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Posted to dev@openoffice.apache.org by Andre Fischer <aw...@gmail.com> on 2013/05/31 15:10:56 UTC

Blog about sidebar

Hi,

I am writing a blog post about the sidebar.  Please have a look at [1].  
Any comments are welcome.

The images are a work in progress.  Please disregard them at the moment.

-Andre


[1] 
https://blogs.apache.org/preview/OOo/?previewEntry=the_sidebar_new_and_improved

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Re: Blog about sidebar

Posted by Andre Fischer <aw...@gmail.com>.
On 02.06.2013 17:45, Andrea Pescetti wrote:
> On 31/05/2013 Andre Fischer wrote:
>> I am writing a blog post about the sidebar. Please have a look at [1].
>> https://blogs.apache.org/preview/OOo/?previewEntry=the_sidebar_new_and_improved 
>>
>
> Good to see it coming out at last!

:-)
I know, should have been sooner.  But it appears that I can only either 
write a blog post *or* implement a new feature :-(

>
> All typos have already been reported, I just wonder whether you 
> actually meant to say "but the content did already exist" or "but the 
> concept did already exist" in the first paragraph.

content

I am trying to elaborate that part of the sidebar is new while another 
part is not

I changed
     but the content did already exist
into
     but the content, the panels, did already exist
to make that a little bit more clear.


>
> In the last paragraph, I would replace
> "OpenOffice is an open source project.  We don't want your money. You 
> can help us by telling us what you don't like and what you miss. Share 
> your ideas about how to make the sidebar better."
> with something softer (we can use money too!), like
> "OpenOffice is an open source project.  You can contribute with 
> monetary donations [link: 
> http://www.apache.org/foundation/contributing.html ] , but you can 
> also contribute by telling us what you don't like and what you miss. 
> Share your ideas about how to make the sidebar better."
>
> Obviously, "Share your ideas" should tell how to do it. You mean in 
> the comments below the post? To ooo-dev? In Bugzilla? Perhaps the 
> comments are the best solution, but anything will be OK provided that 
> we mention it.

I have changed the very last paragraph into

"Apache OpenOffice is an open source project.  You can help by telling 
us what you don't like and what you miss. Share your ideas about how to 
make the sidebar better. Write a comment in the comment section below or 
subscribe to our development mailing list 
<http://openoffice.apache.org/mailing-lists.html#development-mailing-list-public> 
if you are willing to invest a little more time. And we also accept 
donation <http://www.apache.org/foundation/contributing.html>s 
<http://www.apache.org/foundation/contributing.html> (not project 
specific)."

>
> In general, I see you adopted a semi-technical approach, where you 
> introduce several important issues and discuss development issues too. 
> I see room for another post (don't worry, I'm not asking you for it!) 
> where we address the final user only, mainly with screenshots that 
> expand on your existing remarks on the user interface and show how to 
> use the sidebar. And I see room for a third post too, where we explain 
> how extensions developers can use the Sidebar... but let's start with 
> this post and the other ones will come.

I do not feel able to provide the second blog post but was already 
thinking about the third.  I would first start with writing a Wiki page 
for sidebar extension developers and then would use a blog post for 
announcing/promoting it.

I would like to encourage everybody to write a blog post about the 
sidebar.  That is not just "my" feature.

-Andre

>
> Regards,
>   Andrea.
>
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Re: Blog about sidebar

Posted by Andrea Pescetti <pe...@apache.org>.
On 31/05/2013 Andre Fischer wrote:
> I am writing a blog post about the sidebar. Please have a look at [1].
> https://blogs.apache.org/preview/OOo/?previewEntry=the_sidebar_new_and_improved

Good to see it coming out at last!

All typos have already been reported, I just wonder whether you actually 
meant to say "but the content did already exist" or "but the concept did 
already exist" in the first paragraph.

In the last paragraph, I would replace
"OpenOffice is an open source project.  We don't want your money.  You 
can help us by telling us what you don't like and what you miss. Share 
your ideas about how to make the sidebar better."
with something softer (we can use money too!), like
"OpenOffice is an open source project.  You can contribute with monetary 
donations [link: http://www.apache.org/foundation/contributing.html ] , 
but you can also contribute by telling us what you don't like and what 
you miss. Share your ideas about how to make the sidebar better."

Obviously, "Share your ideas" should tell how to do it. You mean in the 
comments below the post? To ooo-dev? In Bugzilla? Perhaps the comments 
are the best solution, but anything will be OK provided that we mention it.

