I'm a hierarchical kind of guy so I prefer B. It gives me more of a higher level view of where I'm at for a particular step in the overall procedure.

B is for sure easier on the eyes.

I agree with both Keith and Ray, B is an easier set of steps to follow

Chalk up another vote for B. :)

Overall, (B) works better because the indentation conveys some context of how deep into the menu/window structure you should be; (A) conveys none of that context, so you end up having to pay closer attention to whether you've been told to change windows/menus.

However, I know (having done this myself) that the "View > Property Pages" notation is simply a cheat by the writer, and that it expects familiarity with the UI that isn't there for the folks that need the help instructions most.

While an instruction like (A)(4) seems redundant compared to (B)(3)(d)(i), that is easily remedied by ensuring that it doesn't just end with "type a name" but rather give the user an idea of what would constitute a decent or appropriate name, e.g. "type a name such as the name of your product" (if that's appropriate) or "type a name (anything will do as this is a description just for the developer)" (if that's more accurate).

Finally, the only reason why (B)(3)(d)(ii) is preferable over (A)(5) is because there are too many undifferentiated words interrupting what should be a simple instruction. (A)(5) at its heart is intended to indicate "select the checkbox" as in "select the checkbox labelled Protect my key file with a password". The approach of Bolding the phrase "Protect my key file with a password" where it currently exists will make it *easier* to know what's a label and what's the core instruction, but it's still breaking up the simple instruction into a complex sentence that the reader has to keep in their head all at once.

B is of course much easier to read/follow both due to it being hierachical - but also because the steps a broken down further. (and if you are jumping back in half way through - example A mixes multiple actions into one sentance - so there's no clear reentry point).

However - B won't read well if the actions are long winded (and sentacnes wrap accross more than one line).

(Much) More important than A+B of course is C - that the documentation is written clearly and covers unexexpected situations (not just the perfect scenario).

Definitely B. It is much easier to follow especially when switching (alt-tab) between apps. I also like the Menu Item > SubMenu > SubSubMenu notation better and it follows Microsoft's notation standard (KB site).