MuseScore 3 Handbook progress
So, after having produced the initial documentation for new features I've been focused on testing & bug fixes and other matters and am only now getting back to checking up on the Handbook. Since it still not possible to check Revisions on the pages, it's hard to get a good assessment of what has been done thus far. I'm kind of guessing not a whole lot, which is understandable - it's good that so many people have been so focused on testing and development and making the software itself as solid as possible.
We're approaching the home stretch now, though, so it's really important we start moving forward more aggressively on the Handbook. User (geetar)[https://musescore.org/en/user/214596] created this nice page that is a clone of the outline but designed so we can mark it up and track who is doing what etc. Here is (some discussion)[https://musescore.org/en/node/278756] of how that might work.
Can people who have been updating the Handbook add text to that document, and/or reply here, indicating what you've done? The downside of sharing that one document is going to be simultaneous edits. We might want to consider Google Docs for this. But for now, let's just use this thread.
Meanwhile, I'm going to start going through the Handbook as is to make a note of which pages are most in need of update, and pot that information either here or by updating that working outline.
Comments
I wrote most of the new PRE page;
https://musescore.org/en/node/278688
In reply to I wrote most of the new PRE… by blackears
@blackears Do you plan to also update the Mixer
In reply to @blackears Do you plan to… by neGjodsbol
I was thinking of doing that, but it will have to wait until after Christmas.
In reply to @blackears Do you plan to… by neGjodsbol
I've updated the Mixer page:
https://musescore.org/en/node/278583
Thanks, I saw that!
BTW, sorry for the poorly formatted links in the original post; I switched parentheses and square brackets a couple of places
Going through and noting everything that needs updating is proving daunting. Tons of pages will need updates, but some are bigger than others, so to me it's more about prioritizing based on how much the changes to the program itself will impact someone trying to work from an outdated page. But, no need to wait for me to finish that analysis! Work on what you want, then when I'm done we can start knocking things off in a more prioritized fashion.
I have added comments to the Outline page about suggested rearrangement of pages, and started new pages in Getting Started section.
For most new features, it seems clear enough to me they either get their own page (eg, Timeline, Score Comparison Tool) or else they just get a paragraph or two in an existing page (eg, parts from voices, staff spacing). Others seems less clear. Autoplace is kind of a big subject but somehow I'm not sure it makes sense to have a whole section just for that rather than describe it where relevant. Timewise note input also seems a bit hard to place since it applies both to a note input mode and something you can do in normal mode. Open to suggestions...
In reply to For most new features, it… by Marc Sabatella
I think it can be difficult to get a real understanding og the Autoplace, and how you can control it, if you dont make a specific presentaton on this. Ultimately you would have to treat it in all the pages under Notation. Much easier to just add links, where relevant.
Apart from that I think the Format and Style topics will need to be revised. Due to the reorganized Style dialogue, and many new options.
In reply to For most new features, it… by Marc Sabatella
I think auto placement deserves its own page explaining how it works, including changing the position of items without disabling auto placement and what happens when you do disable auto placement. When you discuss individual items, you can then link to the appropriate auto placement paragraph. So much of it applies to everything in the score and should be explained as a whole.
In reply to For most new features, it… by Marc Sabatella
I suggest that Timewise is given a full treatment along with the other Note input modes.
It is an input mode and is selected from the same menu, so this seem the natural placeret to look.
I keep getting sidetracked but wanted to post what I have so far and maybe others can comment on its usefulness and/or help. It's a Google Sheets so anyone can edit, simultaneously. It's a spreadsheet listing each major page and then giving columns for my assessment of the relative importance and/or magnitude of the changes required using a star system (no stars = no changes, 1-3 stars for low/medium/high) in the areas of workflow (meaning an actual rewrite may be in order), wording (names of menus etc but structure intact) and screenshots. Then also a column for additional notes.
I was going through the Handbook for MuseScore 2 in PDF form as the basis here, because that was the easiest for me. I stopped at Bends. Got to get on to some teaching and am probably done for rest of (my) day.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1MWqWlz9o36GGNdh8dmMcL9CRae1yn_C…
In reply to I keep getting sidetracked… by Marc Sabatella
It seems like you and @geetar are doing the same review. Should this be coordinated?
It is also uncllear where and how, you want to measure progress. Can you be more specific?
In reply to It seems like you and … by neGjodsbol
Sorry, I can't say there is a specific plan. Such is the nature of open source :-). I think at this there is no need to overthink this. Just as with developers just kind of stepping in and fixing what they want, I think the same can work with documentation - let's just step in and do what we can!