Tech question? Here's a checklist of info you'll probably need.

Rico · April 23, 2006, 7:41pm

Courtesy of 633squadron:

I see an emerging standard for tech support questions posted to forums. This standard has been motivated by the explosive growth of open-source software, which is primarily supported by a community of developers:
[ul]
[li]Use a simple statement of the problem as your thread title: “Checkboxes don’t work right in Excel”[/li][li]State your platform[/li][li]State which version of the platform (Windows XP Service Pack 2)[/li][li]Give a complete statement of the problem: “When I create a checkbox in a worksheet and then try to click it, it opens it for editing instead of setting or clearing it”[/li][li]List the steps to reproduce the problem.[/li][li]List error messages in their entirety. Be ready to post/e-mail error logs.[/li][li]List any documentation you’ve read.[/li][li]List any steps you’ve tried to fix the problem.[/li][li]If you get a reply that works for you, post a response and tell everyone.[/li][li]If the advice you get doesn’t work, post a polite reply saying that it didn’t work, and be specific.[/li][/ul]

Some things not to do:
[ul]
[li]Don’t ask for a personal e-mail. Responders may not want to do that, and you’re shutting everyone else out of reading the solution.[/li][li]Even if it is urgent, don’t say you need the fix ASAP. You’ll get it when you get it.[/li][li]Don’t be rude or argumentative, even if you get flamed. Just walk away.[/li][/ul]

Some things to remember:
[ul]
[li]Respondents are using their own time to learn about the product and help you as well. Be considerate.[/li][li]Very few programs are intuitive or easy to use. You have to do some reading and learning to get all the ins and outs. If a respondent tells you to read something, read it. They’re not blowing you off; they’re trying to be efficient with their time and with yours.[/li][li]Try the help first, and also try reading online. Microsoft software is not always easy to use, but their help is darn good and their website is first-class (IMHO). Particularly with error messages, do a search on the program’s web site. This goes double for error numbers.[/li][li]If something doesn’t work the way you think it should, first read the online help or documentation to see how it’s supposed to work.[/li][/ul]

Thanks, 633squadron! Nice concise instructions!