Documentation/Dashboard/DocOOo Structure

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Template:Documentation/BeingEdited

Status Quo/Inventory

Website Content

Situation

The documentation web site repository contains a total of around 5700 files organized into different subdirectories. The following list is an incomplete tree of the documentation/www repository:

.
|-- HOW_TO
|-- Samples_Templates
|-- articles
|-- book_reviews
|-- contests
|-- faqs
|-- id
|-- it
|-- manuals
|-- online_help
|-- quickstart
|-- setup_guide2
|-- testdir
|-- tutorials
|-- user_faq
`-- zh

HOW_TO

Document Title Format(s) Size Age[1] License Owner/Author Notes Up-to-date? Recommendation
Section data_source
SQLite Using SQLite Database with OpenOffice.org PDF, SXW 27p 2.8 y PDLv1 Yves Chaufour (French version) translated by Gerry Singleton
data1_EN How to Create a Data Source from Scratch HTML, SXW 11p 2.5 y PDLv1 Scott Carr
how_to_link_tables_ using_named_parameters How to Link Tables Using SQL Named Parameters PDF, SXW, HTML 42 4.6 y PDLv1 Scott Carr
Section drawing_graphics
documentationdraw_en How to get to grips with OpenOffice.org Draw PDF, SXW 125p 1.7 y none specified Michel Pinquier PDF is corrupt
draw1_EN How To Compose a Document with Simple Geometric Shapes, to Change their Attributes (color, size, position, ...) and to Print the Result. PDF, HTML 13p 5 y none specified Gianluca Turconi
Section drawing_graphics
Formula_CommandRef0_4_1 Formula Command Reference PDF, SXW 15p 2.6 y LGPLv2.1 Fred Saalbach
Formula_HowTo_1_0 Formula PDF, SXW 18p 1.9 y LGPLv2.1 Fred Saalbach, Harald Schilly (German original)
Section impress
HowToInsertNotes How to Insert Notes In an Impress Presentation PDF, SXW, ODT 8p 2 y PDLv1 Steven Allen
InsertNewSlide How to Insert a New Slide in Impress PDF, SXW, ODT 9p 2 y PDLv1 Steven Allen
NewImpressUsingTemplate_revised How To Create a New Impress Document Using a Template PDF, SXW, ODT 11p 2 y PDLv1 Steven Allen
fs_impress2_0 First Steps in Impress PDF, ODT 39p 1.5 y PDLv1 Andreas Mantke
movies_without_java Using Movies in Impress on Linux without the need for Java Software PDF, ODT 39p 1.4 y PDLv1 Max Weber
Section misc
AverCrossRef Label Format Cross-Reference PDF 11p 10.6 mo PDLv1 Russell Ossendryver no source available get source or remove
Troubleshooting_guide Troubleshooting Common Problems PDF, HTML 21p 10.4 mo PDLv1 Gerry Singleton no source available get source and move content to Troubleshooting wiki section (to be created)
cygwin_tortoise_cvs Installing and using CVS under Windows PDF, HTML 9p 4.7 y none specified Miljenko Williams no source available remove, misplaced, no source
email_change_v0.2 Changing Your Email Address: OpenOffice.org Mailing Lists PDF, SXW 10p 2.2 y PDLv1 Tim Kampa
multiple_screens How to Setup Multiple Screens under Linux Using Xinerama PDF, ODT 10p 1.6 y none specified Chris Tyler remove, link to Linux Web resource instead
Section spreadsheet
calc1_EN How to Carry out Simple Calculations and Format Cells and Sheets in a Folder PDF, HTML  ?p 5 y none specified Sophie Gautier (French Version)- Translation: Alexander Thurgood no source available
PDF corrupt
calc2_EN How to utilize Sort Lists and AutoFill PDF, HTML 7p 5 y none specified Sophie Gautier (French Version) - Translation: Gianluca Turconi no source available
calc3_EN How to apply Conditional Formatting to a Cell PDF, HTML 6p 5 y none specified Sophie Gautier (French Version) - Translation: Gianluca Turconi no source available
calc4_EN How to Format a Spreadsheet PDF, HTML 8p 5 y none specified Sophie Gautier (French Version) - Translation: Gianluca Turconi no source available
calc5_EN How to set the Printing Settings PDF, HTML 6p 5 y none specified Sophie Gautier (French Version) - Translation: Gianluca Turconi no source available
calc6_EN How to Protect a Sheet or a Cell PDF, HTML 4p 5 y none specified Sophie Gautier (French Version) - Translation: Gianluca Turconi no source available
calc7_EN How-to Define a Data Range for Use with the Filter and Sort Functions HTML, SXW 11p 4.9 y GNU FDL Sophie Gautier (French Version) - Translation: Alexander Thurgood
gantt_pm Project-Management with Gantt-Charts - OpenOffice.org 2.0 Calc PDF, ODT 27p 1.6 y PDLv1 Serge Le Louarne (French Version)
Section various_topics
11--Tips-for-Moving-to-OOo Eleven Tips for Moving to OpenOffice.org PDF, SXW 7p 3y PDLv1 Bruce Byfield Article
Addons1_1en How to distribute your macros with an Addon PDF, SXW 29p 2.1y PDLv1 Bernard Marcelli
