Getting Started 4.0 book and status of updating all user guides

The awesome duo of JohnS and PeterS have completed updating all
chapters of the Getting Started book to LO v4.0. I'll go through the
last few chapters today (review and edit) and, unless I spot some
problem, I will then compile the full book. Others on the team are
welcome, and encouraged, to further review the published chapters.
It's a work in progress: publish early and often!

The first edition will use the old template (page design); we can
update it to a new template later. It's more important right now to
get the books updated than to make them visually a bit different from
the v3.x books, clean up the style names, and so forth. All of that
will get done!

Meanwhile, JohnS is working on the guides for Writer and Math and
PeterS is working on Impress and Draw.

The Calc Guide, as usual, is the orphaned book. Anyone who can help
with updating it, please step up.

Meanwhile, we're still working our way through translating the Base
Handbook from German, though we'll need to incorporate into the
translated chapters any changes being made to it for v4.0.

--Jean

Hi,

I know I'm new here, but I wouldn't mind helping update the Calc guide. If
you can give me some pointers, and be prepared to answer questions, I'll be
glad to help out!

Hello Jean,

Meanwhile, we're still working our way through translating the Base
Handbook from German, though we'll need to incorporate into the
translated chapters any changes being made to it for v4.0.

As I understand you want to have a look at what we are doing with
"Handbuch Base" here, right?
The chapter "Reports", which has been translated from Hazel, is nearly
complete one of the new chapters. To other chapters we have added some
content. Most content is added to the Macro-chapter - but it isn't
finished yet.
You could always have a look on what we are doing, when you follow this
link:
http://robert.familiegrosskopf.de/lo_hb/

Regards,

Robert

(Applause!)
Chapter 2, Producing LibreOffice User Guides, and Chaper 3, Using the
ODFAuthors Website, in the Contributors' Guide, are good places to get
started with the practical issues of updating files.
https://wiki.documentfoundation.org/images/7/74/Producing-LO-userguides.pdf
https://wiki.documentfoundation.org/images/0/05/Using_odfauthors.pdf

In this case, here are some variations on what may be in those chapters:
When downloading a chapter of the Calc 3.4 (or draft v3.6) guide, do
NOT "check out" the file because you are going to create new files.
Get existing v3.4 files from
http://www.odfauthors.org/libreoffice/english/calc-guide/published-lo-3.4
Drafts of the Preface and Chapter 1 for v3.6 are here:
http://www.odfauthors.org/libreoffice/english/calc-guide/draft-lo3.6

Rename the file to CG40xx-xxxxxx_yourinitials_date.odt before saving
it to the v4.0 Drafts Folder.

Questions are always welcome and expected. We know the process can be
quite confusing at first.

--Jean

Hello Jean

I can tag the Calc guide onto my list of things to do, but it will be at the end of the list after Impress and Draw.

Regards

PeterS

Peter Schofield
psauthor@gmail.com

Hello Kieran

I did start upgrading Calc to version 3.6 before the Getting Started Guide to version 4.0 became priority. If you go to this link you will be able to download a draft of Calc Chap 1 version 3.6 to give you some idea of what is involved.

http://www.odfauthors.org/libreoffice/english/calc-guide/draft-lo3.6/cg-3.6-chap-01-introducing-calc/view

Just compare it to earlier versions of the Calc guide and hopefully you get the idea.

Regards

PeterS

Peter Schofield
psauthor@gmail.com

Hi :slight_smile:
Sounds like the Calc Guide would be perfect for new team-members to work on if PeterS could review it afterwards or give helpful tips if they ask.
Regards from
Tom :slight_smile:

Not a bad idea Tom

Whoever upgrades the Calc guide, please let me know so I can cast my eagle eye over it ;-())))

A draft version of Chapter 1 version 3.6 is available at the following link:

http://www.odfauthors.org/libreoffice/english/calc-guide/draft-lo3.6/cg-3.6-chap-01-introducing-calc/view

This should give you some idea of what to do.

Regards

PeterS

Peter Schofield
psauthor@gmail.com

Hi :slight_smile:
An excellent offer!  I'm not sure how useful this is
https://wiki.documentfoundation.org/Documentation/Development#First_steps_with_the_Documentation_team
but the French chap and PeterS might be able to help with that a bit!
Regards from
Tom :slight_smile:

Hi :slight_smile:
Sounds like the Calc Guide would be perfect for new team-members to work on

Many (though not all) chapters need good knowledge of spreadsheets,
beyond the basics, so new team members who don't have that knowledge
may not be of much help until someone knowledgeable has done the
update; anyone can then review and edit that work.

I say that not to discourage anyone who wants to help, but just to
point out that it is probably the most difficult book to work on (some
chapters, anyway), which is why it's not kept up to date as well as
the other books.

--Jean

Hi :) 
I think we have a few Calc experts that are new to the documentation team, or at least pretty adept with Calc. 
Regards from
Tom :slight_smile:

Hi Jean, once the book is available, I would like to announce it. The
release of LO 4.0.1, which is just a couple of week away, might be the
right opportunity.