Patterns-Help & FeedBack¶

Help content provides answers to user’s questions and concerns.

Usage¶

Help content provides answers to common user questions about your app. Users can send comments, report bugs, and ask questions that are not already answered by the help content.

Placement¶

Make it easy for users to find help content in your app.

Help content can be made accessible from various points in your app’s navigation, with options listed below.
It is usually placed in the navigation drawer (or overflow menu) under the label “Help” or “Send feedback.”

Complex apps¶

If your app is complex, place “Help” both in the navigation drawer and the app bar.

Place “Help” as the last item in the navigation drawer, with “Send feedback” directly above it. If “Sign out” appears in the navigation drawer, it should be the last item in the list.

Place “Help” and “Feedback” (or “Send feedback”) in the overflow menu when there is no navigation drawer. If “Sign out” appears in the overflow menu, it should be the last item in the list.

App bar¶

To make it easier for users to find help for urgent issues, such as payments and refunds, place a Help icon in the app bar. Desktop applications may also place a Help icon in the app bar, as there is more space in the desktop UI.

Help screen¶

A “Send feedback” button may be included in the help screen. Content viewed less often (such as “About,” “Privacy,” and “Terms of service”) may be placed in an action overflow menu.

Behaviour¶

Relevant help topics¶

Help content should be relevant to the user’s current location in an app. For example, if a user is viewing their account information, the help content displayed should include information about accounts.

Immediate access¶

Take the user directly to help content upon selecting “Help” in your app.

Unsolicited help¶

Occasionally, help content appears when users interact with an app for the first time, even though the user has not requested help.

To promote feature discovery, when a feature can’t easily be activated from a menu or button.
When a new gesture is introduced that wasn’t in the app before.

Icons¶

Help and Feedback icons are displayed at 24dp. Tooltip icons are 18dp.

For icons of Help & Feedback ClickHere.

Writing¶

Help content lets users find answers to questions or problems that are unique to your app. Consider these guidelines when writing help content:

Give key information¶

Keep explanations as short as possible.
Avoid giving details that aren’t relevant to typical usage.
Answer one question or concern at a time.

Make it easy to read¶

Make help content easy to read by formatting text with bold headings, lists, tables, and space between paragraphs as needed. In particular, when referring to elements that users need to select, such as buttons or links, bold the label names when referring to them in help content.

Use simple language¶

Avoid using technical terms in help content where possible.

Show images¶

When providing step-by-step instructions, show relevant images or icons to explain what the user needs to do.