OOo OnlineHelp
Online Help - What is it?
The Online Help is the user documentation that was installed together with the software. The word 'online' does not mean you have to be online (connected to the Web), it is just a reminder that this help documentation is always available, without any further need for connection or login. The Online Help of OpenOffice.org consists of several parts, which are invoked by different means:
- The "normal" Online Help pages that you can read in the Help Viewer.
- The Extended Tip Help.
- The Help Agent.
Currently the OpenOffice.org Help is the same as the StarOffice Help. The Sun Documentation Team at StarOffice in Hamburg writes and compiles the Help, which is then used for OpenOffice.org, too. Variables in the source code, for example '%PRODUCTNAME', ensure that the Help Viewer displays the correct text.
Editing Help
Sun authors write and edit the sources almost exclusively, but this does not mean that this will stay so forever. In times of OpenOffice.org 1.0, the Help compiling process has been a bit complicated, so it was not easy for an external developer to compile an Online Help.
With OpenOffice 2.0, a new Help file format was introduced, which is based on XML. The tooling and the compiling processes were added to the normal OpenOffice.org compiling methods, so that building an own Help is now 'as easy as' building an own OOo version.
The Sun Hamburg documentation team strongly encourages everyone to actively participate in improving the Help. We know that it can get difficult, when you need to learn about CVS, CWS, Building OpenOffice.org, but having mastered all these skills will sure look very good in your CV! We will try our best to help you.
How to Help
There are different 'levels' how to get a better Online Help, of which you can choose what fits best to your skills and the time and efforts you want to donate to the community.
Phase 1: Report bugs
Phase 2: Submit patches
Phase 3: Fix issues
Phase 4: Create and modify Help
Phase 5: Sponsor a Help area
