Impersonal form should be preferred. The use of 'you' would be too clear, and most of your clients will believe you are not professional. A clear manual will also reduce the need for post-sale customer support, and cause losses to the company.
'You' (second person singular) - "You should put the plate on the table."
Imperative - "Put the plate on the table."
'We' (first person plural) - "We should put the plate on the table."
'The user' (third person singular) - "The user should put the plate on the table."
Passive - "The plate should be put on the table."
My own preferences are:
I prefer the imperative as the default mode, because it's the briefest (least verbiage).
I avoid the passive, and the first person plural.
I use the second person pronoun ("you") or a third person noun (e.g. "your system administrator") when I want an explicit subject instead of the imperative.
Some people believe that manuals should be written as if they were scientific papers. Others believe that technical accuracy and readability is more important. I'm of the latter persuasion - use "you" if it fits with your overall style, but be consistent in your usage - I find documents that switches between "you" and "we" are irritating (and it's a sin I've been guilty of myself).
第一个更容易掌握。 （使用“you”有时可能会很草率，但这往往是在它被用来代替“one”、“some people”或“people in general”的情况下。在你实际所在的地方使用它是可以的指阅读文本的人。）
Which is easier to understand?
Click the button. You will see a dialog box where you can type your name.
or
The action of clicking the button will cause the appearance of a dialog box allowing the possibility for the user to enter his or her name.
The first is much easier to grasp. (Using "you" can sometimes be sloppy, but that tends to be in cases where it's used as a substitute for "one", or "some people", or "people in general". It's fine to use it where you are actually referring to the person reading the text.)
If you want, you can avoid the you-style by writing in the passive/imperative style. You can also try the 'we' approach, but that might sound a bit childish. You're doing nothing wrong with using you though.
To avoid writing in the you-style, use the passive/imperative style. The we-approach might also work, though it might sound a bit childish. There is nothing wrong with using you though.
We can avoid writing in the you-style by employing the passive/imperative style. Or we could use the we-approach, though we might sound a bit childish. One could try the one approach, but risk sounding to stiff-upper-lip and alienating the reader. We don't mind using you once in a while, though.
I myself do prefer the second line. A series of commands is easier to follow then a story in the you-form.
Technical Writing Enforce the rule of using passive text only. which mean avoiding "you" will be a good idea to stay in the safe side. that's based on how i do it personally.
I think if you are providing imperatives, such as "Open the door", or otherwise directly addressing the reader, then you should use "you" instead of making yourself more difficult to comprehend by talking about some abstract user.
Even in scientific papers, some of the most formal writing I can think of, it is debatable whether or not I, we and other first person language is permissible. As much as high school grammar teachers might like you to think otherwise, there is no universally appropriate scheme.
I would say just be careful. It could come across as too casual. If the intended audience is business-y, I would avoid it. However, if it's a home user scenario or the marketing is casual (think Southwest Airlines), I'd say go with it.
Just don't overuse. Then it becomes taxing on the reader.
It all depends on the tone and style of your writing. Formal approaches discourage the use of "you". Personally, I like to use a style that is concise, to the point and relatively informal. I have no problem with the "you" word when used sparingly.
Avoid over usage as in:
When you want to start the application you have to enter your password and then you have to select the function you want to use.
所以，我想说使用你是可以的，但是就像 Gilbert Le Blanc 在他的评论中所说的那样，通常最好写“然后单击按钮”而不是“然后单击按钮”。
From the Handbook of Technical Writing. 8th Edition (p. 262):
You can make sentences shorter by leaving out some articles(a, an, the), some pronouns (you, this, these), and some verbs, but such sentences may result in telegraphics style and be harder to understand.
So, I'd say it's OK to use you, but like Gilbert Le Blanc said in his comment, it's often better to write 'then click the button' instead of 'then you click the button'.
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应优先考虑非人称形式。使用“您”太明确了，您的大多数客户会认为您不专业。清晰的手册也会减少售后客户支持的需要，给公司带来损失。
Impersonal form should be preferred. The use of 'you' would be too clear, and most of your clients will believe you are not professional. A clear manual will also reduce the need for post-sale customer support, and cause losses to the company.
我知道的替代方案是：
我自己的偏好是：
The alternatives that I know of are:
My own preferences are:
有些人认为手册应该像科学论文一样编写。其他人则认为技术准确性和可读性更重要。我属于后者——如果符合你的整体风格就使用“你”，但在使用上要保持一致——我发现在“你”和“我们”之间切换的文档很烦人（这是我的罪过）我对自己感到内疚）。
Some people believe that manuals should be written as if they were scientific papers. Others believe that technical accuracy and readability is more important. I'm of the latter persuasion - use "you" if it fits with your overall style, but be consistent in your usage - I find documents that switches between "you" and "we" are irritating (and it's a sin I've been guilty of myself).
