XYplorer Beta Club

I personally would hardly touch, let alone buy, a software that comes with a 700 page help file. That doesn't look like help, but rather like a BIG problem.

My idea is: Rename the current "Help" to "Detailed Technical Manual" or so, and create a new resource "Working with XYplorer" (or so) with the following characteristics:

- concise
- usage/problem/task oriented
- with images (--> need for updates with every major Windows release to avoid impression of being outdated)
- online, i.e. a collection of web pages*
- written in good English (by a native speaker)

Anyone here fancy to do the job? (LOL - but the problem is, cough, I don't have the time, nor the talent, nor am I a native speaker)

* I can take care of making it a website. Just need the texts and the images.

Not a native speaker...

Greetings:
I am a native English speaker, have some experience doing technical writing, am retired with little regular activity.
I know that I get very detailed in whatever I do. I understand the concept of syntax, but I have no experience in script writing, but I have written some CP/M bios code (8080) and custom keyboard I/O code (8048) a looonnng time ago.
It might work if I can be paired with a mentor; someone that has been involved with writing XYplorer help info before but doesn't want to do the whole thing alone.
I am a little afraid that due to all the customization available that i could get lost in the variability.
Working with XYplorer sounds like it should focus on using the interface as initially presented by Don and deferring all customization to either the Detailed Technical Manual or a Customizing XYplorer for Yourself (another deep hole).
Even using just the existing icons of the TOOLBAR offers many options for doing the same tasks in slightly different ways.
Is anyone here going to try to talk me out of this?
Doc

Thanks for the offer! But this sounds scary:

DrChiron wrote:I know that I get very detailed in whatever I do.

That's about the oppsosite of what's needed. The question to be answered is not: "What can XYplorer do?" but "What can XYplorer do for me?", and this "me" should not be a geek with too much time, but a normal person that still is confronted with files and folders in his/her daily life. A person that only knows File Explorer and is rightfully and completely frustrated with this ridiculuous attempt at a file manager.

I think there should be independent chapters or articles (so this could easily if moderately grow into a collection), and each should be a solution to a comprehensible file management problem. Or it could illustrate how something that has not even been recognized as problematic can be done much easier with XYplorer.

Thinking about it (and I had this idea some years ago already -- but ideas about documentation somehow disappear silently), it could be a multi-author thing, an anthology of short stories about "How XY made my life easier."

OK, let's get it rolling with this Tom Sawyer inspired approach. Here is a quick mock up of an index page that lists your expert articles where you can help the helpless, guide the lost, and show off as brilliant technical writers at the same time.

https://www.xyplorer.com/guide.php (20230322: page removed)

Yes! As a newbie, this is exactly what I'd love to read.

Don't throw out the baby with the bath water

Have been working with small computers since before IBM came up with the neologism "PC". While voluminous, the pdf Manual for XYplorer is about the most articulate and lucid there is. Were it not for that ultimate "go to" resource probably would not have stayed with the program.

Do what has to be done. But keep in mind the admonition: Measure twice - cut once.

I would suggest a controlled wiki page will be great to have the tips and tricks to be shared by the experienced users.
Another idea is to have forum sticky pages to be link / highlighted from the wiki.

I feel like your "what's new" pages https://www.xyplorer.com/whatsnew.php are pretty user-friendly. The only problem is that they are ordered by appearance of the features rather than by "I need to accomplish XYZ, how do I do it."

Check out this:
https://www.xyplorer.com/features.php

That what you mean?

Complete failure.

I guess, what he meant was, If you take the "whats new" page (which contains all the features added sometime) and only take the features (removing "bug fixing", version info and "compiled with this song") and sort the page by alphabet, you'd end up with a quite solid feature list of XYplorer.

PS: Would love to have a moderated XYplorer-Wiki for various usage guides...

By "Complete failure" I meant that in almost 6 years not a single person wrote an article. I'll remove the page now. Google finds it and it looks weird.

How about extending the FAQ?

Some Two samples:

Q: How to copy the names, paths or complete pathnames of selected files?
A: Context menu - To Clipboard > [...] or Ctrl+P, Ctrl+Shift+P, Ctrl+Shift+Alt+P.

Q: How to copy the path of current directory?
A: Context menu over tab - Copy location term or in list, unselect all files Ctrl+Space, Ctrl+P.

Best regards, Markus

Thanks, but these questions are not frequently asked.