Danby Microwave Oven Owner's Manual
full document

The table of contents for the owner's manual is generally easy to read; there are few problems. One problem is that the chapter names for each chapter are not in close proximity to the subheadings for the given chapter; this makes it difficult for readers to associate chapter headings with their subheadings. Another problem is that the contents title appears in a box that is unnecessary and does not help the readability of the document. However, the dotted leaders connecting the chapter titles with the page numbers assist the reader in easily finding the page number for a given sub-section--use of the leaders is an effective way to create a distinct association between a heading and its corresponding page number.

The body text for the individual sections appears in a sans serif typeface as do the headings. However, the body text should be in a serif font because there are often long passages to read. The chapter name appears at the top of each page but not in the header. The heading is again in a box and is in all caps which makes the heading difficult to read. The chapter name appears in the footer so the heading at the top of the page is redundant and unnecessary. Finally, the section heading for each page appears in a bolded sans serif typeface, but, because of the competing chapter name at the top of the page, is not easily distinguishable as a section heading.

The 'Control Panel Buttons' section contains a diagram that is true to the actual control panel on the microwave. There is a short description of what each button does as well as a corresponding page number that outlines the function in more detail. The corresponding page number is also connected to the button name with a dotted leader that makes the corresponding information easy to find; this section is an example of where good design choices were made in the document.

The microwave manual also includes a quick reference guide. The purpose of a quick reference guide is to aid readers in finding frequently required information. However, the usefulness of this particular guide is hindered by the fact that it is hidden at the end of the manual before the French version begins. The quick guide should be included as a separate item on a thick, laminated, and therefore durable, piece of paper that readers could keep with their cook books to easily refer back to. One key positive feature of the quick reference guide is that the information is displayed in a table; information in the table is easy to locate, read and navigate.