3 ms·

Using File -> Save As -> PDF requires several skills Window management in Windows GUI: 1. Usage of File Menu and/or Ribbon Menu 2. Knowledge of Word's PDF in

Using File -> Save As -> PDF requires several skills Window management in Windows GUI: 1. Usage of File Menu and/or Ribbon Menu 2. Knowledge of Word's PDF integration File System knowledge: 1. What a "file" is 2. What "file formats" are 3. What a PDF is 4. That a word document can be saved or printed as a PDF Etc etc etc I work with non-technical folks all the time and printing/saving as PDF comes up often. Usually in most cases I can install a PDF printer and let them "print to PDF" and they can understand it, but before they know the process, they look at me like I'm speaking Latin when I try to describe what files are, what PDFs are, what conversion is, what the file menu is used for, etc.

fencepost 9y ago
You beat me to it. HN readers who don't work with non-technical users may not realize just how lost and unable to explore many people are, particularly when they didn't grow up with computers. There's also a huge problem with "dialog blindness." If you have an understanding of how "computers" (hardware, OS, apps, websites, doesn't matter it's all the same mystery box) work then you can explore with less fear. I deal with people in their 20s and 30s who don't grasp that a "scanner XYZ not found" error may mean that they should look for a way to select a scanner. Many of my older end users are clearly using a lot of software entirely by rote, though it's definitely not limited to them.
- pbhjpbhj 9y ago
  "Didn't grow up with computers" (have contact with computers during compulsory education) in the West is likely people over 50. Can probably go to 55-58 for people who have degrees; ie people who used computers during Uni education. If you're older you've probably had 20 years with computers in the workplace save for some niches, seems long enough to learn to use a simple point-click menu.
  - talmand 9y ago
    There's a great deal of assumptions in that comment.
  - fencepost 9y ago
    You're underestimating how much things have changed in the last 30-50 years. Manafort knows how to use common Office programs like Microsoft Word and Excel. There's a pretty good chance that he's even somewhat skilled (by his standards) with Excel or at least that he's experienced. He may have understood from reading about it in the past that document files can save a history of changes, and he knew to some extent the difference between a document and a PDF. None of that means that he actually understands what is happening behind the scenes. Odds are good that his college exposure to computers was limited to Hollerith cards used for registration. Put differently, Manafort is from the generation that indents in word processors by hitting space 4-5 times.
mbell 9y ago
How much of that is applicable in this case? He knew enough to attach the file to an e-mail and send it to someone else asking for a PDF version. So the only piece of missing knowledge here appears to be finding the option in word's menus.

fencepost 9y ago

You beat me to it. HN readers who don't work with non-technical users may not realize just how lost and unable to explore many people are, particularly when they didn't grow up with computers. There's also a huge problem with "dialog blindness." If you have an understanding of how "computers" (hardware, OS, apps, websites, doesn't matter it's all the same mystery box) work then you can explore with less fear. I deal with people in their 20s and 30s who don't grasp that a "scanner XYZ not found" error may mean that they should look for a way to select a scanner. Many of my older end users are clearly using a lot of software entirely by rote, though it's definitely not limited to them.

pbhjpbhj 9y ago
"Didn't grow up with computers" (have contact with computers during compulsory education) in the West is likely people over 50. Can probably go to 55-58 for people who have degrees; ie people who used computers during Uni education. If you're older you've probably had 20 years with computers in the workplace save for some niches, seems long enough to learn to use a simple point-click menu.
- talmand 9y ago
  There's a great deal of assumptions in that comment.
- fencepost 9y ago
  You're underestimating how much things have changed in the last 30-50 years. Manafort knows how to use common Office programs like Microsoft Word and Excel. There's a pretty good chance that he's even somewhat skilled (by his standards) with Excel or at least that he's experienced. He may have understood from reading about it in the past that document files can save a history of changes, and he knew to some extent the difference between a document and a PDF. None of that means that he actually understands what is happening behind the scenes. Odds are good that his college exposure to computers was limited to Hollerith cards used for registration. Put differently, Manafort is from the generation that indents in word processors by hitting space 4-5 times.

mbell 9y ago

How much of that is applicable in this case? He knew enough to attach the file to an e-mail and send it to someone else asking for a PDF version. So the only piece of missing knowledge here appears to be finding the option in word's menus.