What is a user guide?

The Microsoft Manual of Style for Technical Publications has almost three pages that explain different types of software documentation.

For practical purposes, we separate software documentation into two groups: user guides and reference manuals.

User guide

A software user guide tells people how to do their work-related tasks. Usually, a user guide has information about product features that are used frequently. Sometimes, a user guide excludes advanced features, or gives only a short explanation. Advanced information is contained in a reference manual or online help system.

Reference manual

A software reference manual contains technical information about a software product. Usually, the information is arranged by product feature, or alphabetically. Usually, there is not much explanation about the procedures that people do.