Hi all,
I was going to add this to Rony's question in
http://api.openoffice.org/servlets/ReadMsg?list=dev&msgNo=19428 but may
be is better to start a new thread.
First, to Rony's question about exporting to PDF, I'd add the idea to
export to ODT and even HTML: I (and know others also) don't like the PDF
format at all (it's a heavy format and it's not editable [unless you pay
some software or wait for OOo PDF import]), and prefer HTML, and of
course an editable ODT version will be the best option.
Second I find the main drawback in the way how the Dev's Guide is
structured in the Wiki: it has been split into small pages, so that now
in order to find something I must spend three times or even more than I
used when a whole chapter was in only one page.
Of course I am aware of the search enhancements in
http://api.openoffice.org, but this is also more time-consuming,
compared to when I just opened a whole chapter in Firefox, and did Ctrl
+ F to open the Search bottom bar, typed a word and highlighted all the
occurrences.
Also the navigator on the right side of the wiki pages has its
disadvantages: if you want to see the content inside one "node" you have
to select this and open the corresponding page to see more levels.
I give a long (sorry) example so that you can understand what I mean:
************************************************************************
[begin of the example, go the end if you don't have time ;-) ]
for example, to my answer in
http://api.openoffice.org/servlets/ReadMsg?list=dev&msgNo=19435
I already knew that UNO IDL types where introduced on the First Steps
chapter, but didn't remember exactly where
so I go to the main page
http://wiki.services.openoffice.org/wiki/Documentation/DevGuide/OpenOffice.org_Developers_Guide
in the navigator I click on the First Steps link that opens
http://wiki.services.openoffice.org/wiki/Documentation/DevGuide/FirstSteps/First_Steps
but there I get completely lost: I know that what I'm looking for is
there, but to search it I have to start opening every node/link in the
navigator on the right, in order to expand its content/subnodes.
At least I must browse the four first links until I click "Working with
Objects", that opens
http://wiki.services.openoffice.org/wiki/Documentation/DevGuide/FirstSteps/Working_with_Objects
and expands the nodes
* Working with Objects
* Objects, Interfaces, and Services
* Using Services
* Example: Working with a Spreadsheet Document
* Common Types
* Struct
* Any
* Sequence
* Element Access
where I find "Common Types", what I was looking for.
[end of example]
************************************************************************
This all is a waste of time, and searching in api.openoffice.org is no
good solution at all, because I would have to try with different word
combinations to find what I want, etc., while I *already* knew where it
was, but it was just hard to find (that's why I ended up opening my old,
out-of-date, xhtml copy of the Dev's Guide, searched in the First Steps
chapter, and once I knew the location went to the wiki). A main table of
contents isn't neither the answer when one wants to see/expand the
chapter contents from *within* the current page.
So here I'd suggest to implement the navigator as a tree (I've seen this
with html list + JavaScript, don't know if it's possible in this case)
and of course I'd like the option to see a whole chapter in one page.
Notice that this is not a critique to the idea of moving the Developer's
Guide on the Wiki, which in fact I find a great idea for keeping it
up-to-date and easier to contribute.
But as I spend most of my free time working with OOo's API and the Dev's
Guide, the actual state of the Dev's Guide wiki version makes me waste a
lot of time in comparison to the one-chapter-per-page version. Finally
I'm also aware that I may be the one who's wrong here, and I may have to
change my way of working...but as one gets older...
Regards
Ariel.
--
Ariel Constenla-Haile
La Plata, Argentina
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://www.ArielConstenlaHaile.com.ar/ooo/
"Aus der Kriegsschule des Lebens
- Was mich nicht umbringt,
macht mich härter."
Nietzsche Götzendämmerung, Sprüche und Pfeile, 8.
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