Need Suggestions for the Help Manual

[Valtam]

Added Windows Equivalents of Linux Programs to Software page:

[br1anstorm]

I know this is an old topic......and having just tried out a Live session of Lite 2.6 I see that the Help Manual is up and running.  It is an impressive and comprehensive piece of work, and a great addition to the distro, especially for newcomers like me!

I have only skimmed the manual very quickly.  I assume it is going to be reviewed and updated.  If so, one thing I didn't find - which might be useful - is an explanation of Wine.  For Linux veterans and devotees Wine is probably irrelevant.  But for those (like me) who have spent years with Windows programs (and have a soft spot for some of them....) Wine is quite useful.  For example, I am deeply attached to FastStone Image Viewer for organising and editing my photos and have found no comparable Linux equivalent.

There is a section in the Help Manual which lists Linux equivalents to many Windows programs, and that's useful.  But - assuming that Wine will run in Linux Lite - would it be sensible to have a section in "software" linked to that list which explains how to install Wine and then how to run Windows programs, using Wine, in a Linux OS?

[torreydale]

I would think there is at least one worthy Linux alternative to FastStone. 

But on the bigger issue of Wine, it is installable via Lite Software, and Wine even shows up in the Help Manual screenshots of Lite Software.  A short explanation in the Help Manual of what Wine is wouldn't hurt, but I think it would be out of scope to explain how to use it.  A pointer to the WineHQ website or to this support forum would be as far as I would go.

[br1anstorm]

I confess I hadn't noticed that Wine was included in the Lite Software list and shown in the Help Manual screenshot.

But if we assume (probably correctly) that most users of the Help Manual will be new to Linux and new to Linux Lite, and that most will be refugees from Windows, I do think it would be useful to have a couple of introductory and explanatory sentences (logically in the "Linux equivalents to Windows programs" section) about what Wine is and why it might be worth having, with a link to WineHQ  and the forum.

Although using Wine with Windows programs is arguably a less satisfactory route to follow than opting for a new and different Linux alternative program, it is a way of easing the transition.

As for FastStone, I'm sure there are decent Linux alternatives and I wouldn't want to trigger a debate (at least not in this thread).  Some (like Shotwell) are okay, while I find GIMP, for example, too complex and user-unfriendly.  FastStone just happens to offer the combination of editing and organising facilities that suits me, and I am very accustomed to it.  But it's a personal thing, and others will no doubt have different, and equally valid, program-preferences.

[avj]

Yesterday while going through the help manual I noticed a small typo. It is located:

https://www.freecinema2022.gq/manual/hardw...tallissues

"Dual Boot Install on Systems with More Than One Hard Drive?

When choosing to install Linux Lite alongside Windows on a computerwith more than one hard drive, the default action of the installer is to install the Linux boot loader to the MBR of the first hard drive. Since Windows is likely installed to the first drive, its boot loader will be replaced on the MBR with the Linux boot loader. The Linux boot loader will see the Windows installation and add it to the boot menu on start-up. This is how most people do the installation."

[Valtam]

I'm reviving this thread as the last few days I've been updating information and screenshots in the Help Manual.

If you have any sensible suggestions for new content for the Manual, please let us know in this thread.

What to keep in mind:

- Suggestions only for programs or features we ship, keeping in mind providing that there is no suitable documentation already for that software or feature (no third party suggestions)

Thread now stickied.

[geaves]

I'm reviving this thread as the last few days I've been updating information and screenshots in the Help Manual.

If you have any sensible suggestions for new content for the Manual, please let us know in this thread.

What to keep in mind:

- Suggestions only for programs or features we ship, keeping in mind providing that there is no suitable documentation already for that software or feature (no third party suggestions)

Thread now stickied.

As a new user to LL (but a user of other distros both gui and headless) the only thing I couldn't get right was sharing. In other gui packages right clicking on a folder and select sharing will work if cifs-utils are installed, on a headless server your editing smb.conf etc.

However, I decided to look at the manual (first for me) and follow the networking section....for me this failed, for two reasons, my netbios name of the laptop was more than 15 characters, and the share name was more than 12. Manual  shows the share name as linuxliteshare, linuxliteVideos and so on. Correcting the netbios name solved the first problem, the share name I resolved following a video by [member=6629]ralphy[/member] and created shares simply by their folder name, that resolved the second.
BTW the Network Share Settings is the first I have seen and it's very helpful for someone new, the manual itself is very well written.

Many thanks, Geoff

[Valtam]

I'll correct the Manual to show shorter names.

[Valtam]

I've also posted a job for freelance web developers to provide us with a searchable Help Manual (both on and offline).
Hopefully I'll be able to report some good news on this in the future.

[torreydale]

Perhaps add a link in the manual to the Forum Posting Guidelines.