It's interesting how the constraints of linear, printed
documentation continue to inhibit many of us.
The need to number tables and graphics is a good example.
When a document has a lot of them, and you can't guarantee they
will appear close to the relevant text, you need to be able to say
"See Fig. 21, etc." You may have several references to Fig. 21 in
various parts of the document. The number saves a lot of time
flipping pages, and makes a Table of Figures useful.
With the hyperlink came a revolution not only from the
instant action of a click, but in the way we think about what we
know and what we need to know about subjects of great complexity.
Adobe Acrobat and Microsoft Word, originally designed primarily for
producing and moving information to be printed, added siignificant
value to their products by incorporating hyperlinks in text, TOCs
and indexes.
Now, instead of saying "See Fig.21 . . . . " we can say
"Click here to see a photo of 'The subject we're talking about in
this paragraph.' "
My HAT is off to Captiv8r for making that point here first.
Harvey