> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://alanandrew.gitbook.io/afourdocs/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://alanandrew.gitbook.io/afourdocs/document-structure/document-types.md).

# Document types

### **A User Guide**

A user guide is essentially a book-length document containing instructions on installing, using or troubleshooting a hardware or software product.

### **A How-to Guide**

This feature tells users how to solve a real-world problem with step-by-step instructions. The target audience is slightly more experienced than the tutorial users.

### **A Tutorial**

A tutorial is an instructional video and article created as a learning tool. Tutorials help people learn new skills by using a step-by-step process that ensures the user is following along and comprehending the material.\
Put yourself in the shoes of an absolute beginner to your app. They are learning-oriented, with the specific mindset of instructing a newcomer exactly what to do next. You are teaching them how to do a certain task through a series of steps.

| Step       | Step Actions                                                                                                                                                                                                 |
| ---------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| **First**  | Here you explain how to do step one. The point is to get your customer started on their journey, not to get them to a final destination. Using images can help them understand otherwise complicated things. |
| **Second** | How to do step two. If your customer has to do complicated things for two pages, that’s much too long.                                                                                                       |
| **Third**  | Step three. Focus on concrete steps, not abstract concepts. Only include steps a user needs to take.                                                                                                         |

### **A Reference Article or Guide**

Written to obtain a quick win.

A reference guide needs a style to show commands and parameters with options to display code or settings in a special way, whereas a user guide does not.

### **A Video Tutorial**

Put yourself in the shoes of an absolute beginner to your app. They are learning-oriented, with the specific mindset of instructing a newcomer exactly what to do next. You are teaching them how to do a certain task through a series of steps.

Tutorial or Microlearning videos are brief and targeted learning assets that can deliver a visual learning task in about 1 to 2 minutes. They show the user a linear demonstration of the functional operation of a specific sub-task in the software application. Many micro-learning sub-task assets can be created to form the training in bite-sized chunks for a full complex task.

Microlearning is focused on specific learning outcomes and can be used as a part of formal training when quick references are appreciated by trainees.

{% embed url="<https://www.youtube.com/embed/lUA22ljpMI4?showinfo=0>" %}

Three how-to video examples you can learn from:

1. **Explainer video**\
   A great explainer video focuses on the “why” question as well as the “how.”
2. **Software demo video**\
   A software demo (or product demo) shows off the features of your company’s product.
3. **Instructional video**\
   At their core, these videos help answer questions and instruct people how to do something they didn’t know.

### Notices

These can cover several types such as Tips, Info Notes, Warnings, and Caution Alerts. These notices are often scattered around in tutorials and other features.