Jean Hollis Weber wrote:
ghrt wrote:
It is good to have all the components present in GS, because GS may
well serve as a presentation to the functions & features of OOo. If
they want to know more, that's when specific guides are needed.
Besides, I hardly translated GS to Romanian, I don't see translating
other guides so it is good that GS presents all of OOo, at least as
introductory chapters.
That's a very good point, and even with the English guides, many
people will read only the one book (if they read any book at all).
Oh, that's very true! The manual is the last solution. Or even the
solution after the last solution failed :)
[...]
One possibility for a compromise is to have a single chapter with
short introductions to topics like Graphics, the Gallery, Fontwork,
Charts, and whatever else seems important enough to be included.
1. Well, I think the question here isn't how many chapters we'll have,
but how many pages and where to draw the line between Getting Started
and $Component Guide.
I prefer having some words on every major aspect that OOo delivers; I
don't know if all the words needed will fit 200-250 pages or 350 will be
needed.
I prefer having chapters for components and major ideas (themes), like
we are now. I also see App A (Shorcuts) as a chapter. No need to merge
chapters, things will get harder to find and understand.
I also prefer frequent headings, because that will help the reader
understand and, after reading, will help him finding faster what he needs.
2. I don't know if a small GS is a good idea, ie limiting the page
number. I think we must discuss what the scope / goal of GS is. For me,
Getting Started should help users not only start OOo, but also work with
all the major and daily features of OOo.
If we decide that we need a light book, I think we can compile it around
10 pages for every chapter we have now, but what's the use? Because such
a light book will force the reader to read the other guides before
working on usual office work and the GS will have no more a meaning.
Another issue is with spacing. There is a lot of waste space on pages.
Big headings, big pictures (sometimes only 2 fit on a page). 350 pages
is a direct consequence of this. I mean, I don't care about it, but this
GSG isn't that really big, only looks big. There are things that I felt
I had to add, like changing page format (we use A4 here) and a few of
other explanations.
May I add your comments to the thread on the forum?
Yes, of course. Covered by GPL, isn't it ? ;)
--
ghrt