哪个更容易理解？
或者
第一个更容易掌握。 （使用“you”有时可能会很草率，但这往往是在它被用来代替“one”、“some people”或“people in general”的情况下。在你实际所在的地方使用它是可以的指阅读文本的人。）
Which is easier to understand?
or
The first is much easier to grasp. (Using "you" can sometimes be sloppy, but that tends to be in cases where it's used as a substitute for "one", or "some people", or "people in general". It's fine to use it where you are actually referring to the person reading the text.)
你可以通过写在
被动/命令式。你可以
也尝试“我们”的方式，但是
听起来可能有点幼稚。你是
利用你并没有什么错
尽管。
使用被动/命令式风格。这
不过，我们的方法可能也有效
这听起来可能有点幼稚。那里
利用你并没有什么问题
尽管。
通过使用被动/命令
风格。或者我们可以使用
我们接近，尽管我们可能听起来
有点幼稚。有人可以尝试一下
方法，但听起来有风险
僵硬的上唇并疏远
读者。 我们不介意使用你一次
不过，过一会儿。
我自己确实更喜欢第二行。一系列命令比您表单中的故事更容易遵循。
you-style by writing in the
passive/imperative style. You can
also try the 'we' approach, but that
might sound a bit childish. You're
doing nothing wrong with using you
though.
use the passive/imperative style. The
we-approach might also work, though
it might sound a bit childish. There
is nothing wrong with using you
though.
by employing the passive/imperative
style. Or we could use the
we-approach, though we might sound a
bit childish. One could try the one
approach, but risk sounding to
stiff-upper-lip and alienating the
reader. We don't mind using you once
in a while, though.
I myself do prefer the second line. A series of commands is easier to follow then a story in the you-form.
你应该用第三人称写解释。
您应该以第二人称编写说明，但即使如此，将读者称为“您”仍然不是一个好主意。
现在，我的读者，当我向你发出两条命令后，你感觉如何？
You should be writing explantions in the third person.
You should write instructions in the second person, but even then, it's still not a good idea to refer to the reader as "you".
Now, how did you feel after I issued 2 commands to you, my reader?
技术写作 强制执行仅使用被动文本的规则。这意味着避开“你”将是保持安全的好主意。这是基于我个人的做法。
Technical Writing Enforce the rule of using passive text only. which mean avoiding "you" will be a good idea to stay in the safe side. that's based on how i do it personally.
我会做谷歌、微软、雅虎等公司所做的事情。以下是 Google 提供的随机帮助页面：
http:// mail.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=8494
显示正在使用“您”。您也可以查看微软如何编写他们的用户手册。
顺便说一句，我不会使用“我”或“我们”。
I would do what Google, Microsoft, Yahoo, etc do. Here's a random Help page from Google:
http://mail.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=8494
shows that "you" is being used. You can check how Microsoft writes their User Manual too.
As a side note, I wouldn't use "I" or "we".
我认为，如果你要提供命令，例如“开门”，或者以其他方式直接向读者讲话，那么你应该使用“你”，而不是通过谈论一些抽象的东西来让自己更难理解。用户。
即使在科学论文中，我能想到的一些最正式的写作，我、我们和其他第一人称语言是否被允许也是有争议的。尽管高中语法老师可能希望你有不同的想法，但没有普遍适用的方案。
I think if you are providing imperatives, such as "Open the door", or otherwise directly addressing the reader, then you should use "you" instead of making yourself more difficult to comprehend by talking about some abstract user.
Even in scientific papers, some of the most formal writing I can think of, it is debatable whether or not I, we and other first person language is permissible. As much as high school grammar teachers might like you to think otherwise, there is no universally appropriate scheme.
我想说的是要小心。它可能会显得过于随意。如果目标受众是商业人士，我会避免它。但是，如果它是家庭用户场景或营销是随意的（例如西南航空），我会说随它去。
只是不要过度使用。然后它就会成为读者的负担。
它的用途示例？
I would say just be careful. It could come across as too casual. If the intended audience is business-y, I would avoid it. However, if it's a home user scenario or the marketing is casual (think Southwest Airlines), I'd say go with it.
Just don't overuse. Then it becomes taxing on the reader.
Sample of how it's intended to be used?
这一切都取决于你写作的语气和风格。正式的方法不鼓励使用“你”。就我个人而言，我喜欢
使用简洁、切题且相对非正式的风格。我对谨慎使用“你”这个词没有任何问题。
避免过度使用，如下所示：
当您想要启动应用程序时，您必须输入密码，然后必须选择要使用的功能。
It all depends on the tone and style of your writing. Formal approaches discourage the use of "you". Personally, I like
to use a style that is concise, to the point and relatively informal. I have no problem with the "you" word when used sparingly.
Avoid over usage as in:
When you want to start the application you have to enter your password and then you have to select the function you want to use.
摘自《技术写作手册》。第 8 版（第 262 页）：
所以，我想说使用你是可以的，但是就像 Gilbert Le Blanc 在他的评论中所说的那样，通常最好写“然后单击按钮”而不是“然后单击按钮”。
From the Handbook of Technical Writing. 8th Edition (p. 262):
So, I'd say it's OK to use you, but like Gilbert Le Blanc said in his comment, it's often better to write 'then click the button' instead of 'then you click the button'.