if the program is larger only read
enough to start the program running. Don't expect to proceed too
quickly, but experiment. Probably the result of some of your actions
may not make sense at first, but after a time you will begin to
feel familiarity with the program.
3) After gaining some idea of what the program will do, devise
a trial project.
4) Continue experimenting until you're reasonably familiar with
the program then start your first project. Without a doubt you'll
soon be struggling with one snag or another. This is the time
to study the program in more depth and sort out problems as they
arise. At the start, don't be afraid to abort your project and
start again. This is all part of the natural learning curve.
5) Don't try to use all the facilities of the program just because
they're there. Take a step at a time and only bother with those
you need at the moment. You may find that you only need a small
part of what the program is capable of. But when you've a few
minutes to spare, that's the time to investigate further. You
could find a few gems you never knew were there.
6) Most programs, in my opinion, offer too many different ways
to do the same job. I always sort out fonts, colors and layout
before starting a project; or usually use the defaults. This sort
of thing bulks out the help files but, once set, can be ignored.
I
have printed out help files of many of the programs I use and
put them into ring-binders. It can often be easier to look up
the printed word instead of opening the help files, particularly
if key passages are highlighted. The files can also be used away
from the computer when sitting in my favourite chair.
Ron
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