In general, I see you adopted a semi-technical approach, where you 
introduce several important issues and discuss development issues too. I 
see room for another post (don't worry, I'm not asking you for it!) 
where we address the final user only, mainly with screenshots that 
expand on your existing remarks on the user interface and show how to 
use the sidebar. And I see room for a third post too, where we explain 
how extensions developers can use the Sidebar... but let's start with 
this post and the other ones will come.

Regards,
   Andrea.

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Re: Blog about sidebar

Posted by Andre Fischer <aw...@gmail.com>.
On 31.05.2013 19:38, V Stuart Foote wrote:
> Andre,
>
> Reads really well and I like your treatment of sidebar decks &  panels as
> alternatives to toolbars & dialogs--you don't hammer the old GUI, just
> describe benefits of implementing the sidebar GUI.

Thank you.

>
> Only editorial feedback would be that in your "We need your input" segment,
> as a branding issue, you might prepend Apache to the last paragraph, i.e. to
> read  "Apache OpenOffice is..."

Good point.  I have changed that.

-Andre

>
> Stuart
>
>
>
> --
> View this message in context: http://openoffice.2283327.n4.nabble.com/Blog-about-sidebar-tp4644885p4644897.html
> Sent from the Development mailing list archive at Nabble.com.
>
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Re: Blog about sidebar

Posted by V Stuart Foote <VS...@utsa.edu>.
Andre,

Reads really well and I like your treatment of sidebar decks &  panels as
alternatives to toolbars & dialogs--you don't hammer the old GUI, just
describe benefits of implementing the sidebar GUI.

Only editorial feedback would be that in your "We need your input" segment,
as a branding issue, you might prepend Apache to the last paragraph, i.e. to
read  "Apache OpenOffice is..."

Stuart



--
View this message in context: http://openoffice.2283327.n4.nabble.com/Blog-about-sidebar-tp4644885p4644897.html
Sent from the Development mailing list archive at Nabble.com.

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Re: Blog about sidebar

Posted by Andre Fischer <aw...@gmail.com>.
Thank you, everybody, for your help.

I have just published the blog 
(https://blogs.apache.org/OOo/entry/the_sidebar_new_and_improved).

-Andre

On 31.05.2013 15:10, Andre Fischer wrote:
> Hi,
>
> I am writing a blog post about the sidebar.  Please have a look at 
> [1].  Any comments are welcome.
>
> The images are a work in progress.  Please disregard them at the moment.
>
> -Andre
>
>
> [1] 
> https://blogs.apache.org/preview/OOo/?previewEntry=the_sidebar_new_and_improved


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Re: Blog about sidebar

Posted by Donald Whytock <dw...@apache.org>.
On Mon, Jun 3, 2013 at 3:21 AM, Andre Fischer <aw...@gmail.com> wrote:

> Changed that to
>
>     A little known feature of OpenOffice is that extensions can provide
> panels for the task panel (now called sidebar).
>
> I am not sure if parenthesis and dot/period should be interchanged but
> ".)" just looks too wrong for me.  Shall I change it?
>
> No, ")." is correct.  The bit in parentheses is affecting a piece of the
sentence directly, and therefore is part of the sentence.  It's not like
quotes.

What would really look wrong is ".).".  And that sentence I just typed is
technically wrong too.

Don

Re: Blog about sidebar

Posted by Andre Fischer <aw...@gmail.com>.
On 31.05.2013 19:32, Donald Whytock wrote:
> On Fri, May 31, 2013 at 11:00 AM, Rory O'Farrell <of...@iol.ie> wrote:
>
>> On Fri, 31 May 2013 16:52:33 +0200
>> Andre Fischer <aw...@gmail.com> wrote:
>> <snip>
>>> I applied the rest of the changes (some of my errors are so
>>> embarrassing).  Thank you very much.
>>>
>>> -Andre
>> If I could write any other language than my own as well as you do, I'd be
>> very proud!
>>
>>
> "something is either new" -> "something either is new"
>
> "both in Apache OpenOffice (and OpenOffice.org before that) as well as in
> Symphony." -> "both in Apache OpenOffice (and OpenOffice.org before that)
> and in Symphony."
> or
> "in Apache OpenOffice (and OpenOffice.org before that) as well as in
> Symphony."
>
> Paragraph starting with "The property panels that let you for example":
> there's a mix of tone here, with the use of "could".  Is it about things
> that were done, or things that have yet to be done?  The overall tone of
> the section suggests it's about things that were done, so "could" items
> don't really fit.
>
> "The third group are non-modal dialogs" -> (recommending, to get around
> is/are) "The third group consists of non-modal dialogs"
>
> "extensions can add new decks" -> (suggesting) "extensions can now add new
> decks"
>
> " there may no yet be a panel" -> " there may not yet be a panel"
>
> Seconding Rory on the "what the user, you, is currently doing".  Much of
> the rest of the article talks in terms of "you", and "you" so close to "is"
> looks a bit awkward.  I'd go with "what you are currently doing".

OK.  I changed that.

>
> "where busy getting the project going" -> "were busy getting the project
> going"
>
> "Even downstream has started" -- Is "downstream" in this sense as a noun
> common usage in the AOO user community?  It may need expansion, such as
> "adaptations", "derivative works", etc.

I would like to keep this sentence in but at the same time don't want to 
stress the point by explaining what "downstream" is.  I hope that a 
reader who does not understand the term just ignores the sentence.

>
> "how anyoing" -> "how annoying"
>
> "panels for the sidebar.  The old sidebar." -- Since it wasn't called the
> "sidebar" before, this might distract the reader with the question, "WHAT
> old sidebar?"  How about "panels for the task pane (the "old sidebar")."

Changed that to

     A little known feature of OpenOffice is that extensions can provide 
panels for the task panel (now called sidebar).

I am not sure if parenthesis and dot/period should be interchanged but 
".)" just looks too wrong for me.  Shall I change it?

>
> One last thing...Did you mean for the headers to all be the same size?

Most should.  Only the first two
     So, what did you improve?
and
     And what is new?
are one level below the others.
But all look much larger than the title. Have to check this.


>
> Don
>

Thank you very much for your corrections and comments.

-Andre


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Re: Blog about sidebar

Posted by Donald Whytock <dw...@apache.org>.
On Fri, May 31, 2013 at 11:00 AM, Rory O'Farrell <of...@iol.ie> wrote:

> On Fri, 31 May 2013 16:52:33 +0200
> Andre Fischer <aw...@gmail.com> wrote:
> <snip>
> >
> > I applied the rest of the changes (some of my errors are so
> > embarrassing).  Thank you very much.
> >
> > -Andre
>
> If I could write any other language than my own as well as you do, I'd be
> very proud!
>
>
"something is either new" -> "something either is new"

"both in Apache OpenOffice (and OpenOffice.org before that) as well as in
Symphony." -> "both in Apache OpenOffice (and OpenOffice.org before that)
and in Symphony."
or
"in Apache OpenOffice (and OpenOffice.org before that) as well as in
Symphony."

Paragraph starting with "The property panels that let you for example":
there's a mix of tone here, with the use of "could".  Is it about things
that were done, or things that have yet to be done?  The overall tone of
the section suggests it's about things that were done, so "could" items
don't really fit.

"The third group are non-modal dialogs" -> (recommending, to get around
is/are) "The third group consists of non-modal dialogs"

"extensions can add new decks" -> (suggesting) "extensions can now add new
decks"

" there may no yet be a panel" -> " there may not yet be a panel"

Seconding Rory on the "what the user, you, is currently doing".  Much of
the rest of the article talks in terms of "you", and "you" so close to "is"
looks a bit awkward.  I'd go with "what you are currently doing".

"where busy getting the project going" -> "were busy getting the project
going"

"Even downstream has started" -- Is "downstream" in this sense as a noun
common usage in the AOO user community?  It may need expansion, such as
"adaptations", "derivative works", etc.

"how anyoing" -> "how annoying"

"panels for the sidebar.  The old sidebar." -- Since it wasn't called the
"sidebar" before, this might distract the reader with the question, "WHAT
old sidebar?"  How about "panels for the task pane (the "old sidebar")."

One last thing...Did you mean for the headers to all be the same size?

Don

Re: Blog about sidebar

Posted by Rory O'Farrell <of...@iol.ie>.
On Fri, 31 May 2013 16:52:33 +0200
Andre Fischer <aw...@gmail.com> wrote:
<snip>
> 
> I applied the rest of the changes (some of my errors are so 
> embarrassing).  Thank you very much.
> 
> -Andre

If I could write any other language than my own as well as you do, I'd be very proud!  

-- 
Rory O'Farrell <of...@iol.ie>

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Re: Blog about sidebar

Posted by Andre Fischer <aw...@gmail.com>.
On 31.05.2013 16:02, Rory O'Farrell wrote:
> On Fri, 31 May 2013 15:10:56 +0200
> Andre Fischer <aw...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> I am writing a blog post about the sidebar.  Please have a look at [1].
>> Any comments are welcome.
> Some spelling/grammatical/meaning corrections:
>
> Para "The third group":  'changes where necessary' > 'changes were necessary' (spelling)
>
> Para "The core implementation": OMIT 'that is' (redundant)
>
> Para "The sidebar is": CHANGE 'may no (not yet) panel' >  'may not yet be a panel' (better phrasing)
>
> Para "The deck that": CHANGE 'the user, you, is currently' > 'the user is currently' OR "you are currently' (better phrasing)

Hm, I did that on purpose to address the reader directly.

>
> Same Para: UI is undefined (ambiguity for non computer literate reader)
>
> Same Para: CHANGE 'at the same time makes' > 'at the same time making' (corrects change of verb tense)
>
> Para "The OpenOffice.org name": CHANGE 'to difficult' > 'too difficult' (spelling)
>
> Para "The name "sidebar"": CHANGE 'every' > 'ever' (spelling)
>
> Para "Up to now": UXers is undefined.  (ambiguity for non computer literate reader - should it be User Experience testers or Users?)

Have to come up with good replacement. User experience ...

>
> Para "Like in toolbars": CHANGE 'Like in toolbars' > 'As in toolbars' (better phrasing)
>
> Same Para, first bullet point: CHANGE 'adavantage' > 'advantage' (spelling)
>
> Same Para: INSERT 'of most screens' > 'of most modern screens' (better description)
>
> Para: "A little known feature": CHANGE 'are extensions' > 'is the extensions' (grammatical error)
>
> Para: "You can add": CHANGE 'changes like for example changes in the selection' > 'changes such as different selections" (better phrasing, avoids multiple use of word 'changes')
>
> Para: "The toolbars and dialogs like": CHANGE 'like' > 'such as' (better phrasing)
>
> Para: "OpenOffice is an": INSERT 'We don't want youyr money." > 'We don't want your money, but if you wish to makre a donation <link to donatipon site>' (Good strategy not to miss possible donations)
That is what I wanted to avoid.


I applied the rest of the changes (some of my errors are so 
embarrassing).  Thank you very much.

-Andre


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Re: Blog about sidebar

Posted by Rory O'Farrell <of...@iol.ie>.
On Fri, 31 May 2013 15:10:56 +0200
Andre Fischer <aw...@gmail.com> wrote:

> I am writing a blog post about the sidebar.  Please have a look at [1].  
> Any comments are welcome.

Some spelling/grammatical/meaning corrections:

Para "The third group":  'changes where necessary' > 'changes were necessary' (spelling)

Para "The core implementation": OMIT 'that is' (redundant)

Para "The sidebar is": CHANGE 'may no (not yet) panel' >  'may not yet be a panel' (better phrasing)

Para "The deck that": CHANGE 'the user, you, is currently' > 'the user is currently' OR "you are currently' (better phrasing)

Same Para: UI is undefined (ambiguity for non computer literate reader)

Same Para: CHANGE 'at the same time makes' > 'at the same time making' (corrects change of verb tense)

Para "The OpenOffice.org name": CHANGE 'to difficult' > 'too difficult' (spelling)

Para "The name "sidebar"": CHANGE 'every' > 'ever' (spelling)

Para "Up to now": UXers is undefined.  (ambiguity for non computer literate reader - should it be User Experience testers or Users?)

Para "Like in toolbars": CHANGE 'Like in toolbars' > 'As in toolbars' (better phrasing)

Same Para, first bullet point: CHANGE 'adavantage' > 'advantage' (spelling)

Same Para: INSERT 'of most screens' > 'of most modern screens' (better description)

Para: "A little known feature": CHANGE 'are extensions' > 'is the extensions' (grammatical error)

Para: "You can add": CHANGE 'changes like for example changes in the selection' > 'changes such as different selections" (better phrasing, avoids multiple use of word 'changes')

Para: "The toolbars and dialogs like": CHANGE 'like' > 'such as' (better phrasing)

Para: "OpenOffice is an": INSERT 'We don't want youyr money." > 'We don't want your money, but if you wish to makre a donation <link to donatipon site>' (Good strategy not to miss possible donations)
-- 
Rory O'Farrell <of...@iol.ie>

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