Add field-specific contextual help (enhancement request)

LegacyUser

Bruce Compton said: My experience is that training videos and help files are not all that effective. Users do not want to wade through a file or video to get to the relevant topic. They do not want to read a novel. They want the Cliff Notes.

It is my belief that...
Brevity is the key! Anything beyond a few words is wasted;
If the user has to read a help file, there may be something wrong with the UI design.

What I propose is to (a) make each field name clickable, or (b) have a link (e.g. a graphical blue 'i') next to each field name. Clicking on/hovering over it it causes help to display that applies only to the field. The help would display a very brief instruction as to how and when to use a given field and might contain a link that takes the user to a document with an in-depth explanation.

LegacyUser

Tom Huber said: Given the complexity of this site, I fully support the idea of a context-related help system. I have to wonder, given the current state of the useless Help Center, why this has not been developed or placed high on a to-do projects for the site.

LegacyUser

Douglas R Buck said: Yes, contextual help is definitely needed. For example, when I log onto my account and click on "Overview," what displays is very different from what displays when I click on (?), Help Center, Family Tree, Family Tree Help, Overview. Please correlate better and please reduce the number of clicks to get to Overview Help.
Better yet, could I not just click on one of the choices listed at the top of most pages (Overview, Tree, Person, Recents, Find, Following, My Contributions), click on the (?) and get immediate help for that page instead of wading through the confusing Help Center maze?
OR, for example, when I am in the Tree page, click on the (?) and get immediate help for that page. OR, when I am in the Person page, click on the (?) and get immediate help for each item on that page, and so forth.
Thank you

LegacyUser

Tom Huber said: The Family History Guide (http://thefhguide.com/) is a FamilySearch approved training guide that is largely kept current with the changes that are made to the site. It is also provides sections on several other sites, as well as Ancestry.

Note: I am not associated in any manner with the owners or publishers of the guide.