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→Improve Help and Documentations in Gramps
{{man menu|This GEPS is about changes that would significantly improve the user friendliness of Gramps.}} It is '''not''' about the visual details of the user interface; it is '''not''' about whether the user interface conforms to some specific guidelines or style. It is '''not''' about minor changes to the user interface.
It is appreciated that improving usability is among the hardest things to do with software, especially with Open Source, and that in some (most? all?) cases it is a matter of opinion. However, It is important to have this GEPS as a place to collect feedback on problems and as well as possible solutions.
Some of the wording below has been taken from various messages on the Gramps mailing list. The purpose of this GEPS is to stimulate radical thinking, rather than to follow what has gone before.
* Aug 11, 2014 - ''VRM'' says: "The manual is inaccurate ...., or just plain wrong. The developers expect you to read the whole manual before attempting anything, yet they provide directions that you’ll not remember by the time you actually get to the software. Also, as for the manual, wall-of-text alert. The program icons? Some are '''mystery meat''', where you guess what they are (Why does that green tree split apart at the bottom?)" Biggest Con: ... I don’t want to read 50 pages of manual to find out if it does or not.
* Jun 17, 2014 - ''bh'' says: "The Manuel in not helpful. ... "
* Sep 23, 2015 - {{bug|8665#c44667}} ''asharpham'' says: " I've said it before but the Manual leaves a lot to be desired. It isn't user friendly because it's been written by the developers. Developers don't speak "user friendly" so us mere mortals can find it hard to follow. I've learned not to go to the manual for advice because I just don't understand most of the instructions."
{{man note|Note that in some cases, |the criticisms quoted are accompanied by positive remarks. The comments in some cases also mention specific interface issues. None of these are considered here.}}
* A comment:
<blockquote>Recently having sought to really use GRAMPS on a regular basis for practical genealogical research has repeatedly illuminated a lack of intuitive or smooth workflow within the user interface, particularly for the new user manually entering information.
In some future major revision of GRAMPS, for example for version 4.0, how about putting a major emphasis on the user interface and its usability? It seems to me that a new user should understand how to enter basic information smoothly and effectively and not feel like they're switching back and forth between a large number of views or performing many steps which could perhaps be combined and lessening redundant processes. It also seems that a new user should not have to load alternate views, gramplets or perform any significant customization. These areas appear to need some attention.<br>- '''From: Greg Lamberson - 2011-03-29 - [http://sourceforge.net/p/gramps/mailman/message/27278184/ (Gramps-devel) Focus On User Interface, Usability]'''</blockquote>
* Another comment:
# Repeat 4-6 for death event
# Click OK
Total: 14 clicks, or 7 clicks and 15 to 17 keystrokes, plus the data you are entering (including selection of place)<br>- '''From: Michael White - 2008-02-11 - [http://sourceforge.net/p/gramps/mailman/message/18563150/ (Gramps-users) My thoughts on usability/data entry]'''</blockquote>
* Another comment:
<blockquote>When I add a person in PAF, or Ancestry, I see one screen where I entername, gender, and main events. When I do the same in Gramps, I see halfa dozen screens, one for the person, one extra to add each event, andanother extra to add a location or to choose an existing one. That's alot of work, and when I want to enter birth, baptism, death, and burial,I need at least 9 screens in Gramps, where PAF still has only one. Andin Gramps, it's actually more, because many times I need an extra clickto see whether the location that I want to enter already exists in thedatabase. In those occasions, it is not half a dozen, but a full one,really!<br>- '''From: Enno Borgsteede - 2014-03-31 - [http://sourceforge.net/p/gramps/mailman/message/32167521/ Re: (Gramps-devel) Gramps 3.4.8 from GIT --> Sources]'''</blockquote> ;Feedback on MantisDB * <blockquote>I am sure the whole program is vastly configurable, but that's actually part of the complexity that makes it daunting for people. Instead, I want the *default* configuration to make it easy for the user. So, suggesting that I could drag the columns all around and click on them for sorting by date-changed is not only irrelevant but counterproductive. I'm trying to REDUCE the amount of makework clicks and drags that I and every user have to do in order to enter simple genealogical info.<br>{{bug|9866}} Selecting objects should show the most recently added objects</blockquote>
== Examples ==
== Reduce the number of editors ==
<blockquote>1. Reduce (gently) the number of different interfaces: this, ofcourse, means that some interfaces will be busier. Too often, confusionresults from too many windows open simultaneously. <br>- '''From: David Lynch - 2011-03-30 - [http://sourceforge.net/p/gramps/mailman/message/27281113/ Re: (Gramps-devel) Focus On User Interface, Usability]'''</blockquote>
At present, Gramps is largely based on a paradigm of one-to-one correspondence between editors and (internal) database objects.
