Ease maintenance of build-in help

[Sophie]

Hi Regina,
Le 02/08/2015 19:06, Regina Henschel a écrit :
> Hi all,
> 
> I have started a new thread so that the problem is not hidden inside
> other threads or in private mails.

Thanks a lot for that
> 
> First, is there consensus, that the current build-in help will be retained?

Yes, it's the only documentation available for the different languages
we offer to our users and in some countries, you are not allowed to
deliver a software without translated build-in help.
> 
> If not, then the following ideas are useless and starting would be waste
> of time. In such case, please stop me immediately.
> 
> I collect here some ideas from some threads and mails:
> 
> A
> Authors of help texts are allowed to start in ODF to discuss and
> finalize the content and appearance of the intended help texts. There
> should be a place in the repository to store such files. This way
> authors did not need deep knowledge of the technical structure of
> helpcontent2. The person who integrates the help texts into the build-in
> help need not be the content author.
> 
> B
> Improve the extension "HelpAuthoring" and fix its bugs. The extension
> might be principally not suitable to generate the final version of a
> help file, but it is useful as start, because it sets a lot of the
> needed XML-elements and attributes automatically. The result might still
> needs additions and corrections, but that is less work, than writing all
> from scratch. Even if someone do not know all details about the help, he
> can start and deliver a file, which other then can improve and integrate.
> 
> C
> Provide a development section about the build-in help to the Wiki. It
> should not only contain a tutorial about help authoring but in addition
> a description how the current help works at all from a developer view,
> and how it is actually structured.
> We can start with the document "OOo2HelpAuthoring.pdf". The content has
> to be revised and adapted and extended. For example the .mk files are
> different than described in that document and the document describes the
> possibilities of the help format, but not all details of the actual
> realization.
> Having it in the Wiki keeps such knowledge available, when a help expert
> leaves the community. It can be adapted to future developments. Experts
> of different areas can better work together to collect help knowledge in
> one place, for example experts for "Help to Wiki" and experts for
> "translating help".
> 
> D
> It would ease work, when there would be a tool, that shows a .xhp file
> the same way as it it shown in the help viewer, so that it is not needed
> to build helpcontent2 every time when you test some changes in your way
> to the final version. And authors who use "HelpAuthoring" need not be
> able to build LibreOffice.

Again thanks for the details. I do not have time to participate much at
the moment, but when the 5.0 will be out and the LibOCon organization
more advanced, I would very much like to help where I can.

Kind regards
Sophie


-- 
Sophie Gautier sophie.gautier at documentfoundation.org
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IRC: sophi
Co-founder - Release coordinator
The Document Foundation