Some applications handle this problem by inserting a prominent warning at the top of each page of out of date documentation, see [1] for example. I assume they have some automatic way of doing this rather than editing all the pages, so whether something like this could be done without major effort I don't know.
Colin [1]https://docs.influxdata.com/influxdb/v1.0/introduction/installation/ On Sat, 25 Aug 2018 at 02:25, David T. via gnucash-devel <[email protected]> wrote: > > Adrien, > > That seems reasonable, too, although there was recently a long discussion > about which online document a user was viewing, suggesting that it’s not > always clear. > > As for “search juice,” I can’t possibly imagine how there would be a major > negative impact by adding “Gnucash v. 3.2” immediately prior the two document > titles—and I can’t imagine a search where this would negatively affect > results. Honestly, I imagine most people would search for “gnucash help” or > “gnucash tutorial.” Such a search presumably would be helped by this change, > rather than hurt by it. Not being privy to Google’s search algorithms, I > can’t say with authority, or course. > > I am opposed to removing these links altogether. As I noted elsewhere, > “current stable release” is not IMHO a universally-understood term. And, > while I haven’t mentioned it before, I personally find the grid of cryptic > icons lined up next to the document titles to be difficult to understand or > use. On my screen, they are far too small for me to process visually; of the > four in use, I only immediately recognize the PDF icon. The use of a tiny > earth icon for HTML help is neither intuitive to me, nor clear to discern. > Additionally, I am admittedly unfamiliar with either the Epub or Mobi formats > or icons; however, if the goal is to universally communicate the availability > of these formats, I don’t think this is the way. But I digress! > > The point is, these links clearly put the user into the online documents, > which I think is valuable. > > David > > > On Aug 24, 2018, at 6:30 PM, Adrien Monteleone > > <[email protected]> wrote: > > > > David, > > > > I agree the pages should have both the document title (per another thread) > > and the version either in the header or footer. > > > > But I can’t fathom clicking the ‘main’ documentation link and thinking that > > I’m getting anything other than the most current version. If I knew I was > > running an older version of the software and slightly down the page I see a > > link for documentation for that version, I’m going to grab that one > > instead, making a fairly safe assumption that the main link isn’t for me. > > > > The only solution I can think of for this situation is to remove those two > > links at the top of the page and users will then click the links for their > > chosen version. (with each already well labeled) Adding the version to > > those links is, to me, unnecessary clutter. (links should be as concise and > > accurately descriptive as possible, and changing that link text each > > release will reduce search juice for those links.) > > > > Regards, > > Adrien > > > >> On Aug 24, 2018, at 12:03 PM, David T. via gnucash-devel > >> <[email protected]> wrote: > >> > >> John, > >> > >> > >>> On Aug 24, 2018, at 10:57 AM, John Ralls <[email protected]> wrote: > >>> > >>> > >>> > >>>> On Aug 24, 2018, at 5:51 AM, David T. via gnucash-devel > >>>> <[email protected]> wrote: > >>>> > >>>> Hello, > >>>> > >>>> Today, I had the opportunity to examine the online Help text, where I > >>>> saw detailed information about the Transaction Report, which has > >>>> recently changed radically. The information provided on the online Help > >>>> clearly references the new version of this report, which I surmise > >>>> because I am still running 2.6.21, and I do not have this version of the > >>>> report. > >>>> > >>>> Here is the problem: there is no indication in the online resources > >>>> (either in the document itself, or on Gnucash.org <http://gnucash.org/>) > >>>> the version of GnuCash to which the documentation refers. This could > >>>> lead to user confusion, as they see help that refers to functionality > >>>> that they do not have. > >>>> > >>>> I am sure that the stock answer here will be: “GnuCash is currently on > >>>> release 3.2, and therefore the documentation available at Gnucash.org > >>>> <http://gnucash.org/> reflects the current release.” I respect that. > >>>> > >>>> However, at any given time, there will be people who choose for one > >>>> reason or another not to upgrade to the latest and greatest version—or > >>>> more problematically, are unaware that they are not running the latest > >>>> version. These users would benefit from being informed *somewhere* that > >>>> the documentation that they are consulting is for a particular version. > >>>> Is there some way to add the version number to the header of the > >>>> documentation pages? (The footer is also an option, but is less > >>>> preferable online since the footer is often well off screen, and may not > >>>> be noticed by a distressed user trying to figure out a problem). If the > >>>> version covered were presented on screen on every page, then the user > >>>> would have a clear reminder of this. > >>> > >>> David, > >>> > >>> Sure there is. > >>> > >>> On https://www.gnucash.org/docs.phtml there’s a huge header above each > >>> set of document links: "GnuCash v3 (current stable release)”, “GnuCash > >>> v2.6 (old stable release)”, > >>> “Nightly Documentation Builds”, and “Older GnuCash Documentation”. > >> > >> You overlook the large section above this which prominently proclaims the > >> "two major GnuCash documentation packages” and provides direct links to > >> each of these ***without making any statement of version***. Moreover, the > >> structure of the page would imply that the documents behind *these* links > >> are somehow different from the ones beneath the "current stable release” > >> header. Perhaps the ones at the top are newer and better? It’s difficult > >> to tell. I’ll note that the links behind these entries even differ, making > >> it practically speaking impossible for a user to know whether these two > >> documents are in fact the same. I would finally suggest that “current > >> stable release” is not as universal a term as many in this community think > >> it is. I believe that many users wouldn’t know what it signifies. > >> > >> > >>> > >>> Once you’re browsing the document, go to “About this Document” from the > >>> table of contents. After “Legal Notice” and “Feedback” you’ll find > >>> “History”, the top entry of which indicates the exact release for which > >>> the documentation applies. > >> > >> The About this document appears only on the main TOC page. What about the > >> rest of the document? Users don’t always access our online help via the > >> main TOC. > >> > >>> > >>> Of course it’s possible to add the version into the header. I suppose the > >>> simplest would be to change the chapter titles e.g. “Chapter 4. GnuCash > >>> Windows & Menus Overview” to “Chapter 4. GnuCash v3.2 Windows & Menus > >>> Overview”, just change the chapter title from > >>> <application>&app;</application> Windows & Menus Overview > >>> to > >>> <application>&app; &vers-stable;</application> Windows & Menus > >>> Overview > >>> Chapter titles (“Getting Started”) that don’t include the application tag > >>> would need to be reworded, e.g. “Getting Started with GnuCash 3.2”. > >> > >> How hard would it be to have each header get a second line with > >> &vers-stable programmatically added during the generation process? > >> > >> Chapter 4. GnuCash Windows & Menus Overview > >> v3.2 > >> > >> David > >> > >>> > >>> Regards, > >>> John Ralls > >>> > >> > >> _______________________________________________ > >> gnucash-devel mailing list > >> [email protected] > >> https://lists.gnucash.org/mailman/listinfo/gnucash-devel > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > gnucash-devel mailing list > > [email protected] > > https://lists.gnucash.org/mailman/listinfo/gnucash-devel > > _______________________________________________ > gnucash-devel mailing list > [email protected] > https://lists.gnucash.org/mailman/listinfo/gnucash-devel _______________________________________________ gnucash-devel mailing list [email protected] https://lists.gnucash.org/mailman/listinfo/gnucash-devel
