A great way to utilize the type tool is to include some placeholder text that provides additional guidance for the user. This gray text guides the learner and adds an additional cue that helps them to understand what they’ll need to input into the text field.
The placeholder text can remain unvalidated so it is merely just placeholder text that provides additional prompting.
Let’s look at an example how you can use this placeholder text feature.
Specific Placeholder Scenario:
For instance, if your tutorial is referencing a specific dummy account & you want the user to go through the tutorial filling in this specific information based on your screenshots with this dummy information, you’ll want to use this method. In the type tool text field, you would want to type in the specific account number you want the learner to input. Let’s pretend and say its “123456.”
Generic Placeholder Scenario:
However, if you are less concerned about specific data being entered into the field and more about them understanding the basics, you might use the Generic placeholder method. The other reason for this might be if you are using Live mode. In which case, you most likely wouldn’t want the user to type something specific but rather provide more general guidance. Therefore, it would be better to put in the placeholder text as well as the step text instructions something like Type the “Account Number.”
