FAQ

[Pibuz]

..no comment?

[CTZn]

Your work is really pleasing Pibuz, and certainly usefull, I'm sure of that.

There are some points to consider, there is something like a schedule around the wiki:

1 - At least in the wiki, the very core and backbone of every documentation on Indigo should be the pdf manual, the ultimate reference So job n°1 is to duplicate the documentation on line. Job n°2 is to append some discrete links in the wikized pdf copy, toward pages like yours, more user friendly.

2 - So your work has first to be considering how it could be fitted in the actual documentation structure, and indeed your pages have a match in it !

Sorry if I was professoral (?) or anything uncomfortable with you Pibuz, also I'm telling this publicly because the topic is of general interest.

Let me recapitulate in a shorter way:

- I like the design of what you did, I enjoy even more your willing to participate in a general Indigo documentation and you are welcome at it !

- It's somehow conflicting with a pre-existing work, inserting it now would be redundant and possibly confusing.

- Anyone willing to complete pdf wikizing is welcome, from there it will be easier to structure the whole wiki. Wiki is supervised, in that at the upper level the wiki user must find a perfect copy of the pdf doc, with clean tiny links and no fancy commentaries

Was that shorter explanation anyway

Pibuz, please let me know if I must explain further (or better ). Everything I write is subject to my perception, do not hesitate to share yours !

Maybe some other wiki editors can pop and tell us their point too...

edit:

and indeed your pages have a match in it !

This very page is already kind of problematic, since I merged the official documentation with some previous CoolColJ (or was it the Dr ?) entries. That should not be so at that level of the documentation imho.

[Pibuz]

Hi CTZn! Thanks for your answer!
I see your point..
I haven't kept in mind the current wiki structure for two reasons:
1. I'd like to write a SkIndigo Faq, so i thought it was gonna be kind of a side work, for indigo..
2. I have never written a FAQ before!

So, your comments are really appreciated, but somehow a little obscure to me..
Could you please make an example?

Sorry to bother CTZn, it's just to understand..

[CTZn]

Okay, np for explaining better what I said, if I can !

First: what I said was concerning only the wiki. If you want to release any own document in you exporter community I have nothing against, all the contrary !

Though, if you plan to wikize those documents, then you should try to stick with simple facts (also maybe to integrate your standalone documents better in the global documentation scheme).

I think (though it's still wip) that it is safe to assume that the wiki has 3 levels of information:

1 - The Indigo Documentation level (wikized pdf, raw)
2 - The by-users-for-users documentation level (tips, tutorials etc, all links refering to 1)
3 - the exporter documentation level (exporter manual, tutorials, exporter faqs... links refering to 1 and 2)

Basically what I'm saying is not to dispatch informations from 2 to 3, but use links instead. So an Indigo faq should not be found in an exporter section, but at level 2.

We want all Indigo users to have access to the same quality of information, it would be a shame if only a given exporter community would know about a general technique... That was my point. If it's of general Indigo Interest it should be in 2, if it is exporter specific it should be in 3.

Releasing in the wiki a document grouping level 2 and level 3 informations would hardly be accepted, because it is a factor of confusion/dissemination of information (harder to find).

Again I'm trying to get a structure for the wiki (actually the pdf is giving that structure), it's all wip, and your opinion matters,

Thanks !

Again !?

PS: sorry to you and Zom-B for hijacking your threads, I'll stick with wiki threads in the future.

[Pibuz]

Oh, ok: i understand what you mean.
...Indeed, almost all the topics covered in my PDF file are SkIndigo related, so i guess they should be put in level 3. The only pages referring to the general use, features, installation of Indigo are page 1 and 2, but they say nothing that's not written in the current online FAQS already. So, wiki-wise, i think all of my pdf (excepted the first two pages) can be already put as it is in a level 3 of the online wiki.
Then, as you say, if you agree and if it's possible, it may be useful to have a link directly to the pdf file in the sketchup exporter's area/level..

..am I messing it all up again?

[CTZn]

So, wiki-wise, i think all of my pdf (excepted the first two pages) can be already put as it is in a level 3 of the online wiki.

Ok, go for the whole thing at level 3 ^^ Actually if it's downloadable, I'm seeing your faq as separated from the wiki, like independent. I think we can exclude downloadable documents from that structure I exposed.

Then, as you say, if you agree and if it's possible, it may be useful to have a link directly to the pdf file in the sketchup exporter's area/level..

This matter is not resolved now, in that many links could be append to the level 1 toward 2 or 3 in a profitable fashion for the beginner/attender, but at the cost of reducing readability. Those issues will be adressed after the whole pdf is duplicated online. Then we'll see how we can pipe everything together (notably from lvl1 toward lvl3 if that come to happen)

Keep it up Pibuz, much appreciated !

[eulgrand]

Thanks for your work Pibuz, and to all those who spend time to share their knowledge

[kb1]

I just downloaded Indigo, and it seems like a great mix between the 'inexpensive-but-not-enough-options' programs and the 'this-is-way-beyond-me, mentally & economically" programs. I am excited!

I have just begun 3d modelling & rendering, so I just don't get the terminology and many of the concepts behind how renders are created, so I rely on myself, tutorials, forums & info to learn. And this is PERFECT! Especially because I can't locate the reference manual. To be succesfull you must understand the background of the software and the basics of using the program and what it does, and guessing my way can only take me so far, and gets frustrating. And it's for sketchup, so I don't have to get frustrated trying to find options that don't exist.

I look forward to reading through this and being able to use the program to the best of its abilities.

Thanks.

[Pibuz]

Thank you kb1 for your sincere feedback
I really loved that..

[Pibuz]

05-03-09

..so sorry guys..
Last weekend I was reading the FAQ-Part I to start writing the second part, and I realized that Part I was missing a page.

So sorry.

I re-uploaded a new corrected file, and I updated the link in the first post.
Please, re-download the PDF and delete the FAQ_PartI you previously downloaded.

Sorry again.

[Pibuz]

01-06-09

I've added a link to the FAQ part II in the first post of this topic.

I've also updated the link to the final doc file, including both Part I and Part II, if that is somehow useful to update the online wiki.

Cheers to everyone!

[Whaat]

EDIT 4-01/2009
Updated links to new versions in the Top message.

Thanks Pibuz! Any chance you can share it in ZIP format?

[Pibuz]

***EDIT 02-06/2009***
(could'nt update the first topic due to a memory failure )

Voilà the link for the ZIP versions:

PART I: http://www.box.net/shared/c3ikpmcg81
PART II: http://www.box.net/shared/oeiu1va9rx

DOC external link (complete FAQ document):

http://www.box.net/shared/9ceijrnm8v