Hi Olivier,
Thank you for the explanation. It is impressive to see that it is
available (in part) in 68 languages.
I have been using LibreOffice since last September. In that time, I have
barely used Help because it is so hard to find the information I am
looking for. Since it seems to offer little value, I have been wondering
why so much work has been going into developing it.
Then, I read below where you say "Because it is part of the
application..." This made no sense since it is not part of the
application but rather a website. This made me wonder if I was missing
something.
So, I went to the download page and noticed that there is a file called
"Help for offline use." It is possible that I saw this before but paid
no attention because I am always online.
Finally, I downloaded the file and realized what I have been missing.
Perhaps I am a dunderhead but if I missed the Help files, perhaps others
have. I would strongly recommend that the download page be clearer about
what the file contains. Can this feedback be passed on to the
appropriate people or should I submit it somewhere?
On another note, I have been wondering how to find information about the
project as a whole. Then I looked at the blog post you linked to and
found pages with some of the information I have been looking for. I
would like to suggest that new members like me be referred to that site
as an introduction to the LibreOffice project.
By the way, I noticed an archived tender (July 2016) to redesign the
download page. Does anyone know if that means that it has already been
redesigned and that it will not be changed for a while?
Thanks again.
Cathy
On 7/26/2017 7:00 PM, Olivier Hallot wrote:
Hi Cathy
Em 25/07/2017 22:08, Cathy Crumbley escreveu:
What is the relationship between Help and the Guides? It sounds like
they are on two separate tracks. Are they duplicating information
independently?
I'm glad you raised this question.
Yes they are separated tracks and contents duplication is a fact, at
least partially. Help pages are instance of web on-line pages, and
guides are instances of printed books. Different form factors for
different usage.
The Help is part of the software and is invoked when you press F1 or
click on the Help button in a dialog.
Because it is part of the application, the following applies
* It is a flat and factual description of the feature, eventually with
examples and use cases. Its objective is to help users to get the job done.
* The Help pages are translated into all released languages (currently
68 languages).
* It must contain the most accurate information on the features of the
software.
* Is must be indexed for easy referencing and search.
However, not everything is actually true...
* Translation of the Help depends on volunteers, which have limited time
available for the task. This however does not prevent us from releasing
new versions, but with unfinished translations in some cases.
* A significant part of the Help is also a user guide, which overlaps
with the current Guides we have. However, editing Help pages and
inserting it into the Help system is way more complex than
writing/updating a text document in Writer, as we do for the guides. I'd
like to discuss the contents of the Help User Guide and see if the Help
system needs to get leaner.
* The help system is poorly illustrated, almost everything is textual
with very few images and no videos.
* Because of the way the software is developed, LibreOffice developers
don't write software specification paperwork, and new features mushrooms
in the code, with no documentation or help page associated (with rare
and much appreciated exceptions). Many new developments as well as
changes in the user interface are not documented yet in the Help, which
means the Help is lagging with respect to the software. We are however
collecting these gaps in a list and looking for volunteers to write about.
What prevents us to evolve with the Help, and find something more easy
for volunteers to contribute?
* we must absolutely preserve its current contents and translations
process, people don't like useless rework.
* We don't have a replacing technology that can in a finger snap, make
all the legacy content available to a more user-friendly editing
process. My last blog post addresses the issue.
https://goo.gl/j3DVAG
There will be a workshop in Rome, at our LibreOffice Conference where we
will discuss these issues and more. I hope to meet all authors involved.
http://conference.libreoffice.org/
Kind regards
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