An example of the approach of having editors which edit more data is Personal Ancestral File (PAF). The Edit Individual window combines editors for name, main events, other information, other events etc. I presume that more 'other events' etc. can be added into the same editor as required. There are buttons beside events etc. which lead to editors for sources etc.
An example of how a possible combined editor might look, see below. Changing or adding basic information like names, birth and death dates and events (including places, which are not shown on the example) should be done directly on this page. More complicated changes would require clicking on the edit button to bring up the full editor (edit buttons are not shown, except for the spouse).
N.B. This is only a very quick and rough example - it needs to be worked out much more fully.
[[File:Example composite editor.jpg]]
== Make displays editable ==
Improve Help and Documentations in Gramps
* Update [[User_manual|user manual]] to match current (Gramps 4.2.0) version of Gramps(Started:20150701 - Completed: Abandoned in favor of Gramps 5.0.0 update )* Update [[User_manual|user manual]] to match (Gramps 5.0.0) version of Gramps (Started:20171211 - Completed: In progress )* {{bug|8888}} : [Review]Gramps Help button User Manual wiki-links (Started:20150904 - Completed: 20151025 )* {{bug|9042}} : [Review]Gramps Help button User Manual wiki-links (Started:On hold - Completed: - )** Review Gramps code and ensure that {{man key press|F1}} help links as well as {{man button|Help}} buttons link to correct sections on wiki.** Add help buttons where missing** If no {{man button|Help}} button can be shown for the page ensure that pressing {{man key press|F1}} brings the user to the correct page and not just the Manual index eg: correct context.
Know your audience, who is uses this software?* Icons are nice, text labels are better. (no mystery meat navigation) (Add Toolbar text under icons by using patch from {{bug|6583#c44563}})
* Add an help icon to the toolbar eg a question mark '''?''' etc.
=== Roll over of user manual ===
I suggest we change the way this is done so that updating the user manual is in sync with changes in Gramps master.
*Tooltips
See:
* {{bug|9677}}:Move "help_url" option to all plugins (and addons)
* {{bug|9678}}:Default help page for addons is the plugins page, not the addons page
==== Existing help API's ====
;gramps.cli
* gramps.cli.argparser.ArgParser.print_help
:<code>print_help()</code> If the user gives the –help or -h option, print the output to terminal.
;gramps.gen
* gramps.gen.plug._pluginreg.PluginData.help_url
:<code>help_url</code> The URL where documentation for the URL can be found
* gramps.gen.plug.menu._option.Option.get_help
:<code>get_help()</code> Get the help information for this option. Returns: A string that provides additional help beyond the label.
* gramps.gen.plug.menu._option.Option.set_help
:<code>set_help(help_text)</code> Set the help information for this option. Parameters: help – A string that provides additional help beyond the label. Example: “Whether to include or exclude people who are calculated to be alive at the time of the generation of this report” Returns: nothing
;gramps.gui
* gramps.gui.editors.filtereditor.EditFilter.on_help_clicked
:<code>on_help_clicked(obj)</code> Display the relevant portion of Gramps manual
* gramps.gui.editors.filtereditor.EditRule.on_help_clicked
:<code>on_help_clicked(obj)</code> Display the relevant portion of Gramps manual
* gramps.gui.editors.filtereditor.FilterEditor.help_clicked
:<code>help_clicked(obj)</code> Display the relevant portion of Gramps manual
<hr>
Github searches for:
* [https://github.com/gramps-project/gramps/search?utf8=%E2%9C%93&q=WIKI_HELP_PAGE WIKI_HELP_PAGE]
* URL_MANUAL_PAGE
* WIKI_HELP_SEC
* [https://github.com/gramps-project/gramps/search?utf8=%E2%9C%93&q=help_url help_url]
* [https://github.com/gramps-project/gramps/search?utf8=%E2%9C%93&q=help_text help_text]
==== Idea ====
Have a unique '''gramps_help_key''' for each type of help that does not change between versions.
* The '''Translate extension''' tool to translate every kind of text. It's used especially to translate software and to manage multilingual wikis in a sensible way. https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Extension:Translate
Add a Mediawiki instance and new domain for documentation
Be able to cache Offline help files?
*In preferences have a help server URL dropdown with an option for "Offline/local" that point to a local GRAMPS_HELP directory that you can place a spidered html copy of the help. -->
= Minor changes that are NOT the subject of this GEPS =
* Select Child window to open at last used name.
* Improve usability of export assistant filters.
= See also =
* {{bug|8686}} Prototype for a new "Event Entry" window.
* {{bug|1577}} Cumbersome work flow to add more people to an event
* {{bug|7807}} main window makeover (full-screen option)
* {{bug|8099}} Create hard-copy like documentation as PDF (Suggest installing the [https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Extension:Collection Mediwiki:Extension:Collection] ''Allows to organize personal selections of pages in a collection that can be edited, persisted and optionally retrieved as PDF, ODF or DocBook (XML)'')
[[Category:GEPS|U]]
