xplorer2 5.405 beta

[nikos]

https://zabkat.com/test/xplorer2_setup64_ult_beta.exe

not many new features but a brand new help file; Press F1 key and explore it for feedback and "bugs" (broken links etc)
thanks

ps. narayan would be proud of the new manual

[otlaolap]

A couple of quick comments. First, it looks nice -- I like the appearance, and the typography has improved since the beta (section breaks are clearer; everything seems crisper). Second, it is very hard to navigate.

About this. As I scroll down a section reading, there is no way to get back to the start of the section, or of a topic, short of scrolling backwards hunting for it. Every now and then a tiny line crosses the screen containing links to the previous section, contents, and next section, but you have to hunt for these as well -- they don't really show up, and they are not on the screen when you want them.

What I find myself doing as I use this user guide is repeatedly having to hit Ctrl+Home to go back all the way to the top, scroll to the table of contents, and then click the section I want. The on-screen navigation really is lacking.

Many other references have a convention which I've fond convenient: they show an outline (much like your actual X2 tree view) off on the left edge, and allow you to click the links in that outline to get where you want to be. How to do that with HTML? No idea, and I shudder at the thought of having to learn how. But it works for me when I turn to a user guide.

FInally, less problematic, it took me a long time to find the section I wanted (for this test): "programmable column". I was using Bing (the default on the Windows Sandbox virtual machine), and that has no automatic find-as-you-type text search of the page you are browsing. (Firefox, on my desktop, does, so maybe this is not a problem there.) There was no index to search. I had to go back to the table of contents, and then read that, meticulously, line by line, until I found it. The text in the table of contents is hard to read -- all small, bright blue, underlined, so that the formatting overwhelms the words.

Still, it is nice to have an updated manual. I still keep Narayan's old PDF ready for action, but maybe it is time to let it go.

[nikos]

thanks for your feedback
sadly I don't know how to make a tree of contents in HTML, probably it's not possible for a solid (one piece) html file
I think that the best browsing strategy is to search for an exact menu command name
or in reverse, if you are using a dialog box, F1 key will bring up the correct spot on the manual

[pj]

Did you look at using a WIKI baseline?

[nikos]

no, I haven't
can wiki-help be available offline?

[hajubu]

hi, Nikos
May I help out ? Should I mail it to you , as I could not upload the zipped sample.
---
I just played with tree-view items on the new help to ease finding the way through the Table of Contents ("TOC") and got a first result using HTML/CSS only.
---
Summary : copied "newHelp.htm" to work copy "x2QuickHelp.html"
- created a playground in "x2QuickTree.html"
- "x2QuickTree" has a CSS "Class tree" for the actions on x2QuickHelp.html
- "x2QuickTree" has Main-Leafs ( h2:TOC's and Sub-Leafs (h3:TOC's of the Main items)
- Plus sign : in front of the Main-Entry :
Click to open Tree segment for the containing sub leafs
Tree actions : for the "HREF=<a..."
Click on - Main Leaf opens a new windows (_blank),
Click on - Sub-Leafs open in the same window (_self)
- in addition added IN "x2QuickHelp" a top id attribute to ease the
return to TOC=Table Of Contents after selecting and jump to the "h2" , "h3" targets.
-----textual impression ----
o- x2Quick-help START Table Of Contents
| .
| . newHelp.htm#anchor-id
| .
|----o- Program interface
| |--o Working With files „
| |--o Moveable panes
| |--o Folder tree
| |--o Status information „
| |--o Ribbon toolbar
| |--o Workflow ...
| |--o How to get
| |--o Browsing the Shell namespace
|----o+ Industrial folder management
|----o+ Scrap containers
|----o+ Advanced file management
|----o+ Examine and maintain your filesystem
|----o+ Search for files and folders
|----o+ Automation of DOS (and windows) commands
|----o+ User interface automation
|----o+ User Interface customization
|----o+ Installation and registration
|----o+ Appendix
|----o+ Keyboard shortcuts
|----o+ Stock properties
|----o+ editor2
|----o+ All menu commands
----------------------------------

[nikos]

can you show us how this actually looks as HTML?

[hajubu]

https://ibb.co/VW0xN4p
Here the actual link
Hope it works now.
b.r. Hans

[nikos]

so let me get this straight, this is a separate HTML file that will launch bookmarks into "my" HTML?

[hajubu]

Hi, up til now I kept for test purpose the "treehtml" with the style and body section separate from the "newhelp.htm(l)".

There will no obstacle to integrate the same functionality in "your" newhelp.htm(l) as it simple opens the tree leafs and then you could select the target "href" .

For more complex function , there is a need for another (different) framework like W3.css, BootstrapX (3,4,5) and Javascript or AngularJs.

b.r. Hans

[otlaolap]

You know [regarding my earlier post and your reply], maybe I just have to learn to use the browser. The post immediately above this triggered the thought that I could simply open the help file, move to the table of contents, and then from that page click links in the open-in-a-new-tab manner. That works (and I would expect it to be a better solution than a separate second index help file, simply from the complexity point of view).

And here a second thing I needed to learn. Bing does respect Ctrl+F, and then gives a reasonable find-as-you-type action. How did I learn this? Why did it occur to me to use Ctrl+F? Because I opened up the current X2 help file using F1, and the current help file opens up beautifully at the table of contents, below which is highlighted

"NOTE: If you are looking for something in particular, press <CTRL+F> keys to use the search function of your browser. You can then search for a keyword or a menu command name to get information about it."

So in your new help file I'd (1) open up to the table of contents (the top of the file and the logo are not particularly useful) and (2) add this note in highlighted form, along with the other note about "font too small . . . Ctrl+Numpad". In fact I'd make the TOC the first thing in the help file, and "Introduction" with "How to use" the first section listed in the TOC and the first section below the TOC.

That makes F1 get you right to where you want to be -- the contents -- just like it does today.

I still like the shaded background color on the existing help file better than the stark white of the new.

[nikos]

the good thing with HTML is that it's freely editable, so if you want a darker background, open the HTM in a text editor (e.g F4 key), find the body section and add a background color to taste, then save the modification:


BODY {
font: 11px Verdana, sans-serif;
background-color:#e0e0d0;
}


that matches the old help file

[jdtoomb]

I really appreciate that the help is standalone.
I can print it as a PDF with all the links internal.
Which was probably by design from the first.

"ps. narayan would be proud of the new manual"

I agree.

...and Thanks Too!