4 Standard Contents

As well as the informational content, manuals usually have the standard sections and features listed in the table below. Book publishers often refer to these sections as the front and back matter. They serve a number of purposes, including the following:

identifying the manual
assisting librarians in cataloguing the publication
helping readers locate information
introducing the contents
defining technical terms used
providing supplementary information
providing feedback to the authors

Table 4-1 lists and compares the standard features of print and online manuals.

Table 4-1: Standard features of print and online manuals

Print	Online
title page	manual home page
Cataloguing in Publication ( cip) information	(not required since online manuals are not catalogued)
table of contents	table of contents (often on the manual home page)
list of figures (optional)	list of figures (optional)
index	index
introduction	introduction
glossary	glossary
appendixes (optional)	appendixes (optional)
reader feedback form (optional)	electronic form or email button
	search function
	browse function

For print manuals with chapter modules, simply number the pages consecutively from the title page to the beginning of the first chapter. Do the same for the sections in the back. For manuals with 2-level or 3-level modules, treat each of these sections as separate modules, except for the title page, CIP page, and reader feedback form. Give each section an issue date and number the pages sequentially within the section only. Instead of a module number, use “Introduction” or “Glossary.” This will allow you to revise these sections as easily as other sections of the text.