- How To Write An Instructional Manual
- How To Write A User Manual In Word Document
- Instruction Manual
- User Manual Template
Editors Note: This User Guide Template is one in a series of templates to help readers plan and manage communications and content management activities, resources and deliverables. We welcome ideas and suggestions for other Techwhirl Templates Library materials. The User Guide (aka User Manual. Oct 25, 2016 With all available tools provided by Microsoft Word, you should find it easy to write your own User Guide. You can use this User Manual template for any types of products where mostly are electronic products that need it. User Manual/Guide Template (33.4 KiB, 949 hits).
User Manual Templates: Are you launching any new product? Are you looking for preparing User manual for that product? If yes, then consider downloading these well-prepared user manual templates. A user manual is a step by step guide or like a booklet of few pages which is launched with every new product or service to let people understand how this product or service works. Whenever a company launches any new product or service, then people have a lot of common queries or how to in mind. That is the reason companies prepare an user manual which guide the people about the product or service. Basically, the User manual is a small booklet or written guideline on few pages that explains how to handle or operate something using step by step guides and instructions available in the user manual.
Normally, user manuals are prepared by manufacturers for products or machines to make people understand how to operate, install, or handle that product effectively.
Free User Manual Templates
Here you will find different types of manual templates such as user manual templates, instruction manual templates, training manual templates, word manual templates, and HR manual templates. If you are looking for any of these manual templates then scroll down below and download your template. A “Download” button is available below each template image preview.
Instruction Manual Templates
Instruction manual basically provides instructions to the user about how to operate, how to handle, what to do, how to do etc. This type of information is included in the instruction manual to instruct people using any product, machine or software. Download technical instruction manual template in PDF format from below.
Training Manual Templates
Want to announce the policies and procedures pertaining to the operations? If yes, then download a training manual template sample from below in .zip format. This training manual template is available to download for users at free of cost.
Sample of User Manual Templates Example
A well-prepared template can make your work a lot easier, all you need to do is pick up a right template considering your work requirement in mind, download the template in .doc format, and then make changes in the template as per your work requirement. Isn’t that easy? Try this out and see how much ease it brings.
User Manual Template Word
Download a .doc template from below and then customize it as per your own requirement.
HR Manual Templates
Every office has HR manual which clearly indicates the clauses, protocols, codes to be followed by the employees or the entire team of the office. These manuals cover several topics like recruitment, employee benefits, employee termination, etc.
Source: (https://www.template.net/)
A user manual guide comes with every new product, a technical device, machine or software to make users understand what to do and what not to. Information about how to safely operate the device, or how to handle it effectively is provided in a user manual so that a user can use it safely without any problem. A user manual is also known as user guide, user instruction manual, and instruction manual etc. Apart from written manual guides, many companies prepare user manuals like a video as well. If you want to create a user manual for any product or machine then use these templates to ease your work to a certain extent.
We have gathered these user manual templates only for our users so that they will get a wide variety of user manual templates at one place only. If you like them or find them useful then please share with other people as well who might be in search of these templates. If you find any issue in downloading a template, then please let us know through the comment section. Subscribe to our blog by entering your Email address in the right sidebar. Keep visiting for more and more useful templates.
Think about the last time that you consulted a manual. Did you start at the beginning and read the whole manual? Probably not. You probably looked first at the index or the table of contents. Once you found the right page or topic, you probably scanned the page first to see if it contained the information you needed. This is how most people read manuals.
How To Write An Instructional Manual
No one wants to read your user manual. No one will read your user manual from front to back savoring every word and phrase. Technical documents are not novels. Readers want user manuals to answer their questions quickly so that they can get back to whatever they were doing.
A successful user manual provides users with quick answers to the questions that they might have about a particular product. Users searching for information don’t want to know about the latest and greatest features of a product. Users want to know how to complete tasks. Technical writing focuses on user tasks and the concepts that support the tasks.
Below are some practical tips on writing user manuals that will help you to write content that adapts to the needs of users.
Think like a user
When writing a manual, you need to put on a “user’s hat” and think like a user. You should have a good understanding of your users so you can understand the information they need to know, their background, and their knowledge of the product. Once you think like a user, you can write content that the users need to know.
If you have the opportunity, you will find it very useful to watch users actually using the product. When you watch users interacting with the product, you will get a better idea of what the users need to do, how they approach each task, and when they might use approaches to tasks that are unexpected.
Use active voice
Active voice emphasizes the user and is easier to read and understand. In most cases, especially in user manuals, you should use active voice. In active voice, the subject and verb in the sentence are clear. In passive voice, the subject is unknown and is acted upon by something that is not known or not stated. Passive voice uses verbs that include a form of “to be”.
Compare the two sentences below.
Passive voice: Supplies that will be needed to complete this project include a hammer, a screwdriver, and a rubber mallet.
Active voice: To complete this project, you will need a hammer, a screwdriver, and a rubber mallet.
The sentence that uses active voice makes it clear that the reader is the person who will complete the action. By using the active voice, you will make your writing more clear, concise, and direct.
Focus on the reader
User manuals should always focus on the reader. When writing information that involves the reader, such as instructions, use “you” and the active voice. Speaking directly to the reader will:
- Reinforce the message that the information is intended for the reader
- Pull readers into the document and make it relevant to them
- Help to avoid passive voice by focusing on the reader
Compare the two sentences below.
Lack of reader focus: There are three options for viewing content in the editor.
Reader focus: You can choose from one of three options for viewing content in the editor.
The sentence that uses “you” focuses on the reader and makes it clear that the reader is the person doing the action. You should aim to use “you” in your writing to make the content more relevant to the reader.
How To Write A User Manual In Word Document
Write clear instructions
The primary objective of user manuals is to help users complete tasks. Below are some guidelines to help you write clear and concise instructions.
- Use numbered lists for instructions unless the instruction includes a single step.
- Use parallel construction for each step. Usually, you should start each step with an imperative word, such as “Enter”, “Click”, “Select”, etc. When you start each step with an imperative word, you are providing the user with clear cues on the required action for each step.
- Avoid using a system response as a step. For example, don’t say, “The Info dialog window opens” as a step. You can incorporate system responses (when necessary) in the step that initiated the system response or you can mention the system response at the beginning of the following step, e.g. “In the Info dialog window, …”.
- Provide just enough information so that the user can complete a task or understand a concept. Omit any extraneous information that the user does not need to know. Concise content makes it easier to understand concepts and tasks.
Establish standards
When creating documentation, there will be areas where there may be more than one way to spell a word, refer to an object, caption graphics, punctuate sentences, lay out a page, and organize information. These are just a few of the decisions that writers must make when they create documents. By establishing standards, the writer’s job becomes much easier since most of those decisions will have been already made.
Instruction Manual
The Chicago Manual of Style and Microsoft Manual of Style are two popular style guides. If you use an established style guide, you may still need to establish some specific guidelines for your writing project. As you encounter any issues with styles, you can create your own additional style rules that address the specific needs of your project.
User Manual Template
If you would like to become a technical writer, you may want to consider registering for our Professional Technical Writing Course. It is an online course where you will learn how to write and revise instructions, technical reports, and software manuals (key technical writing documents).