AndrewFontMacro Useful Font Information For OpenOffice ODT 13p 10mo PDLv1 Andrew Pitonyak
AndrewMacro Useful Macro Information For OpenOffice ODT, SXW 435p 1.4y PDLv1 Andrew Pitonyak
Bullet-Proof-Templates Bullet-Proof Templates SXW 5p 3y PDLv1 Bruce Byfield Article
HowTo_modify_context_menu How to Modify the Context Menu in OfficeBean PDF, SXW 20p 3.3y PDLv1 Aurélie Schröder (French version) - Translation: Catherine Waterman
How_to_use_basic_macros How to Use BASIC Macros in OpenOffice.org SXW 64p 4.6y PDLv1 Daniel Strome
Howto_special_char How to Handle Special Characters in OpenOffice.org PDF, SXW 35p 1.4y PDLv1 Gerry Singleton
OOo_autoinstall_guide How-to Autoinstall using Response Files PDF, SXW 43p 2.6y PDLv1 Frédéric Labbe (French version) - Translation: Gerry Singleton
StarXpert_OOoMultiSave StarXpert OOoMultiSave for Writer, Calc and Impress PDF, SXW 14p 1y PDLv1 Florent Manens Accompanied by a zip file with the extension
Just covers installation of the extension
USB_key Installing OpenOffice.org on a USB key PDF, ODT, SXW 9p 10mo PDLv1 Gerry Singleton SXW seems to be outdated
VbaStarBasicXref Porting Excel/VBA to Calc/StarBasic PDF, SXW 63p 3y PDLv1 James M. Thompson Accompanied by a zip file with examples
toolbars Tool Bars Memo SXW 2p 3.8y PDLv1 Marc Gruet (French Version) - Translation: Sophie Gautier Cheat Sheet type document
Section word_processing
01en How-to change a paragraph style with the Stylist SXW 9p 4.6y GNU FDL Sophie Gautier (French Version) - Translation: Alex Thurgood and Paulo Casanova
02en_numbering_howto How to Create Numbering In OpenOffice.org Writer SXW 7p 4.6 y GNU FDL Sophie Gautier (French Version) - Translation: Alex Thurgood
08en-watermarking How-to Insert Watermarks sxw 7p 3.5 y PDLv1 Sophie Gautier (French Version) - Translation: Alex Thurgood
CrossReferences Cross References: How To Setup and Use Cross References PDF, SXW 16p 2.6 y PDLv1 Scott Carr Check/update and move to wiki
HowTo_Create_Columns How to Create Columns pdf, SXW 10p 3.3 y PDLv1 Catherine Waterman Check/update and move to wiki
HowTo_Create_and_Maintain_a_TOC How to Create and Maintain a Table of Contents PDF, SXW 15p 3.3 y PDLv1 Catherine Waterman Check/update and move to wiki
Howto-printing-envelopes-diagnostics HTML 3.3 y PDLv1 Max Weber No source Move to wiki
HowTo_Work_with_Sections How to Work with Sections pdf,SXW 23p 3.3 y PDLv1 Catherine Waterman Check/update and move to wiki
HowTo_Work_with_Templates How to Work with Templates pdf, SXW 14p 3.3 y PDLv1 Catherine Waterman Check/update and move to wiki
How_to_Write_a_Thesis_in_OOo Writing a Thesis with OpenOffice.org PDF, SXW 34 2.1 y PDLv1 Werner Roth Translation: Günter Wey Check/update and move to wiki
Howto_import_user_dictionaries Importing User Word Lists into OpenOffice.org PDF, ODT, SXW 11p 1.4 mo PDLv1 Gerry Singleton SXW outdated? Check/update and move to wiki
remove outdated sxw
Inserting text Inserting Text PDF, odt, SXW 8p 2 y PDLv1 Molly Feese Check/update and move to wiki
remove outdated sxw
J8163_Template_HOW-TO Avery J8163 Template Usage zip 2p 2.5 y none specified Peter Hillier-Brook archive
PincOOo_V2 PincOOo SXW 10p 2.7 y Diogène Moulron Describes usage of an external tool misplaced(?), remove
Word-to-OOo OpenOffice.org Writer for Microsoft Word users: How to perform common tasks HTML, PDF, SXW 14p 3.1 y PDLv1 Jean Hollis Weber Check/update and move to wiki
WordToCalc-HowTo0101_EN2-1 Mail Merge Data Sources: Converting Word Tables To Calc Or dBase PDF, SXW 15p 2.6 y PDLv1 Jean-François Nifenecker Check/update and move to wiki
templates How to Work with Templates PDF, SXW 14p 3.4 y Catherine Waterman Duplicate to "HowTo_Work_with_Templates"? Check/update and move to wiki
toc How to Create and Maintain a Table of Contents PDF, SXW 3.4 y Catherine Waterman Duplicate to "HowTo_Create_and_Maintain_a_TOC"? Check/update and move to wiki
writer1_EN How to Write and Manage OpenOffice.org text documents using Common Features and Styles HTML, PDF 14p 5 y None specified Gianluca Turconi no source outdated? no license info, no source, remove
writer2_EN How to do a "Mail Merge" from a Calc spreadsheet. HTML, PDF 8p 5 y None specified Sophie Gautier no source outdated? no license info, no source, remove
Email_mailmerge How To Email Mailmerge using mailmerge.py PDF, ODT 9 1 y PDLv1 Gerry Singleton Check/update and move to wiki
Howto-printing-envelopes-diagnostics How To Setup Your System for Envelope Printing - Diagnostic Kit HTML, PDF, ZIP 12p 1.4 y PDLv1 Max Weber Accompanied by zip file with templates, no source get source or remove


