=][= Your input is requested - tutorials =][=

[Brother Tyler]

We've been working on tutorials to help members in better leveraging the site's capabilities. I've been experimenting with the format for these tutorials, with a plan to standardize them. This will involve going back and reformatting the existing tutorials to align with the standard. So here's what I've come up with:

• Outline all screenshots in orange, as seen in the tutorial about Changing Your Display Name.
• Use the NEXT PAGE/PREVIOUS PAGE format to reduce the number of images that appear (speeding up your viewing time), as seen in the tutorial about Changing Your Display Name.
• Crop the images down on the sides to reduce noise and file size, as seen in the tutorial about The Blogs Feature. Where that tutorial crops the images to the left and right margins of the site content, however, I'll standardize a bit beyond that to allow for some of the dropdown lists and dialog boxes that extend into the background area. You can see an example of a left side dropdown list in Step 2 of the tutorial on Editing Your Signature; and you can see an example of a right side dropdown list that has been cropped at the very bottom of the post about Creating a New Blog in the Blogs Feature tutorial.
• Reduce screenshot display widths to 350 pixels. The actual images will usually be much larger and members can click on them to see them at full size. If you look at the Blogs Feature and Images and the Gallery Feature tutorials, I've set the screenshot for the shorter image (usually the dark theme) to 350 pixels wide and then set the height of the other image to match. This typically results in images of different width, however, and that bugs my OCD, so the NEXT PAGE/PREVIOUS PAGE format that I described above will allow all of the images to be 350 pixels wide without that pesky variance in overall width.
• Include actual step numbers. I did this in some tutorials, but not others. Assigning step numbers seems to be a lot more useful, especially in terms of referring to specific steps. So where I described the "very bottom of the post" in one of the bullets above, I could simply refer to it as Step # (as I did for a different tutorial described above).

These tutorials are for you, though, so I'm looking for your input, especially if you think that I can improve on any of the above.

 

If you give me a few minutes (okay, probably 45 minutes or so), I'll post a reply that shows exactly what I'm talking about. It might be easier to understand from seeing an actual example rather than reading a wall-o-text.

 

Something else I'd like to know is if any of these tutorials can be reorganized to make it easier to understand them. This is less important for some of the simpler tutorials (e.g., Changing Your Display Name and Editing Your Signature), but many of the more complicated tutorials (e.g., The Blogs Feature and Images and the Gallery Feature) might be a bit overwhelming in their current structure. If you think that any of these can be broken down to improve clarity, please let me know.

 

Some of the existing tutorials only use on theme (typically the dark theme since that's the one I use), and those will be expanded to include screenshots of the light theme for the members that use that theme.

 

I am currently preparing tutorials for:

• Articles
• Downloads
• Clubs
• Calendar

I'd also like to know if:

• Any of the existing tutorials can be improved
• If there are any other things for which you'd like tutorials [about using the B&C]

For example, we don't really have any tutorials about the Forums since we assume that everyone either knows how to work within that feature or they can figure it out without help. You know what they say about assuming, however.

 

Anyways, we'd like your input on how we can make the tutorials more useful for you.

[Brother Tyler]

Return to Index

 

Side note: This took far longer than the 45 minutes that I estimated above.

 

The more involved tutorials often include indices, with each section in its own comment/reply. The theory is that the index allows a member to find the specific type of action they want to perform, going straight to that section without having to scroll through a bunch of text and images (which would likely be somewhat confusing). If you click the link above, you should go to the first post in this topic.

 

SECTION NAME

 

What you can [often] see in the existing blogs is that a major section will have a full header, as above. A "major section" is usually one of the main choices you'll have within that feature, such as managing a blog or uploading an image to the gallery. Sometimes, major sections will have subordinate (minor) sections, and these will be indicated by using half headers. To enable direct linking, minor sections will be included in separate replies rather than being in the same reply as the major section to which they are subordinate. For clarity, when I say "tutorial" I am referring to the overall topic. Each major/minor section of the tutorial is an "action" and refers to some overall end-state (e.g., creating a new blog, uploading an image to an album) that involves multiple steps. A tutorial typically consistes of multiple types of actions.

