d. Computerbased Graphics Presentations. With the increased use
of computers, you could be tasked to produce a computergenerated
graphics presentation. This type of presentation is where the computer
presents all the information on the monitor in one or a series of
graphics. In addition to normal requirements for a graphic, there are
simple requirements that you must consider and apply when preparing a
computerbased graphics presentation.
(1) Use the appropriate display rate when the graphic consists of
more than one screen. Because individuals reread or skim previously
read material to review it, you should display whole paragraphs or large
blocks of text at the same time instead of one sentence or line. Once
you have developed the display rate, keep it regular and predictable.
(2) Place the primary information at the upperleft hand corner of
the screen as that is where the eye goes first.
(3) Limit the line length to 60 characters. Readers find text
lines at an excess of 60 characters hard to read without losing their
place.
(4) Leftjustify text but do not rightjustify it. When you
rightjustify text, the spaces interrupt eye movement and slows down the
reading speed.
(5) Use different fonts to differentiate screencomponents. Use
bolder letters to designate higherlevel priorities such as titles and
headings.
(6) Emphasize important data with text attributes. You can use
text attributes to add emphasis and aid comprehension, but use them with
restraint. Use only two attributes on any screen to avoid a cluttered,
busy look.
A specific example of a computerbased graphics presentation is the
slide show capabilities found in the Harvard Graphics software. A slide
show is a collection of either single or multiple charts, other slide
show files, or bitmapped files created in paint programs. The slide
show feature in the software provides you with the capability of working
with more than one chart at a time. Additionally, this software feature
provides you with the capability of capturing the output of other
software programs (e.g., dBASE, Lotus 123, etc.) and incorporating
them into a slide show presentation.
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