Jeff Prater wrote:
After reviewing some of the guides, I've noticed a mixture of screenshots
from XP, Vista, and Linux. I was thinking, to get myself more acquainted
with your style and layouts, I could replace all the screenshots with ones
all from the same computer, so all the colors, buttons, and windows all look
the same. Anyone object to that?
Here are my thoughts on the subject:
1) IMO there are far more important things to do *at this point* than
making the screenshots all consistent simply for the purpose of
consistency. Making sure the content is up to date and well-written
for the audience is top priority. Updating the wiki with changes in
the .odt files (including any replacement screenshots) is also a high
priority.
2) However, since we do need to check that screenshots are up to date
with the product, if you find that many of them in a particuar chapter
need to be redone, then sure, redo all of the pix in that chapter if
you want to.
3) If you're working on the Calc Guide, many (perhaps most) of the pix
in some chapters need updating anyway, so doing a full set of them --
in those chapters, at least -- may be useful... once the content is
reasonably stable.
4) Even if you make all the screenshots consistent, then as soon as
other people update a chapter, any replacement screenshots may be done
on a different o/s and the consistency will be lost again.
5) I have written some guidelines on screenshots, which I don't think
are on the website yet. The three main points are:
(a) Use the Galaxy (default) icon style, NOT Automatic, which varies
with the o/s.
(b) Choose a color scheme that prints well in black-and-white
(grayscale) as well as displaying nicely in color. We have often used
the Silver theme on WinXP because it fills these requirements, and I
have a theme for Ubuntu that is compatible with the Silver WinXP
theme. Peter Hillier-Brook and I have been working to develop a method
for taking compatible screenshots from Vista -- I've found that the
pix usually need contrast enhancement to print well. [Many of the very
old screenshots were taken with the default Blue theme in WinXP, which
look a bit garish in color and print badly in b/w.]
(c) Use the OOo Open/Save dialogs, not the o/s-specific ones. [This is
relevant to only a few screenshots.]
(d) There are issues about screen resolution and clarity of the
resulting pix. Peter H-B has previously pointed out problems. IMO most
of the time we just have to live with less than ideal results (see
priorities), but if someone intends to replace all the screenshots,
then they should be redone as best as possible.
6) If/when we ever get the high-priority updates done, then making
screenshots consistent might be worth the effort, but which o/s should
we choose? This topic has been debated at some length, btw, both here
and on the Documentation list, and I return to Point 4 as well.
--Jean
