This is to suggest an enhancement of OOo 2.x documentation and to seek
feedback on a related proposed feature request description.
Problem Statement
The OOo 2.x Writer >> Tools >> Customize dialog goes no further than
WordPerfect and Microsoft Word have gone. There is room for improvement. All
three apps make it fairly easy to assign product commands to menus,
toolbars, keystrokes, and events ("MTKI"). But all three stop there and
provide no easy and transparent means to assign command lines, e.g.,
launching a browser and opening a particular web page, launching a PDF user
guide, running another external app, opening a specified OpenDocument file,
etc. In each case, so nearly as I can tell, the user is left to write a
script that performs the desired action, then assigning it to a MTKI.
Moreover, context-sensitive Help for the Customize dialog offers no more
guidance than to note that a macro must be written to perform actions other
than invoking the displayed product commands.
That is a show stopper for most users because of: [i] their lack of
scripting skills; and [ii] their flight reaction when they see intimidating
words suggesting they need to write a "macro" or "script."
Lack of Scripting Skills
The problem can be partially addressed by enhancing the Customize
context-sensitive Help screen either: [i] to provide step-by-step directions
for creating a simple macro to launch command lines with or without
arguments; or [ii] to link to a new Help page that addresses that issue.
Second best would be to build such information into the User Guide. Either
or both are tasks that could be accomplished within the short term horizon.
Flight Reaction
Those with strong avoidance reactions to scripting can not be helped with
improved documentation. Moreover, even those willing to write scripts may be
inhibited from creating as many as would otherwise be useful because of time
constraints. Therefore, an intuitive programmatic solution would likely
benefit many.
A longer term solution than documentation enhancements is an OOo enhancement
or extension that automates generation of needed macros that do no more than
invoke a command line, with or without arguments, and optionally adds them
to the selected menu/submenu, toolbar, keystroke assignment. or event. Such
a tool might be launched by a new "Launch App or Web page" option between
the "New" and "Menu" items on the Customize dialog. A subdialog might
present a standard user interface for entering a file location or URI.
Your feedback is welcome.
Best regards,
Marbux
