GS Macro Chapter New Version Ready but....

Do I require some magical incantations to upload the modified chapter? If so, can I simply email the file? Things appear to go splendidly until absolutely nothing happens when I click OK.

Hi Andrew,

Do I require some magical incantations to upload the modified chapter? If
so, can I simply email the file? Things appear to go splendidly until
absolutely nothing happens when I click OK.

Work is in progress on Alfresco. Please do e-mail me the file then and
I'll upload it for you.

Thanks David, I just sent the file!

Hi Andrew,

I've uploaded your file into "English Content [en - English] >
Documentation > Getting Started Guide > Drafts"

There seems to be an issue uploading new .odt content via the Share
interface at http://alfresco.libreoffice.org, but it works OK via the
Explorer interface at http://documentation.libreoffice.org. Please see
my other thread about the upgrade in progress for more about that.

@Jean, @Richard Holt: putting Andrew's macro section in the Getting
Started guide kind-of "clashes" with the work that Richard started, in
which macro coverage was going to be moved elsewhere as it was deemed
to be beyond scope for the GS guide. How do we resolve this?

In my latest recommendations (within the last week, I think), I
suggested that for the LO 3.4 release, we leave the list of chapters
in the Getting Started and Writer guides unchanged. Therehwas been no
consensus on whether to move the Macros chapter -- or any other
chapters -- elsewhere.

--Jean

In addition to what I said below, I forgot to mention that this is a
*corrected* V3.3 chapter, intended to replace the published one that
had conspicuous errors in it. I therefore intend to tidy it up (if any
last-minute tidying is necessary) and (re)publish it asap.

--Jean

Hi Jean,

In addition to what I said below, I forgot to mention that this is a
*corrected* V3.3 chapter, intended to replace the published one that
had conspicuous errors in it. I therefore intend to tidy it up (if any
last-minute tidying is necessary) and (re)publish it asap.

OK, thank you for that. :slight_smile:

Hi :slight_smile:
I thought the GS Guide was going to keep a chapter on Macros but a separate book
was going to appear later to expand on that. Just like Writer and the apps have
their own books but also have a chapter in the GS Guide? I think there already
is an excellent guide written by Andrew and i would like us to link to it while
making it clear that it is a third party book rather than one produced by the
docs team here.

I still haven't looked at the re-organising that Jean has suggested but i
suspect that the re-organising would be a good thing to do. There are probably
tiny inconsequential issues that i might end-up arguing about until i look at
those issues in-depth. What do other people think of the propsed changes? Is
there an easy link to a list of proposals?

Regards from
Tom :slight_smile:

Hi :slight_smile:
I thought the GS Guide was going to keep a chapter on Macros but a separate book
was going to appear later to expand on that. Just like Writer and the apps have
their own books but also have a chapter in the GS Guide? I think there already
is an excellent guide written by Andrew and i would like us to link to it while
making it clear that it is a third party book rather than one produced by the
docs team here.

Yes, a link to Andrew's book should definitely be added. It was in the
OOo GS book (in Chapter 1, where other sources of info are listed under
"How to Get Help"), but apparently it was removed at some point from the
LibO GS chapter before publication.

As for whether to retain the Macros chapter in GS, most people who spoke
up said they wanted it kept there, so I guess we're keeping it.

I still haven't looked at the re-organising that Jean has suggested but i
suspect that the re-organising would be a good thing to do. There are probably
tiny inconsequential issues that i might end-up arguing about until i look at
those issues in-depth. What do other people think of the propsed changes? Is
there an easy link to a list of proposals?

I thought I had put it on the LibO wiki, but I can't find it. I'll add
it to the wiki when I have time, but meanwhile you can read the OOo
version here (I had made the same proposal to both groups):
http://wiki.services.openoffice.org/wiki/Documentation/Dashboard/Proposal_Revise_Getting_Started

--Jean

Hi :slight_smile:
I thought it was on the wiki too. I haven't explored much.

