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[wiki] A New Textbook
Totally unofficial, this one runs on DokuWiki and there is no editing or registration allowed. (But you can see Editor View and page source by clicking the icon top left). It uses default DokuWiki colours so ignore those. Style will be brought in line with textpattern.com relaunch styling if it is good enough to become the new Textbook proper. So. Is it good enough?
If it isn’t good enough, then you can wait until Destry finishes his MediaWiki version reskin and IA rethink. If you think it is good enough, then perhaps Destry will put his energies into DW instead. There is also Bert’s xPattern documentation which might become like another Textbook although I’m not sure where it is headed. Thanks very much to Bert, by the way, for the conversion of the txp tags into DW syntax.
Syntax is one reason I chose DokuWiki to present my idea of what I think Textbook should be more like. DW is more intuitive and simple than the MW syntax. Another reason for DW is because when looking at sites using it, I found there was plenty of variety and some didn’t look like wikis. MW sites I saw all looked fairly similar and all looked like wikis. DW also feels more lightweight and the documentation and website are simpler to follow, whereas MW seems heavier and more complicated – a bit like Textpattern vs Movable Type. Last but not least, the translation plugin by Andreas Gohr, who is also the developer of DokuWiki, is brilliant. When you arrive at txb, look at the 2-letter language codes at the top. If they are underlined it means there is an equivalent page for that language. Click on one and see. If you click on a non-underlined language code you are taken to a page with the language namespace and pagename are awaiting you, so you can translate if you wish. I think it is very intuitive. I don’t know if Mediawiki has something similar but I doubt if it would beat this plugin for ease of use.
Textbook is all about the content, of course. Experts like Nielsen say people almost always surf the net to look for specific things and ignore everything that is irrelevant. That pretty well sums up how I use it too, although I occasionally browse around. So with this in mind I’ve tried to cut the crap from some articles. But some go into great detail and it’s probably necessary for some learners to have this detail. So I’ve tended to put a summary at the top which is meant to cater for people who want it short and sweet, and then left more details below. I’m no sure I’ve succeeded to do it well and rewriting the content is an ongoing process. Some articles I haven’t even read yet. All feedback re content and input of content will be much appreciated (by everyone not just me).
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Re: [wiki] A New Textbook
Colours aside Peter that looks excellent though I haven’t looked at everything yet, and before somebody under 30 tells you otherwise, the font-size is lovely. I won’t be needing a magnifying glass. :)
One small point that threw me for about 5 seconds – I initially confused the “Textpattern Tabs” title with “Textpattern Tags” so maybe changing it to “Textpattern Admin Tabs” would be clearer?
Stuart
In a Time of Universal Deceit
Telling the Truth is Revolutionary.
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Re: [wiki] A New Textbook
Thanks, Stuart. The under-30s can zoom down :-) ‘Textpattern Admin Tabs’ doesn’t fit the space and I thought the illustration made it clear but 5 seconds… Perhaps ‘TXP Admin Tabs’?
Edit: now changed to ‘Admin Tabs’.
Last edited by zero (2008-08-02 11:32:15)
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Re: [wiki] A New Textbook
We Love TXP . TXP Themes . TXP Tags . TXP Planet . TXP Make
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Re: [wiki] A New Textbook
- default font-size is a bit large, IMHO. I’d rather see the small font size as the default.
- having the language links separate from the 101…501 links makes navigation clearer.
- 101, 201, 301, 401 are not very descriptive names. I assume this refers to the level of difficulty as used by some schools, but I don’t think this used world wide (I recognize it only from US movies).
- The bar containing “Textbook” and “search” take up too much space. The actual content starts too low, so I have to scroll too much too soon.
- Perhaps put the TXP tags link above the 101 link? That groups the 101-501 links together and puts the most used link at the top.
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Re: [wiki] A New Textbook
Thanks Bert and Ruud.
I figured that with different screen resolutions and bad eyesight, then I’d better start with it large, Ruud. That way everyone can see it. It’s no problem for those with good eyes to zoom down but for those wearing jam-jars like me it can be a problem. So I’m with Stuart on that one.
I’ve separated the top links a bit. OK now?
With 101, 201, 301 etc being progressive numbers I hoped it would cut across all cultures. Translates into all languages, I think. I could use 1 to 5 but there’s no space in between for future expansion or changes. The main page shows a description of what they mean as well.
I put Textpattern Tags there so it split up the number sequence. It is reflected at the top too. It helps memory that way – 101, 201, tags, then more advanced – so I hope it makes it easier to navigate that way, even if it don’t look quite as good. Also the home page is aimed at beginners or newbies, so I don’t think it’s a good idea to put the tags first. People wanting tag info will soon know where to find them.
Re the logo and ‘you are here’ bar, I felt it needed some whitespace. I actually gave it more to start with and have reduced it. If you use the smaller font size, doesn’t that let you see most of the content? I feel the ‘you are here’ needs to stand out because it’s an easy way to navigate. However, these things (including the top links) can be changed depending on the txp.com relaunch styling, so I’ll keep that in mind. (I’ve now changed it a bit to free up some content space).
Last edited by zero (2008-08-02 18:35:32)
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#7 2008-08-02 18:24:59
- candyman
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- Registered: 2006-08-08
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Re: [wiki] A New Textbook
“Learn more” tutorials are very useful: they avoid to search the forums and ask for already solved questions.
One little thing: the green color isn’t TXPish… :P
Good job.
Last edited by candyman (2008-08-02 18:25:48)
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Re: [wiki] A New Textbook
Nice job Peter, but I personally find the font size really big. And like Ruud, I don’t like the 101 etc. The simplified front page makes it much easier to find things though, especially for first time users.
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Re: [wiki] A New Textbook
Jonathan, Ruud, have you clicked the zoom down icon up top left? It takes it down to 75% which is much too small for most people but should be OK for you. It should retain those setting after you’ve switched to it so I don’t see your problem. Actually, using a weird version of IE6 on Linux, the switcher doesn’t work so good. Are you having the same problem?
Candyman, the green is temporary, it comes from the dokuwiki defaults. And yes, I think those ‘Learn More’ tutorials are all very good and the writers did a great job.
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Re: [wiki] A New Textbook
Peter, I’ve used the zoom option. It works, but defaulting to the large font makes TXB stand out from the other somewhat official websites (txp.org, forum, txp.com) which all have the smaller font size. I think most people can read fonts that size just fine (most websites use that font size). Btw, I’m over 30 years old and wearing glasses ;)
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Re: [wiki] A New Textbook
It’s the glasses that do it Peter. I haven’t applied for mine yet. Do you need a passport or ID of some sort? ;)
Actually the new font size is fine. It’s when it drops to 10px or below, like some people use in footers that contain important information or links, that I tend to get problems.
Last edited by thebombsite (2008-08-03 10:02:03)
Stuart
In a Time of Universal Deceit
Telling the Truth is Revolutionary.
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