4) ["Redundant adds clutter"] - unfortunately, one is unable to expand the non tree view - so the two different manual links are very different views. I always use the tree view and search it, but it could be a daunting sight for a forst time user! So, I simply put this in brackets.
5) done
6) apparently these can be given a different parent but I'm unsure of myself here & unsure if good idea - so I changed the text above it to simply say "Manual Links"
You make a good proof-reader Dave!
With formatting changes in the manual, I generally just go ahead and do it - although if you're uncomfortable editing manual pages, I'm happy to do it, where I can.
I'm not that familiar with editing methods - but ideally, for the manual, we need a "style-sheet" - including terminology terms and layout styles.
The Tree-view page now has spiel at the beginning that shouldnt be there (talking about off-line problems with the CHM file - not relevant to online tree-view)
I'm getting a little nit picky now...but I think these changes make the website and documents look more professional.
I was guilty of mixing Online and Off-line in my suggestion. I thought that was correct. Now I see at Wikipedia they are saying "Offline and Online" or "Off-line and On-line" go together. Currently in the revised IQ Manual overview section, Offline is spelled both Offline and Off-line. See screen capture below.
BTW...Thanks for all the changes...I personally like it the overview/link page much better now.
Regarding the most recent change to the IQ User Manual overview and links page, there is food for thought in my screen capture below.
I do like the fact that you removed the links to the IQ User Manual and its CHM companion... to me they were redundant and added confusion.
Personally I would like the overview page better if there were no links at all at the bottom of the page. My reasoning is that not just anyone should be able to fiddle around with the IQ User Manual and the link encourages them to do so. And, regarding the history link...well...that is history...and most users and visitors couldn't care less about it. Both of those links are just distractions and confusion factors in my mind.
[quote=davet]Both of those links are just distractions and confusion factors in my mind.[/quote]
I was wondering about the same thing. One of these links should go for sure. :)
About the "not just anyone should be able to fiddle around with the IQ User Manual" : I understand your point of view (as I tend to be a bit of a perfectionist myself), but it's never been a problem. Updating the manual is time consuming and, apart from Pierre, only a few crazy users like Keith, Tom, a few others, and myself contribute. And... in rare occasions, when others contribute it's usually great stuff. [Same goes for Mantis, BTW]
So a clearly visible link indicating how to contribute etc. is an important addition IMO.
...apart from Pierre, only a few crazy users like Keith, Tom, a few others, and myself contribute. And... in rare occasions, when others contribute it's usually great stuff. [Same goes for Mantis, BTW]
[/quote]LOL! The craziness has produced a pretty good manual.
As another person who occasionally braves the pain of the forum speed and contributes, a couple more suggestions to support/encourage using the manual:
Include it in the install. I know this will make it bigger, but it will allow you to link the user right to it from inside the program and increase the chances they will find out more about IQ. Working with the CHM is so much faster than online, and I suspect many folks don't realize this (especially new people).
Add a link to each page in the offline that points to its online page. Something like the following. This will make quick updates easier and also allow people to see comments.
For discussion or to update this page go to here
While I am on the topic, what is up with all the "(node 1068)" stuff in the titles. I see the tips say to add it, but I don't know why and I find them very distracting.
While I am on the topic, what is up with all the "(node 1068)" stuff in the titles. I see the tips say to add it, but I don't know why and I find them very distracting.
[/quote]
They'll be removed at some point. I contribute a little to the manual, and they make it incredibly easy for me to quickly go back and forth from the offline to online (by editing the node # in the browser address).
While I am on the topic, what is up with all the "(node 1068)" stuff in the titles. I see the tips say to add it, but I don't know why and I find them very distracting.
[/quote]
They'll be removed at some point. I contribute a little to the manual, and they make it incredibly easy for me to quickly go back and forth from the offline to online (by editing the node # in the browser address).
I really would like see more folks submitting tweaks to the manual, I feel like a few of us are doing lots of little updates that folks are asking the questions could be doing themselves. It is a wiki...
Can someone confirm? Maybe there's an option in the chm options to get what we want.
[/quote]
Yes, unfortunately. What I was suggesting is that rather than adding them manually like someone did for that page (and I updated), that we should be able to have the perl script insert them automatically somehow.
I'm not a perl guy, but it feels like we could add something like the following highlighted line:
# new drupal node # format is <div id="node-61" class="section-2"> if (my ($node, $nesting) = /^<div id="?node-(\d+)"? class="?section-(\d+)"?>$/i) {
# print end of html to last node file if any
$nfile and print $nfile "<a href=\"http://www.sqlnotes.net/drupal5/index.php?q=node/" + $node + "\">Click here to view online page with discussion and ability to update</a>\n"; $nfile and print $nfile "</body></html>\n";
Include it in the install. I know this will make it bigger, but it will allow you to link the user right to it from inside the program and increase the chances they will find out more about IQ. Working with the CHM is so much faster than online, and I suspect many folks don't realize this (especially new people).
Add a link to each page in the offline that points to its online page. Something like the following. This will make quick updates easier and also allow people to see comments.
Comments
# format is <div id="node-61" class="section-2">
if (my ($node, $nesting) = /^<div id="?node-(\d+)"? class="?section-(\d+)"?>$/i) {
# print end of html to last node file if any
$nfile and print $nfile "</body></html>\n";