[udig-devel] Running uDig - what is up with linux advanced graphics?

[Jody Garnett]

Peter N. Schweitzer wrote:
> Jody,
>
> Thanks for thinking about this issue.
>
> First, uDig is clearly heavy on developer documentation and light
> on user documentation.  Thats fine; it shows the history of a product
> birthed in research rather than made to support a company.
>
> But like this list, "udig-devel at ...", I'll point out that the wiki
> appears (to me) to be the only place to build documentation that
> can help people use the software.  If there's another, better place
> for this information, point it out.  But a bug-tracking system is
> not the place for users to find that info.  (Of course if there were
> a mailing list called udig-users at ..., I'd be posting this there!)
I agree we need to collect documentation on the wiki - and package it up 
for each release. The same documentation from the wiki is what appears 
in the uDig help menu (specifically the documentation at the time the 
application was made).

My concern was that a) we start writing down the instructions on how to 
run udig and b) we not mix up the instructions with bug reports.

Here is the text:
> Due to a known problem in one of the supporting libraries, when first 
> started uDig shows a pop-up window recommending that Linux users 
> disable advanced graphics. Under what conditions is this necessary, 
> and for what user interface features are there problems? Is there a 
> work-around? Perhaps downloading some extra package and installing it 
> manually?
I do not even know how to disable advanced graphics ... can someone tell 
me so we can make this paragraph useful? I join the author in asking 
"what is going on".

> Second, after some time, different users will have various versions of 
> the software.  The "Running uDig" page says "You can manage your 
> browser settings in Window > Preferences > Web Browser" but this 
> option isn't present in 1.1RC10a (not in Linux, anyway--is that a bug?)
> So unless you have documentation that's specific to a version number, 
> it will always be a mixture of info pertinent to several different 
> versions.
I was making this up - can someone please check it for me? Sounds like 
it is not valid on linux :-(
> But this all makes me wonder whether there is a well-defined plan for 
> user documentation.  My point is that if you don't plan for it, it'll 
> creep into places that you don't want it to go.
I want instructions in as many places as I can get them. Mixing them 
with questions will only confuse ...

Jody
>
> Peter