[1] as per CVS statistics


Samples_Templates

Document Title Format(s) Size Age[1] License Owner/Author Notes Up-to-date? Recommendation
Section Samples
Business_planner Business Planner for OpenOffice.org ODS 1.5 y None specified Unknown (last changes: GR Singleton) Unknown purpose, no accompanying documentation remove
Section User - Subsection Gallery
A Complete Set of Widget Images for Forms and Web Sites ZIP 130k 8 mo None specified unknown Clarify license
animals ZIP 300k 8 mo None specified unknown Clarify license
A Tropical Beach ZIP 130k 8 mo None specified unknown Contains just 1 JPEG image Remove
Section User - Subsection Template
Section User - Subsection Template_2_x

Manuals

Document Title Format(s) Size Age[1] License Owner/Author Notes Up-to-date? Recommendation
Section OOo1.x.x
Section OOo2.x
Section oooauthors
Section oooauthors2

setup_guide2

Document Title Format(s) Size Age[1] License Owner/Author Notes Up-to-date? Recommendation
Section 1.0.x
Section 1.1.x
Section 2.x

Other Website Sections

  • articles
  • book_reviews
  • faqs
  • id
  • it
  • zh
  • online_help
  • quickstart
  • tutorials
  • user_faq

Conclusions/Recommendation

Issuetracker

Situation

The master issue list has a total of 151 issues, 129 (85%) of which are owned by issues@documentation, i.e. no-one.

Age Distribution

This tables shows how old the issues are (day of creation and day of last modification).

Age Distribution
Age in Years Creation Date Modification Date
Issues  % Issues  %
<1 7 4.6% Template:Documentation/hbar 26 17.2% Template:Documentation/hbar
1-2 12 7.9% Template:Documentation/hbar 14 9.3% Template:Documentation/hbar
2-3 5 3.3% Template:Documentation/hbar 5 3.3% Template:Documentation/hbar
3-4 124 82.1% Template:Documentation/hbar 106 70.2% Template:Documentation/hbar
>4 3 2.0% Template:Documentation/hbar 0 0%
Status Distribution

This tables shows the distribution of the status values for the issues

Status Distribution
Status Issues  %
NEW 131 86.8% Template:Documentation/hbar
STARTED 17 11.3% Template:Documentation/hbar
UNCONFIRMED 2 1.3% Template:Documentation/hbar
REOPENED 1 0.7% Template:Documentation/hbar

Conclusion/Recommendation

  • Abandon issuezilla as tools to track documentation tasks
  • Use issuezilla to track small bugs/RFEs only
  • Implement a dashboard/roadmap to track documentation progress
  • Implement a wishlist

Proposal for new Organization

Organize By the Most Transparent Way of Approaching a Program

It is tempting to organize the same way Microsoft Office does because people are very familiar with Microsoft Office. The advantage is people will understand and use features more quickly if they are already familiar with concept and location. The disadvantage is there may be a completely new way to doing something which is far more efficient and intuitive then the way Microsoft Office handles a feature.

