Re: Templates directory looks pretty bare

[Curtis Hovey <sinzui cox net>]

On Sat, 2004-07-31 at 14:48 +0100, Jamie McCracken wrote:
> On Sat, 2004-07-31 at 14:15, Jeff Waugh wrote:
> > b) the Templates folder is visible so users can interact with it easily,
> > same as Desktop
> 
> Yes but then it should be renamed NautilusTemplates or something cause
> Templates is too generic especially under the Home directory - I had no
> idea what the empty Templates folder did in FC2 when I first installed
> it so I deleted that folder! Had I known it was used by Nautilus then I
> would of course have kept it.

Solid user documentation is absent in our platform releases.  Our rapid
releases are confusing developers and users, such as in the case of
spatial Nautilus and Templates.

What we need is a document about _Living with GNOME_.  It discusses how
to use the desktop and it's applications, instead of just indicating
what they do.  In the case of spatial Nautilus and templates, we pointed
users and developers to previous conversations, or to essays on other
sites to explain our reasoning.  Instead, our reasoning should be
incorporated into our documentation, aided with plenty of examples
derived from use cases.

In the chapter on document-centric computing:
. Using folders to manage documents.
. How to create a kind of document using the desktop.
. Using the Templates folder to create new kinds of document.
. Opening documents by clicking, keying, and drag and drop.

In the chapter on applications
. Using the window list, window selector, and the keyboard to switch
  windows.
. Using workspaces to divide tasks.
. working with windows and apps; close and quit.

Discovering the document is another issue.  When the desktop is
upgraded, the user should see a presentation highlighting the new
features.  The presentation will end with an suggestion to RTFM, which
is placed on the desktop for easy discovery.

PS.  I love the Template directory as it is.  I would like to see
applications that have templates to add/update "Save As Template" to the
file menu.

-- 
__C U R T I S  C.  H O V E Y____________________
sinzui cox net
Guilty of stealing everything I am.