https://bugs.documentfoundation.org/show_bug.cgi?id=119207

--- Comment #8 from Alex Thurgood <[email protected]> ---
(In reply to kivi from comment #7)


> Almost everywhere there are already societies that seek to share data
> through such servers and do not have available system administrators. For
> example, educational institutions, scientific groups, various types of
> clubs, museums, public libraries, etc. ... There, the user opens his laptop,
> connects to the network (if he can), accesses the file servers, which in
> most cases are Samba (if he can) and runs whatever he needs. If he can't, he
> either looks for other software tools to get the job done, or is left
> without access and can't do what he planned.

If the user can't even access the network then having instructions in the
LibreOffice help on how to connect to a samba server are not going to be of any
use.


> This is the perfect place for
> free solutions and most such users try to do it themselves. 

Trying to do it themselves means being able to administer a network share
system, which is independent from anything related to LibreOffice. It also
requires a skillset beyond what a casual user would be expected to know. A
casual user can learn from the already ample documentation pertaining to Samba
how to do this independently of anything LibreOffice has to offer.


> Mandatory system
> administrators only exist in the corporate world. That is, it is precisely
> for this type of user that LibreOffice documentation is needed so that they
> can handle it themselves. 

The point is, Samba is a server-based protocol. It is independent of
LibreOffice, it does not rely on LibreOffice to be configured and set up.
Anyone that wishes to set up a Samba server must familiarise themselves with
the Samba documentation. A properly configured Samba server will have shares
that are accessible to a Libreoffice user through the file system.


> And LibreOffice must give them such an opportunity
> if it wants not to lose them as its customers. If we continue to pretend
> that there is only Windows and various other proprietary solutions in this
> world and expect to rely only on sysadmins, then we are missing the train
> and will only watch it go into the future without our input.

I disagree, but obviously this is my own personal opinion. I don't see the
cause and effect you claim between not having Samba configuration documentation
within LO and the loss of customers (which customers that might be, remains
unclear to me, btw). It isn't about believing that Windows is the only system
out there, the default on macOS, for example, for file shares is now
Samba/CMIS. On Ubuntu, the option to share a folder from one's personal account
with other users is a Samba option built into the file system.

It is about understanding what the software is designed for. LibreOffice can
work with Samba shares, but that doesn't mean IMHO that it is our duty to
explain within the LibreOffice help files how to configure a Samba share. I
understand how having a few examples of connection strings might be helpful,
but how would that be any different from any of the other existing
documentation out there relating to SMB/CMIS ?

In which scenario would it be required for a standard, unsophisticated user to
configure a Samba share from within LO ? IMO, that is not the role of an office
suite.

I guess that this is one of those requests that if someone is willing enough to
put the work in, then they should be free to do that, but they should bare in
mind the extra resources that will be required to translate, recompile the
help, etc, that comes with that input for little perceived gain when other
ample documentation already exists elsewhere.

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