 

In cases where a tutorial involves screenshots, we will include screenshots using both themes - the dark and the light theme. To minimize the number of images (download time, visual "noise"), we'll use the NEXT PAGE/PREVIOUS PAGE formatting, the buttons for which will appear at the very top and bottom of the post. Members can then view the version of the tutorial that applies to the theme that they're using, clicking on the NEXT PAGE/PREVIOUS PAGE button to display that version. Normally, the versions would be virtually identical except for the different images and, occasionally, a slight variation in a step or two.

 

1. This is the first step of an action, typically either the home page of the site (which is the main Forums page) or, in the case of a later action, one of the pages of the feature. For example, the tutorial for the action to manage an image starts at the image page.

 

The screenshot will be centered, with an outline (I've used orange above, but we can dicker over that), and will display at 350 pixels. Every image will also have an image title that repeats the text of the step and will also indicate the theme being used. The title can't be seen but supports accessibility by visually-impaired members that "view" the site using screen readers. You can learn about adjusting image display sizes and adding image titles here.

 

The colored outline is intended to help distinguish the screenshot from the rest of the content area, so the color is intended to provide obvious contrast. I've been using a light orange/goldenrod, but I've considered using a white outline for the dark theme and a black outline for the light theme.

 

The older tutorials simply used the entire screenshot, including a lot of "blank" space (okay, it's blank in the light theme, but it shows the background image in the dark theme). The most recent tutorials have cropped the images where the pink dashed lines are shown in the image above. However, that would chop out some of the space necessary for some of the dropdown lists, as you can see above. This isn't so bad for the dropdown lists that appear on the right (see below), but those that appear on the left, as above, would become unusable. The compromise is to find a standard point, as above, and use that as the left/right margin limits. This would standardize all of the images in terms of their width, though it would probably still show the disjointed background image for those dark theme screenshots that are stitched together (I'm pretty sure I'll get over it). This makes editing the images a bigger PITA for me, but the cost in time would be worth it if it improves the tutorials for you.

 

2. This is the second step of an action, often involving placement of the pointer as indicated by the orange cursor arrow.

 

The image above shows the option for a dark theme screenshot using a white border [instead of the goldenrod]. Members viewing the site with the light theme probably won't notice the border, but members viewing the site with the dark theme will see it clearly on the dark gray background. Light theme screenshots would similarly use a black border, providing a similar level of contrast to distinguish the screenshot from the rest of the content background. I don't really have a preference either way:

• Same color border for both themes (color must contrast with both themes and must not otherwise appear for elements of that theme such as in buttons)
• Different colors for each theme, the selected color providing a strong contrast with the theme's background color

I'll continue to use the goldenrod unless sufficient members provide feedback that the white/black (or perhaps a very dark gray) would be preferable.

 

You can see that I've included step numbers. This isn't really an issue here in this 2-step "tutorial," but it will be of immense help in the tutorials whose actions have many more steps. For example, one of the actions in The Blogs Feature tutorial has 27 steps (and some of those steps have multiple screenshots).

 

If you click on the NEXT PAGE button that appears at the top and bottom of this screen, you'll see the other version of this action's instructions/screenshots.

 

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Return to Index

 

You should see the PREVIOUS PAGE button above this. Normally, this version of the tutorial would be identical to the other version, except for the PAGE buttons, text explaining to click the buttons if you're using the other theme, the different screenshots, and the few places where the instructions are different. For example, sometimes a button appears on the left in one theme and on the right in another. Similarly, buttons might be in different colors and I'll identify the color of the button in the text to speed up identification of the button in the image.

 

The NEXT PAGE/PREVIOUS PAGE formatting is only available to the members of the +++ ADMINISTRATII +++ because the only thing we use it for is these tutorials. Using these buttons involves duplicating all of the content of a post, adjusting the text/images so that the second version shows the alternate version, then placing the PAGE in between the two sections. It only allows for two pages (I thought it might allow for three or more before I experimented with it). When the system processes the post, it creates the buttons at the top/bottom, allowing viewers to click them to toggle between the versions. We won't be making this button available to anyone else as there's room for abuse (i.e., trying to hide inappropriate stuff in the second version - I know that most of you wouldn't do that, but there are a few bad actors out there that are the reason we can't all have nice stuff). On the unlikely chance that someone else wants to help out in the crafting of tutorials (be forewarned: they are very time/effort-intensive when done right), I'll provide a tutorial on how to do so, including how to show where to place the PAGE formatting. Once you submit the finished tutorial, one of the +++ ADMINISTRATI +++ will go in and edit the PAGE button in.

