Documentation Checklist

These items are all for 1.4 release candidate.

This is a companion list to the Release Checklist.

Essential changes to the Manual
Please correct this if it looks wrong!. The current plan is to develop/write the documentation on the wiki. The primary format we will offer the documentation in is html. It is undecided whether help will be bundled with Audacity or as a separate download. ''my [JC] vote is to bundle English help with Audacity if it adds less than 20% to the total size of the download. [GA thinks so too, especially so that bundlers will always get the Help docs.] ''. Help may be available in pdf file format too.


 * One version of help will serve all platforms.
 * Screenshots can be captured with the built-in screenshot utility. We may add additional features to the screenshot utility to make this process easier / repeatable.
 * We have a page on the manual wiki for on the manual.  That page is the best guide as to what is essential to do for the manual.
 * We still have to translate the Manual after we have written it. What process will we use to do that?
 * [GA] We need to copy the website FAQs into the Manual FAQs and merge them/possibly improve them if there is time. At that point a strong case could be made for removing the FAQs from the main site, except that there is then no method of translating them until a method of translating the Manual is devised.

Web sites

 * We need to consider an image something like Audacity Needs You but less militaristic, and where it is to be displayed on what sites (main website/Wiki/Forum). We do need some image to grab attention.




 * Current text


 * "This list is for Audacity developers and people who are interested in following the Audacity development process."


 * Suggested replacement


 * "This list is for Audacity developers, and everyone else interested in following the Audacity development process. If you've compiled Audacity yourself or are trying to do so, this is the right list for you."

Other documentation

 * Fliers/posters/advertisements?

README.txt

 * Make README more attractive/interesting/reduce its length. Suggested only changes since the last release will now be included in the Change Log section. The entire Change Log since 1.0 could then be made available online instead.


 * Further suggested to move up the compilation instructions to "Source code to this program is always available" and include a note encouraging developers to join us by subscribing to audacity-devel. Needs a reference to /mac/compile.txt. Outdated reference to -help list should be fixed.

Compile.txt files (Windows/Mac)

 * Should these also carry a note encouraging developers to join us? Maybe an invitation to join us can be blended in to to the reference to -devel list.

Done

 * ,, - more encouraging wording for (potential) developers to join us or seek help with compilation problems, direct links to -devel list subscription page
 * (Essential) and  - softer advisory removing the words "warning" and "unstable".
 * (Essential) Hyperlink target for Unsupported File Format help (inner text)
 * (README.txt) various corrections to first and second draft
 * [RA] Update the audacity.1 Unix manual to distinguish between 1.3 and 1.2, remove reference to 1.3 importing multiple files from command line etc.