[wp-docs] WordPress Help Manual on WP Academy (James Gill)

[Marc Beneteau]

James, by "Winhelp clone" i mean any system that provides the Winhelp /
Javahelp functionality.  This is the way that virtually all professional
software is documented and there is a reason for that (which you know about
since you work in this area) -

- Expanding/collapsing table of content (TOC) in left frame, any depth
(helps user understand where they are in the content hierarchy)
- Search and Index tabs in left frame TOC
- Hyperlinking to any topic in the main window opens up the left TOC for
that topic (again, helps user understand where they are in the content
hierarchy and keeps a trail)
- Easily add rich content such as images, videos, and toggles (image
thumbnails that popup to larger size or else blocks of text that can get
expanded)

I have an idea for doing this via a WordPress theme / plugin combination.
It's a rather exciting idea to me.  Once again if anyone else likes this
idea and wants to participate you can email me marc at wpacademy.tv

To note that the usage or existence of a high-quality documentation
platform does not guarantee the generation of high-quality documentation,
but in my case, I can certainly say that it helps with motivation.  I
personally find it very hard to work in Wiki (images and rich media are
particularly cumbersome, with the results that we see) and IMHO this is the
main reason that WordPress documentation lags way behind the WordPress
code.  I totally agree "find clear specific answers to specific problems",
the answer to that problem is Winhelp, and particularly Winhelp in
combination with "Tooltip help" or help topics that are linked from each
relevant dashboard page (which is the next iteration of this, I think)

I have to say I am a bit frustrated by lack of understanding / support of
this idea in this forum.  Perhaps (for sure), this conversation started on
a different topic, and perhaps this is not the right forum for new
development suggestions as y'all working really hard to support the current
structure.  What I am suggesting is that the current structure is not
optimal and that we can do much better. I would argue also that I can speak
authoritatevely about this since I make quite a good living providing
Wordpress documentation, which I am willing to contribute to Codex (but not
within a legacy platform as it would be too much work for me for
insufficient result)

Thanks

 On Sun, Sep 23, 2012 at 1:31 PM, James <james at thinkhuman.com> wrote:
>"But I've been seriously thinking about this, what needs
> to happen (again IMHO) is an open-source Winhelp-clone system powered by
> WordPress, that would be equivalent to my semi-proprietary system see for
> instance:

I'd recommend almost anything *but* a "winhelp clone". For me, a
platform-specific format (especially Windows) both goes against the spirit
of WordPress and is a cumbersome, anachronistic way of doing things.

I've developed Windows help since--well, since there was a Windows. I've
also created technical documentation for 20 years or so. Tool-wise, the
answer is always "what creates something that helps the user be the most
successful?" I think the answer can be provided with many tools, including
WordPress or a wiki.

If I were to pick one thing WordPress users likely want most, it's the
ability to search and find clear, specific answers to specific questions.
And, if I were to change only one thing about the Codex, for example, I'd
add more visuals.

-james
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