Re: Calling all volunteers: It is time to test

[Robert K. Tompsett N8JUQ]

Title: Robert K

On 2/29/2012 10:15, Robert K. Tompsett N8JUQ wrote: On 2/29/2012 09:18, Rob Weir wrote: As we approach the first Release Candidate for Apache OpenOffice 3.4, it would be wonderful if we could have some more volunteers testing the latest dev snapshots builds. Following is some information on what this requires, and how you can help. First, if you have never tested a pre-release product before, know that bugs are expected. That is the purpose of testing, to find bugs so they can be fixed. Bugs could range from UI glitches, to incorrect formatting to crashes or even data corruption. So you probably don't want to use a test build for mission-critical tasks. Of course, I assume you have already backed up your important documents. You do have backups, right? Ideally you can do your testing on a separate machine from your main work machine, so if something goes wrong you will not interfere with your other work. The above are all sensible precautions when testing any pre-release software product. If you are ready to test, you can download the latest developer snapshot build from this page: https://cwiki.apache.org/confluence/display/OOOUSERS/AOO+3.4+Unofficial+Developer+Snapshots We could use help verifying the install in all real-world scenarios, on clean OS installs, as upgrades to previous versions of OOo and as installs on machines where LibreOffice or Symphony are already installed. Once you have installed, launch OpenOffice and look at the Help/About box. If the revision shown there matches the build you installed (e..g, "r1293550") then the install was a success. Please send a short note to the ooo-...@incubator.apache.org telling us what platform and scenario you installed (fresh install, upgrade, install next to LibreOffice, etc.). This will help us understand what scenarios have already been attempted and which have not. After you have installed, there are three approaches to testing, of increasing degrees of formality: 1) Just use the dev snapshot for your ordinary work, doing your ordinary tasks. When you observe a bug, submit a report on this to Bugzilla. 2) Self-directed testing. Pick an area of the product that you understand well, like printing or text formatting, or slide show transitions. Spend an hour or two trying to exercise that feature in all its variations. If there is a dialog box, try manipulating all of its values. If it is a formatting option, create a document that uses all variations. Try to break it. Try to think like a bug. A special area that could use attention is version compatibility. Take all of your OpenOffice.org 3.3 documents and open them up on AOO 3.4. Any errors? Formatting issues? Crashes? Missing data? Ditto for opening Microsoft Office documents. Are there any regressions, e.g., things that worked in 3.3 but now break in 3.4? Try it in the other direction as well. If you create a document in AOO 3.4, can it be read correctly in OOo 3.3? Did we do anything that breaks backwards compatibility? Another special area is to verify the translations. Install a multi-language install or a language pack and check the translation for completeness and accuracy. If it looks good, please send a note to the list, so we know it has already been verified. If there are bugs, please enter into Bugzilla. 3) Cover test cases from the test plan A 3.4 test plan is on the wiki here: http://wiki.services.openoffice.org/wiki/QA/TestCases/ Results are here: http://wiki.services.openoffice.org/wiki/QA/TestResults Look for an area that has not been tested, test it, and upload your results. In all cases, if you find bugs, report them in Bugzilla: https://issues.apache.org/ooo/ We can also use help re-testing bugs that have been marked as fixed, and confirming/reproducing newly reported bugs. If you want to help in Bugzilla, sign up for an account and respond to this note and ask for your ID to be put in the "qa-team" group, so you will have expanded permissions to edit issues. Regards, -Rob --------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, e-mail: ooo-users-unsubscr...@incubator.apache.org For additional commands, e-mail: ooo-users-h...@incubator.apache.org Whatever you do, don't screw it up! Ooo has to be 99.999999999% comparable, and compatible  to that Microsoft Office thing. -- Robert K. Tompsett N8JUQ SSgt. USAF/ MIANG, TACP ROMAD (Ret.) ICBM 42°14'03"N, 085°53'30"W - Grid EN72bf "It's inaccurate to say that I hate everything. I am strongly in favor of common sense, common honesty, and common decency. This makes me forever ineligible for any public office." When might you change the logo from Oracle to Apache on the quick start? -- Robert K. Tompsett N8JUQ SSgt. USAF/ MIANG, TACP ROMAD (Ret.) ICBM 42°14'03"N, 085°53'30"W - Grid EN72bf "It's inaccurate to say that I hate everything. I am strongly in favor of common sense, common honesty, and common decency. This makes me forever ineligible for any public office."