Quickstart guide: Difference between revisions

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{{Short description|Guide to familiarise user as soon as possible}}

A '''quick start guide''' or '''quickstart guide''' ('''QSG''') is in essence a shortened version of a [[User guide|manual]], meant to make a buyer familiar with his or her [[Product (business)|product]] as soon as possible. This implies the use of a concise step-based approach that allows the buyer to use a product without any delay, if necessary including the relevant steps needed for installation. A quick start guide, or QSG for short, focuses on the most common instructions, often accompanying such instructions with easy-to-understand [[illustration]]s.<ref name="Tips">[http://www.idratherbewriting.com/2008/12/31/quick-reference-guide-formats-tips-for-finding-attractive-layouts/ "Quick Reference Guide Formats: Tips for Finding Attractive Layouts." Dec 31, 2008.]</ref><ref name="Sweet">[http://www.idratherbewriting.com/2009/04/10/quick-reference-guides-short-and-sweet-documentation/ "Quick Reference Guides: Short and Sweet Documentation." April 10, 2009.]</ref> The appearance of a QSG can vary significantly from product to product and from manufacturer to manufacturer. For example, it could be a single A4 sheet, a folded card or a booklet consisting of only a few pages.<ref name="Tips" /><ref name="Sweet" />

{{Cleanup rewrite|date=May 2022}}

A '''quick -start guide''' or '''quickstart guide''' ('''QSG'''), also known as a '''quick reference guide''' ('''QRG'''), is in essence a shortened version of a [[User guide|manual]], meant to make a buyer familiar with his or hertheir [[Product (business)|product]] as soon as possible. This implies the use of a concise step-based approach that allows the buyer to use a product without any delay, if necessary including the relevant steps needed for installation. A quick start guide, or QSG for short, focuses on the most common instructions, often accompanying such instructions with easy-to-understand [[illustration]]s.<ref name="Tips">[http://www.idratherbewriting.com/2008/12/31/quick-reference-guide-formats-tips-for-finding-attractive-layouts/ "Quick Reference Guide Formats: Tips for Finding Attractive Layouts." Dec 31, 2008.]</ref><ref name="Sweet">[http://www.idratherbewriting.com/2009/04/10/quick-reference-guides-short-and-sweet-documentation/ "Quick Reference Guides: Short and Sweet Documentation." April 10, 2009.]</ref> The appearance of a QSG can vary significantly from product to product and from manufacturer to manufacturer. For example, it could be a single A4 sheet, a folded card or a booklet consisting of only a few pages.<ref name="Tips" /><ref name="Sweet" />

[[Image:Sample quick start guide (radio).jpg|thumb|250px|A sample quick start guide for a radio]]

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==Requirements==

The requirements for setting up a quick start guide are not set in stone. It is up to the technical writer to become familiar with the mindset of the user, as well as with the character of the product. This being said, there is indeed a legal obligation, namely to refer to the complete manual (see the international IEC-82079 standard). Also, it is imperative to include [[Safety|instructions for safe use]] of the product in any QSG.

== Origins ==

In 1985 the [[Inmac]] corporation published the first Quick-Start guide with one of their 1200-baud modems, allowing the modem to be set-up and configured using the most common or default settings.  The request for that type of easy set-up instructions came from a [[Fortune Systems]] Fortune 32:16 computer [[Value-added reseller]] who asked that he didn’t have to read a 100-page manual just to be able to connect a dial-up modem for his clients.

==See also==