Proper documentation

[DeathAndPain]

Heya all,

lotsa features have been added to Xyplorer, but many of them aren't properly documented in the Online help (or any other source that I would know about). For instance, Xyplorer does not contain Quick Access like Windows Explorer does, but I understand Xyplorer contains alternative approaches. Unfortunately, they are not properly documented anywhere.

Other documentation is not understandable, like that of Virtual Folders:

"Virtual Folders are folders where you define the content directly in the folder name. Think of Virtual Folders as Paper Folders without the paper. You can directly "create" such a folder by typing it into the Address Bar. Nothing is created on disk, it's all in the name."

Sorry, but the above is not comprehensive. A few more sentences with a proper introduction would have been in order. Especially seeing that the definition of Paper Folders says:

"Paper Folders are simple text files that contain the full paths to items, one per line. XYplorer employs those files as virtual folders."

So Virtual Folders reference to Paper Folders and Paper Folders reference to Virtual Folders. That's a ring definition; there is nowhere to start following and understanding it.

There are other items (like configuration options) that are documented nowhere at all. If this is supposed to be a professional product (and the price charged for it strongly suggests that it is), then a professional documentation is a must.

[Horst]

A comment about one of your points
Paper Folders
The help under this topic is much more than the short text you have included in your post.
If you really have no Glue after reading this, then XY may not be your tool.

[DeathAndPain]

The help under this topic is much more than the short text you have included in your post.

But nothing in terms of introduction. Right afterwards comes the Syntax description, and then the integration. Before I care about the right syntax for a command and how it is integrated, I need an understanding of what the command does, of its purpose. Expecting the user to somehow reverse-engineer that from the syntax is not what I call a professional documentation.

The descriptions of the Virtual Folders and the Paper Folders are just two examples for the general problem that the documentation is just too short on many ends. Whoever wrote it obviously was not prepared to put enough effort into it to describe things with sufficient detail. But that is the difference between a hobby project and a professional one.

[highend]

Please come back after reading the 867 page long XYplorer PDF Help file and tell us how bad the documentation is. Thanks.

[DeathAndPain]

You mean the 866 pages of it which have nothing to do with Virtual and Paper Folders?

You can easily make a documentation long with syntax lists etc. That is no replacement for proper concept and term introductions though.

[eil]

Somehow i feel topic starter never touched the Help file, which for me is almost an example of proper documentation and has answers to ~95% of questions i ever have.

Right afterwards comes the Syntax description, and then the integration. Before I care about the right syntax for a command and how it is integrated, I need an understanding of what the command does, of its purpose. Expecting the user to somehow reverse-engineer that from the syntax is not what I call a professional documentation.

I kinda wanna know what author thinks about well known AHK scripting and its documentation. 'Cause each time i need to do some script on AHK, with leaning some new commands, i Curse the AHK devs, for its super dubious docs and shit syntax! That's where i exactly have to reverse-engineer some other people's scripts to understand intuitively how that works. I'd really wish other devs make their docs same understandable as Don, 'cause i make XY scripts solely with knowledge Help file provided.(damn, i'd wish Don make own version of "AHK")