Tip of the Day Popup?

[axfleming]

I generally find these annoying but don't mind seeing them with a checkbox to opt out of seeing it again.
You could pull the information from your help file.
With the tremendous amount of features available, maybe this would make it easier for the new user to become addicted?

[admin]

Is planned!

[j_c_hallgren]

Maybe we could use this thread to collect some ideas for which tips are most useful? And for now, it could substitute for pop-up...

[serendipity]

Is planned!

Haa only this morning i thought of asking "tip of day" thing, but then thought maybe one can make a thread full of his/her fav tricks and then one of us compiles it. in the end i was confused with lot of things i did not want to start talkig abt it. glad that it is planned.

[admin]

Is planned!

Haa only this morning i thought of asking "tip of day" thing, but then thought maybe one can make a thread full of his/her fav tricks and then one of us compiles it. in the end i was confused with lot of things i did not want to start talkig abt it. glad that it is planned.

It's planned since long. Here's the more detailed plan:

- make it user configurable!

- how? there will be a subfolder under app path called "tips", again filled with subfolders called "[tip title]". Within these subfolders there's one index.htm file and all its resources, in other words a little webpage that can have all the nice stuff that webpages can have: images, flash, links...

- the tip of the day popup window now random-loads one of these little websites inside a browser control (just like the HTML preview).

- I will define a kind of style sheet, or a template, to give the tips some consistency. And of course I will create a bunch of tips.

- Now users can (if they know HTML) create their own private tips! The things they always forget, the things they always need handy for copy and paste, well everything: you could have the picture of your girlfriend as a tip-of-the-day!

- Now, if a user wants and if I agree, I could add such a user tip to the distribution package! Of course, with credits to the user. So you'll get credited co-authorship in XY development. I think this is called the Tom Sawyer method of creating software documentation!

[j_c_hallgren]

- how? there will be a subfolder under app path called "tips", again filled with subfolders called "[tip title]". Within these subfolders there's one index.htm file and all its resources, in other words a little webpage that can have all the nice stuff that webpages can have: images, flash, links...

Maybe it's just me, but when I see this type of folder with a package, and see that it's something I can do without, I delete it A.S.A.P.! Why? I just detest a bunch of small files/folders that could have been done in a way to make it one/two files or similar...

Setups using HTML like that just adds to the overhead of searching and uses up a lot of slack space...ok, so most drives these days are huge, but some of us don't have them...and it also generally affects space usage more when app is put on a flash drive...so...if there is some way to have it be a single HTML file, and that has various sections that could be displayed as individual tips, or some other easily modifiable by user scheme, I think that would be preferable and be more in keeping with XY's minimal footprint style.

[admin]

- how? there will be a subfolder under app path called "tips", again filled with subfolders called "[tip title]". Within these subfolders there's one index.htm file and all its resources, in other words a little webpage that can have all the nice stuff that webpages can have: images, flash, links...

Maybe it's just me, but when I see this type of folder with a package, and see that it's something I can do without, I delete it A.S.A.P.! Why? I just detest a bunch of small files/folders that could have been done in a way to make it one/two files or similar...

Setups using HTML like that just adds to the overhead of searching and uses up a lot of slack space...ok, so most drives these days are huge, but some of us don't have them...and it also generally affects space usage more when app is put on a flash drive...so...if there is some way to have it be a single HTML file, and that has various sections that could be displayed as individual tips, or some other easily modifiable by user scheme, I think that would be preferable and be more in keeping with XY's minimal footprint style.

*.mht

[lukescammell]

Groovy idea - I like it

[jacky]

- how? there will be a subfolder under app path called "tips", again filled with subfolders called "[tip title]". Within these subfolders there's one index.htm file and all its resources, in other words a little webpage that can have all the nice stuff that webpages can have: images, flash, links...

Are you sure this is the best idea for it?

