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What is a ScreenBook® Tutorial? For one thing, it is a book, that is, a collection of pages. Screenbooks are numbered collections of web pages.

There is a navigation bar at the top of a screenbook page. Click on "next" above to go to the next page of this screenbook. Or, use the space bar and backspace keys to move from page to page.

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What about the "screen" in "Screenbook"? That refers to the fact that each page of a Screenbook can optionally have one full-screen image of a computer screen (a "screenshot"). This page has a sample screenshot.

  Click on the image for page view.

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So what good is a Screenbook?

For one thing, a Screenbook is the best format for learning how to use any computer program that has a graphical interface. Click the "next" icon for a demonstration.

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Here is a sample tutorial from a typical computer book:

How to Create a Macro in Microsoft Excel:

1. Open Excel.
2. Create a new Workbook.
3. From the Tools menu, choose Macro -> Record New Macro
4. Name the Macro "MyMacro".
5. Type "hello" in cell A1.
6. Click on cell A2.
7. Stop the Macro Recorder by clicking on Tools->Macro->Stop Recording.
8. The Macro "MyMacro" has now been recorded and can be run by clicking on Tools->Macro->Macros->Run.

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Next, let's look at the Screenbook version of the same tutorial.

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Open Microsoft Excel.

  Click on the image for page view.

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Open the File pulldown menu and select New.

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Click the "OK" button on the New dialog box.

  Click on the image for page view.

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From the Tools pulldown menu, select Macro->Record New Macro.

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Name the new macro "MyMacro".

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Click "OK" to close the New Macro dialog box.

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The Macro is now recording.

Enter "Hello" in cell A1.

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Select cell A2 (by clicking on it).

  Click on the image for page view.

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Now choose Tools->Macro->Stop Recording.

  Click on the image for page view.

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The list of Macros for this workbook can now be viewed by clicking on Tools->Macro->Macros.

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Clicking on Tools->Macro->Macros brings up the Macro dialog box. Clicking on Run in this box allows you to run the macro.

  Click on the image for page view.

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Which version did you find easier to follow, the traditional book version or the Screenbook version?

A well-designed Screenbook has advantages over even a video or multimedia presentation. Because a Screenbook shows a series of discrete steps, it can be printed. When reviewing the Screenbook tutorial, you can jump immediately to any step. In a video presentation, trying to recall a specific step can involve a lot of rewinding and forwarding.

Screenbooks have other advantages. They are standard HTML and PNG files (other versions can also be created, including PDF and RTF Screenbooks). So, they can be sent via email and FTP and posted to any website. Screenbooks also have built-in full text search.