Inside Macintosh: Apple Guide Complete / Part 2 - Building Guide Files

Chapter 6 - Testing Your Guide File

By now you have created your guide file, and you are ready to test it to see if it performs as you expect. You have designed the content of your guide file, described the design in Guide Script source files, and compiled these source files into a guide file. This chapter describes how you can test your guide file to make sure that it works as you expect.

The type of testing you should perform on your guide file includes:

• interface testing--checking that all topic areas appear in the access window, that the appropriate topics are associated with each topic area, that each topic brings up its associated sequence of panels, that the user can navigate from panel to panel in the order you intended, that buttons perform the expected action, and that panel content appears as you intended
• Look For testing--checking that user search phrases are correctly parsed and matched to the appropriate topics
• coachmark testing--verifying that coachmarks mark the item in the interface that you intended to coach
• context check testing--verifying that context checks perform as expected
• event function testing--verifying that actions that your guide file performs for the user work as expected
• user testing--observing users as they use your guide file

This chapter discusses each of these areas of testing. Note however, that it does not provide in-depth information on software testing methodology.

This chapter also includes information on how to use Guide Maker's Reports menu.

Once you test your guide file, if you find that it needs redesign, see the chapter "Designing Your Help Content." After testing your guide file, if you want to localize your guide file, see the chapter "Localizing Your Guide File."

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Chapter Contents

Testing Your Guide File's Interface

Obtaining Navigation Information

Getting Debugging Information

Testing Your Look For Content

Generating Reports

The Scopes and Keys Report

The Names to IDs Report

The Index Sort Strings Report

The Guide File Info Report

Verifying Coachmarks, Context Checks, and Event Functions

Testing Coachmarks

Testing Context Checks

Testing Event Functions

Planning for User Testing