Ch1 seems to be a merging and of the current CH1&2 into a more logical order? I
think the Math chapter has been absorbed into other chapters. Base and Macros
removed. But there is a lot more in the detail so i think it's better if i have
a closer look later before discussing it in the list.

I liked the flow of the proposed Ch1
Regards from
Tom :slight_smile:

Hi :slight_smile:
I thought it was on the wiki too. I haven't explored much.

I've now added my proposals for both GS and WG to the wiki:

http://wiki.documentfoundation.org/Documentation/Proposal_Revise_Getting_Started

http://wiki.documentfoundation.org/Documentation/Proposal_Revise_Writer_Guide

Ch1 seems to be a merging and of the current CH1&2 into a more logical order?

No, current Ch2 was moved to end of book.

I think the Math chapter has been absorbed into other chapters.

No, Math chapter is proposed for removal because we have the Math Guide.

Base and Macros
removed. But there is a lot more in the detail so i think it's better if i have
a closer look later before discussing it in the list.

Good idea. :wink:
Also comparing it to the existing ToC makes it easier to see what's
removed and what is rearranged.

--Jean

Now done. The files on the wiki and the ones in Alfresco have been
replaced with the corrected chapter. Many thanks to Andrew and Martin
for doing this.

--Jean

Hi Jean,

I've now added my proposals for both GS and WG to the wiki:

http://wiki.documentfoundation.org/Documentation/Proposal_Revise_Getting_Started

I think the plan looks good, and is a better reflection of what people
need and want to know when they first get their hands on LibO.

But I still miss at least a little bit of discussion on macros - at
least how to record them, and maybe the kind of service they can
render. Already Chapter 9 alludes to them in "Assigning macros to
events" - how do we work that in without talking about how to create
them in the first place? However, it is probably true that almost no
beginners use them. Maybe a short appendix at the end on how to record
them, with a cross-reference to in-depth coverage elsewhere?

I miss coverage of Base, but it's also true that Base is a tool that
is difficult to cover in a "quick, beginner guide", because one
quickly gets into complex explanations. How about a small section at
least discussing the possible uses of Base integration in the other
LibO components?

Maybe some similar coverage of Math, too?

So those are three possible alterations one could make.

Those points aside, your plan looks really good.

http://wiki.documentfoundation.org/Documentation/Proposal_Revise_Writer_Guide

The plan looks good, but I might suggest putting the two parts - the
"more-elementary" coverage and the so-to-speak "advanced topics" -
inside one volume. That way, people with more commonplace needs get
their info without having to wade through extraneous stuff, while
people looking to do more sophisticated things can still find the
information in one place without needing several books/PDFs open at
the same time.

In the advanced section, I'd like to see at least some coverage of
Math and how easy it is to insert equations. Same thing for Base
integration. Same thing for drawings (as a complement to the
spreadsheet coverage).

As you yourself have mentioned before in previous threads, and I
whole-heartedly agree, Writer/Web really sucks as a means for
producing Web pages. I couldn't imagine myself recommending someone to
do it that way. In the context of the many other means of easy Web
publishing available these days, I reckon it's almost an obsolete
feature in its current implementation. I wouldn't give it much
coverage except insofar as not to leave a blank hole in our
documentation about the related menu items in the software.

But, basically, your ideas sound very good and probably cater more
closely to users' real needs than the current material. In any case,
I'm sure you're unlikely to overlook coverage of any important subject
*somewhere* in the LibreOffice documentation, so I'd be happy to go
with your ideas and assist you in developing them progressively.

I guess the only thing I forgot to add was that I think it would be a
good idea for us to work from the wiki pages you wrote and develop a
"documented strategy/game plan" for our short-term-to-mid-term work,
so that we know clearly where we're going and we don't waste
overly-much time on tangential discussions that are not aware of the
roadmap already discussed and agreed upon.

This would not be intended to discourage fresh outlooks and
re-visitation of the ideas, but to eliminate redundant re-inventions
of the same wheel, and to help us keep our eyes focused on one and the
same ball.

As ever, this is just my own 2 cents.

Hi :slight_smile:
+1
Regards from
Tom :slight_smile: