Need a manual

Add your enhancement requests to our ToDo list.
Post Reply
User avatar
Keith Wilson
Site Admin
Posts: 20
Joined: Wed Oct 15, 2008 2:12 pm

Need a manual

Post by Keith Wilson » Thu Mar 27, 2008 4:30 pm

Originally posted by colindun

Yup, iFamily is, without doubt, a great little app, but I just wish there was a manual. I'm sure that there's lots of functionality built into it which I'm completely missing, and when there's a specific issue that concerns me (such as privacy) then I haven't the foggiest what the capabilities are or how best to learn about them. I know the forum's useful, but it's an awful long-winded way to learn about how to use he software.

I appreciate that Keith is up to his oxters in adding great new features (the HTML output is the biggy for me lately), so maybe there's a generous long term user out there with time on their hands who could write up an idiot's guide? I'd even pay for it if it helped me get the best from the software, and helped me stay in control of its myriad features.

At the moment I'm trying to shift over from Reunion to iFamily, but the fact that Reunion has such an excellent and comprehensive manual to describe its (complicated) functionality, whilst iFamily has none is making this difficult for me.

Anyone else got thoughts on a manual?

Colin

User avatar
Keith Wilson
Site Admin
Posts: 20
Joined: Wed Oct 15, 2008 2:12 pm

Need a manual

Post by Keith Wilson » Thu Mar 27, 2008 4:45 pm

Many thanks for the forum post about the missing manual.

I have been tempted many times to write the manual myself, however, it is not good practice for a developer to write a manual for his own software. In the past I have always employed a technical writer to write my manuals., a professional technical writer who has no prior knowledge of the application.

Keith

User avatar
Keith Wilson
Site Admin
Posts: 20
Joined: Wed Oct 15, 2008 2:12 pm

Need a manual

Post by Keith Wilson » Thu Apr 03, 2008 1:10 am

Originally posted by jillaine smith

Isn't the " Frequently Asked Questions" in some ways the start of a manual? Or at least material for same?


It just needs to be organized (preferably by how a user is likely to do their genealogy work -)

Perhaps we could use this topic to identify the key " subject" areas, and then start plugging in existing text (from the FAQ) which would identify the gaps that would need writing from scratch.

Seems like this *could* be a community effort. And what's rather nice about that is that it would be more user-driven than programmer-driven.

Thoughts?

-- Jillaine

User avatar
Keith Wilson
Site Admin
Posts: 20
Joined: Wed Oct 15, 2008 2:12 pm

Need a manual

Post by Keith Wilson » Thu Apr 03, 2008 12:48 pm

Originally posted by pewterpot

I am a new user of iFamily after switching from another family tree programme, and - so far - I have found it most easy and informative to use.

I have bought other software such as Heredis (complicated), Reunion (more so) and MacFamilyTree (V.5 a disaster up to now).

The help file and FAQ's together with the speed of answering further queries from Keith, I find are most adequate, but I must say that I have not used, or needed to use, HTML for my purposes. I have looked at the HTML side in 'Reports' and I am a bit lost with it and cannot see what use it would be to me.

It's a reasonable idea from Jillaine, but where would such an idea start? Somewhere along the line a Manual would need to be supplied with the programme - or for users to be connected to the internet, which is precisely what's happening now with queries. :-/

Post Reply