 

SECTION NAME

 

What you can [often] see in the existing blogs is that a major section will have a full header, as above. A "major section" is usually one of the main choices you'll have within that feature, such as managing a blog or uploading an image to the gallery. Sometimes, major sections will have subordinate (minor) sections, and these will be indicated by using half headers. To enable direct linking, minor sections will be included in separate replies rather than being in the same reply as the major section to which they are subordinate. For clarity, when I say "tutorial" I am referring to the overall topic. Each major/minor section of the tutorial is an "action" and refers to some overall end-state (e.g., creating a new blog, uploading an image to an album) that involves multiple steps. A tutorial typically consistes of multiple types of actions.

 

In cases where a tutorial involves screenshots, we will include screenshots using both themes - the dark and the light theme. To minimize the number of images (download time, visual "noise"), we'll use the NEXT PAGE/PREVIOUS PAGE formatting, the buttons for which will appear at the very top and bottom of the post. Members can then view the version of the tutorial that applies to the theme that they're using, clicking on the NEXT PAGE/PREVIOUS PAGE button to display that version. Normally, the versions would be virtually identical except for the different images and, occasionally, a slight variation in a step or two.

 

1. This is the first step of an action, typically either the home page of the site (which is the main Forums page) or, in the case of a later action, one of the pages of the feature. For example, the tutorial for the action to manage an image starts at the image page.

 

The screenshot will be centered, with an outline (I've used orange above, but we can dicker over that), and will display at 350 pixels. Every image will also have an image title that repeats the text of the step and will also indicate the theme being used. The title can't be seen but supports accessibility by visually-impaired members that "view" the site using screen readers. You can learn about adjusting image display sizes and adding image titles here.

 

The colored outline is intended to help distinguish the screenshot from the rest of the content area, so the color is intended to provide obvious contrast. I've been using a light orange/goldenrod, but I've considered using a white outline for the dark theme and a black outline for the light theme.

 

The older tutorials simply used the entire screenshot, including a lot of "blank" space (okay, it's blank in the light theme, but it shows the background image in the dark theme). The most recent tutorials have cropped the images where the pink dashed lines are shown in the image above. However, that would chop out some of the space necessary for some of the dropdown lists, as you can see above. This isn't so bad for the dropdown lists that appear on the right (see below), but those that appear on the left, as above, would become unusable. The compromise is to find a standard point, as above, and use that as the left/right margin limits. This would standardize all of the images in terms of their width, though it would probably still show the disjointed background image for those dark theme screenshots that are stitched together (I'm pretty sure I'll get over it). This makes editing the images a bigger PITA for me, but the cost in time would be worth it if it improves the tutorials for you.

 

2. This is the second step of an action, often involving placement of the pointer as indicated by the orange cursor arrow.

 

The image above shows the option for a dark theme screenshot using a white border [instead of the goldenrod]. Members viewing the site with the light theme probably won't notice the border, but members viewing the site with the dark theme will see it clearly on the dark gray background. Light theme screenshots would similarly use a black border, providing a similar level of contrast to distinguish the screenshot from the rest of the content background. I don't really have a preference either way:

• Same color border for both themes (color must contrast with both themes and must not otherwise appear for elements of that theme such as in buttons)
• Different colors for each theme, the selected color providing a strong contrast with the theme's background color

I'll continue to use the goldenrod unless sufficient members provide feedback that the white/black (or perhaps a very dark gray) would be preferable.

 

You can see that I've included step numbers. This isn't really an issue here in this 2-step "tutorial," but it will be of immense help in the tutorials whose actions have many more steps. For example, one of the actions in The Blogs Feature tutorial has 27 steps (and some of those steps have multiple screenshots).

 

If you click on the PREVIOUS PAGE button that appears at the top and bottom of this screen, you'll see the other version of this action's instructions/screenshots.