MacOS info for all books

In the WG and GS, I am adding a row to the table about "Using LO on
macOS" and I suggest this be added in all books.
Between the row for Ctrl (Control) and the row for F11, insert:
Alt ⌥ (Option) Used with other keys

Here is the latest info for macOS regarding JRE. Previous versions of
GS and WG had info that is now out of date, and Base doesn't seem to
have anything about macOS; I don't remember which of the other books
mention this.

For macOS, you need to install Oracle’s Java Development Kit (JDK),
not just the Java Runtime Environment (JRE). Download links can be
found at: https://www.oracle.com/java/technologies/downloads/#jdk17-mac

Jean

Thanks Jean. I'll update the Base Guide accordingly.

Regards,

Steve

Hello Jean

I have started to add macOS keyboard shortcuts to user guides. For example “Use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+F5 (macOS ⌘+F5)"

Also I have added a couple of lines to the table for “Using LibreOffice on macOS” and these are as follows:

Right-click Ctrl+click and/or right-click depending on computer setup Opens a context menu

Ctrl or Control ⌘ and/or Cmd or Command, depending on keyboard Used with other keys

Alt ⎇ and/or Alt or Option depending on keyboard Used with other keys

I put the keyboard info in because I do have several Apple keyboards and the differences are there.

Regards
Peter Schofield
psauthor@gmail.com
Technical Writer, LO Documentation Team

Hello,

I propose to discuss this and decide on a solution for all the guides and
all the writers, via the list and/or the documentation team weekly meeting.

And then to document the approach in the documentation-writing
guidelines/guide.

The questions that pop to my mind:

   - How often do such combinations appear in the guides, i.e.
   "win/linux-shortcut (macOS mac-shortcut)"?
   - Would this not render the text less readable, comprehensive?
   - If the string "Ctrl-C (macOS Cmd+C)" appears 10 times in the same
   guide - is that OK?
   - Does this impact the accessibility of the guides in any way (lots of
   text in brackets)?
   - Does this make the "Using LibreOffice on macOS" table redundant -
   except for the Options command menu path?
   - Should the Options command menu path be treated the same way in the
   guides' texts (Options-win/linux-path (macOS Options-macos-path)?

Lp, m.

V V pon., 24. jan. 2022 ob 09:42 je oseba Peter Schofield <
psauthor@gmail.com> napisala:

Hello Martin and the rest of the DocTeam

My replies to the points put forward are as follows:

• How often do such combinations appear in the guides, i.e. "win/linux-shortcut (macOS mac-shortcut)”?
No answer to this one. It all depends on the user guide. I only have experience of the Impress and Draw guides and (macOS mac-shortcut) appears a lot less than the words “keyboard shortcut”.

• Would this not render the text less readable, comprehensive?
Do not think so. This type of phrasing was very common in user guides that I have created in the past.

• If the string "Ctrl-C (macOS Cmd+C)" appears 10 times in the same guide - is that OK?
Yes it is OK. The words “keyboard shortcut” do appear several times in a user guide. (macOS ****) would appear a lot less.

• Does this impact the accessibility of the guides in any way (lots of text in brackets)?
IMO it does not, especially if answers a user’s question of what to do next.

• Does this make the "Using LibreOffice on macOS" table redundant - except for the Options command menu path?
This table is still relevant. It does explain and makes LO a little more macOS user friendly.

• Should the Options command menu path be treated the same way in the guides' texts (Options-win/linux-path (macOS Options-macos-path)?
The options shortcut modifier will be treated the same as the command modifier, for example Alt+Shift+F5 (macOS ⎇+Shift+F5) (cannot get the Apple Alt symbol to appear in my mail program. It is the other way up on the keyboard).

To explain how to use software with procedures does require a lot of duplication of phrases and procedural steps. That is very common across all types of user guides.

Regards
Peter Schofield
psauthor@gmail.com
Technical Writer, LO Documentation Team

Hello, Peter,

V V tor., 25. jan. 2022 ob 09:56 je oseba Peter Schofield <
psauthor@gmail.com> napisala:

• Should the Options command menu path be treated the same way in the
guides' texts (Options-win/linux-path (macOS Options-macos-path)?
The options shortcut modifier will be treated the same as the command
modifier, for example Alt+Shift+F5 (macOS ⎇+Shift+F5) (cannot get the Apple
Alt symbol to appear in my mail program. It is the other way up on the
keyboard).

I was probably not clear ansdprecise enough about the "Settings" menu
command (under the "LibreOffice" menu on macOS and not under the "Options"
menu) - that was my question. Settings path appears a lot of times in the
guides to point the user to the appropriate function settings - so should
it be treated the same way as shortcuts (with something like "(under
LibreOffice menu on macOS)" appearing n-times in the guides) ...

Lp, m.

Hi Jean,

I have updated Chapter 1 of the Base Guide accordingly.

However, I have a built-in dislike of web addresses like this that include the version number of the software to be downloaded. What happens when versions 18, 19, 20, ... come along. Will we have to update the text of the guides each time?

Can I offer the following alternative text, which seems to side-step this potential irritation?

  * "For macOS, you need to install Oracle’s Java Development Kit (JDK),
    not just the JRE. Download links can be found by selecting the macOS
    option at: https://www.oracle.com/java/technologies/downloads/."

I've used this revised text in the Base Guide but can change again if anybody has other ideas.

Regards,

Steve

Steve,
Thank you! I don’t remember why I used the link I did. I agree your
suggestion is much better, and I’ll change it in the v7.3 drafts.
Jean