All of your various ways of learning (multimedia, etc.) can be incorporated into the following wiki structure.


Collaborative Wikis

  • Wikis are great for collaborative development. Perhaps restrict access somewhat in order to develop good quality information? Or leave open to everyone, but do not allow changes to become permanent until they've been approved by someone who is able to determine if the information improves the wiki or not. Using the wiki as primary source for all information which can be downloaded locally and even printed as a manual is a good idea.
  • Perhaps save OpenOffice.org wiki by version. Primary versions only. Updates can be incorporated as updates to the primary version. When a new primary version comes out users should be recommended to upgrade and the previous wiki should be closed. This will encourage users and developers to put their efforts into maintaining and updating information in the current wiki while still leaving the previous wiki available. Previous wikis can be maintained as an historical record.


Structured Learning

Most users approach a program by looking at what they can see first. If they can make sense of what they see, they will gradually learn more advanced concepts from this starting point.

So the best way to teach a program is to start with what the user sees and explain it in every way possible (text, spoken, multimedia, etc.). If you want to reinforce concepts even more, then include exercises so the user gets hands-on experience.

Do a review of each concept covered as a way of adding repetition - a summary of the material.

After you've covered what a learner sees, then begin to take them into what they don't see (the menu items and what they mean and do).

This is a thorough approach for non-emergency users and will result in a thorough understanding of OpenOffice. As a training mechanism for a company or educational institution, organizing information this way would be ideal. In addition because the information is organized in line with actual program components, updating information and placing it correctly will become much easier.

Your other common type of user will be the emergency user who just has to get something done right away and needs to know how to do it. To my mind, this information can be incorporated into the wiki structure discussed above and made searchable.


Outline of Wiki Concept for OpenOffice

OpenOffice

Base/Calc/Draw/Impress/Math/Writer


  • Users
    • First deal with what a user sees when they first start the program
      • Layout
      • Default Toolbars
    • Then deal with every option in detail
      • Menu Bar


  • Developers
    • List the requirements to work on software development.
    • Perhaps a "wizard" to assess background and help determine where a person's skills may be most useful.
    • Provide in depth resources and tutorials and contacts for those who want to train themselves to help develop the software. The strength of open source development is the community. Provide tools and know-how to the community and you rapidly increase the pace of your development cycle. I would suggest this is probably one of the most important if not THE most important aspect of open source development. Make it easy for people to learn how to help. Provide tutorials on every aspect of development and watch your development cycle soar.
    • Procedure to develop software. People to contact to get involved – depends on results of "wizard"?
    • Suggestions for development of software
    • Projects currently under development – Lists of people who are currently working on specific projects. Contact information for project leader.
    • Completed Projects – Recorded changes by date and how they will change the wiki help file. These should be linked directly into the wiki for someone to update easily and quickly.


Adding Value to OpenOffice.org

There are other people who are working on projects which will add value to OpenOffice. Clipart and templates are two of these areas. I would suggest perhaps someone be asked to collect all of these together onto a page of links. Put a link in OpenOffice that connects to these pages, so a user can rapidly find new resources instead of hunting for them on the OpenOffice.org website. This will have the added utility of simplifying the website as well. Maybe put a template link and a clipart link under the “Help” Menu?

As a user, one of the first things I looked for was templates and clipart. It took some digging to find the following:



Unfortunately the clipart is not easy to get at as the low quality images are png thumbnails and the good quality images are svg which do not automatically open up in OpenOffice. It would actually be a very nice feature to add svg support to OpenOffice with basic editing ability such as resize/rotate/placement, etc. I have no idea how hard this would be. I believe computer art will tend more and more towards vector graphics as time goes on however, because of resize flexibility, quality of image, and better storage. Also computers will be able to handle the calculations involved with greater ease as time goes on.

I'm helping a lot of people with OpenOffice right now. I've set up several businesses with it and I also install it by default for everyone who is not interested in buying Microsoft Office. There are a couple of things which I think could be changed to give more visibility to OpenOffice.

Automatically delete installation files from desktop after installation

Place folder with shortcuts in it on desktop as well as in Program Folder Menu. This will make OpenOffice far more visible and easier to access for new users. If they want to delete the folder containing the shortcuts from their desktop they can. In the meantime it makes OpenOffice.org far more visible.

Question: Firefox is making money for Mozilla by starting with a Firefox Google search page. I'm not sure what kind of mandate OpenOffice has in this area, but what if there was an additional link under the help menu to “Search for Resources” for OpenOffice which takes the user to an OpenOffice Google search page? This would generate additional income for the project without being obnoxious or useless.

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