The feature spread quickly to other applications. As early as 1989, Microsoft discussed using voice and talking heads as guides, but multimedia-capable hardware was not yet widespread. They also served to teach the product by example. Wizards were intended to learn from how someone used a program and anticipate what they may want to do next, guiding them through more complex sets of tasks by structuring and sequencing them. Wizards had been in development at Microsoft for several years before Publisher, notably for Microsoft Access, which wouldn't ship until November 1992. Publisher's "Page Wizards" instead provided a set of forms to produce a complete document layout, based on a professionally designed template, which could then be manipulated with the standard tools. Microsoft reasoned that, no matter the tools a program offered, users would not know how best to use them. When developing the first version of its desktop publishing software, Microsoft Publisher, around 1991, Microsoft wanted to help users create well-presented documents in spite of their lack of graphic design skills. History īefore the 1990s, "wizard" was a common term for a technical expert, comparable to "hacker." The 1985 textbook Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs was nicknamed the "Wizard Book" for the illustration on its cover its first chapter says, "A computational process is indeed much like a sorcerer's idea of a spirit." But a wizard may be a barrier to deeper understanding, and a substitute for clearer design. A complex, rare, or unfamiliar task may be easier with a wizard that breaks the task into simpler pieces. Type of computer interface that guides a user through a series of steps Wikipedia article creation wizardĪ software wizard or setup assistant or multi-step form is a user interface that leads a user through a sequence of small steps, like a dialog box to configure a program for the first time.
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