I mean such tips are usually ment to be short, like 2 or 3 sentences. Not a full HTML page with pictures, etc
One go through them to learn some things about an app, but it should be like reading a full-on documentation-style thing, I would think. It's only tips...

It could also be faster for XY to read one text file, rather than scan all folders to know which how many/which are present. (especially if it should check for the index.htm)

You could still use IE to render the tips using your own template, but have them be stored within a single text file (or one per tip if you like better). Could still be user-configurable that way as well.

[axfleming]

I am most sorry for making another comment after I said farewell, but the focus appears to be lost.

The Tip of the Day should be for NEWBIES!
Therefore, it should be as simple as possible!

We can't trust Don here, because since the man is obviously a genius, he cannot think on the low-level of a newbie.
Those who have been been using XYplorer for months are also somewhat jaded in their focus.

Tips Of the Day are for Newbies. End of Story.

Let's try to be objective here, thanks!


peace.

[j_c_hallgren]

The Tip of the Day should be for NEWBIES!
Therefore, it should be as simple as possible!

My issue was mainly with the storage method of the tips, not the content itself, ok?

However, I could maybe see four categories of tips: Basic, Advanced, Converts, Unique.

• Basic would be for those who are maybe not that techy, but still need something better than Win Expl so using XY..
  Advanced would be either once you've seen/used all the Basics, or for those who are pretty experienced at techy but just not in XY..
  Converts would be geared more at those coming from a competing product, such as DO or X2..
  Unique would only show those features that are truely unique to XY and that have no other match

And you could select which category of tips you wish to use...Maybe four is too many, and three would be enough, but I definitely see a need to isolate basics from advanced, plus tailor some for those converting "in" from another WE replacement..

[axfleming]

Converts would be geared more at those coming from a competing product, such as DO or X2..

Friend, from this one statement it is obvious that you are not subjective.
There are two products, as long as they are under development, whose fans will NEVER switch:
Directory Opus and Total Commander.
That is fact.
X2 is not in the same league.
DO and TC fans are like rabid dogs.

Advanced people can RTFM.

Unique should be more under the category of Promotion; hook them first, and not try to hook them after they have already expressed the interest in the product by going thru the trouble of a download.


peace.

[axfleming]

Why is there this focus on competing explorer replacements?
Hasn't it been established that most users don't use an explorer replacement, and as a result, don't respect explorer replacements?

Why are we not focusing on the common enemy, which is Windows Explorer?
All this talk of dual panes in other products.
Instead of focusing on the smaller market who understand the limitations of Windows Explorer, why are we not focusing on the bigger market who don't realize what they are missing, and how much easier their computing experience can be?

Are we losing sight of the true adversary?!!

[admin]

Why is there this focus on competing explorer replacements?
Hasn't it been established that most users don't use an explorer replacement, and as a result, don't respect explorer replacements?

Why are we not focusing on the common enemy, which is Windows Explorer?
All this talk of dual panes in other products.
Instead of focusing on the smaller market who understand the limitations of Windows Explorer, why are we not focusing on the bigger market who don't realize what they are missing, and how much easier their computing experience can be?

Are we losing sight of the true adversary?!!

+1!

[serendipity]

Why is there this focus on competing explorer replacements?
Hasn't it been established that most users don't use an explorer replacement, and as a result, don't respect explorer replacements?

Why are we not focusing on the common enemy, which is Windows Explorer?
All this talk of dual panes in other products.
Instead of focusing on the smaller market who understand the limitations of Windows Explorer, why are we not focusing on the bigger market who don't realize what they are missing, and how much easier their computing experience can be?

Are we losing sight of the true adversary?!!

I dont agree Axfleming. Dont target any damn thing, why ape or try and copy other apps? Why make anything your enemy? I agree one has to take hints from other apps but not mimic it. I am sure Zen of file management doesnt ask one to copy one or the other app. Let file management be made the unique way, thats what i expect XY to be. Several of my favorite functions in XY have never existed elsewhere, they were invented for XY.