If this report isn't helpful, it is testimony to how a guided
IssueZilla helper would help improve initial reports.

Hi
currently we have *many* docs guiding people on how to use IZ.
But more may be better, and the last doc out there was written two
years ago, at the least.
Would you want to help coordinate an update to the document?
the only problem is that we do not have direct control over the IZ
templates. We can, however, specify what is to be included and then
have those added. 
louis 

I'll contact the maker of the BugZilla Helper and find out if it could
be easily modified to use with IssueZilla.  I think it is included in
new BugZilla builds, but an upgrade to IssueZilla is probably no too
soon.  Message sent to gerv@gerv.net.

Created attachment 3599 [details]
Bugzilla Helper (slightly modified original)

I just attached what I could find of the old Bugzilla Helper.  I have
already started to try modifying it.

Brant,
Great!
the issue here is that we can replace the simple html files (or add to
them) that are in the www project but as I mentioned not without some
difficulty the one that is in the /issues/ directory, which is where
the guide would live.

As I mentioned, then, we can present this to CollabNet for inclusion
in IssueZilla.
I'll ask the UI people there how feasible it is.
best
louis 

From Gerv:
I assume you mean the old JavaScript-based version of the Bugzilla
Helper? The new one is a template for the template system, and so
would need a complete rewrite to work with non-templatised Bugzillas.

I have no idea whether it would be easy. IssueZilla was forked from
Bugzilla a long time ago, and Bugzilla has moved on a great deal since
then. It would give me great pleasure than seeing OpenOffice join the
Linux Kernel, KDE, Gnome, Red Hat and others in using an up-to-date
version.

But, having said that, you are welcome to try :-)

I am adding the QA list to this since they may want to be involved in
creating the helper.

Created attachment 3623 [details]
mostly functional helper

The IssueZilla helper is mostly functional.  The HTML needs some
cosmetic changes.  I also need to finish adding the
component/subcomponent lists to the JS.  Other than that, I think it
is finished.  Could somebody test it and let me know of any problems.
 Make sure you are logged in first.

Also, what is the HTML standard for the site?  Is it HTML 3.2, 4.01,
or XHTML 1.0?  Or is it something else?  Currently, the HTML is 4.01
Strict.

Suggestions are requested.

Created attachment 3631 [details]
almost publishable (JS problem)

Big overhaul of the HTML code.  I'm not a HTML expert so users beware.

Submitted for owner and community approval.

Summary:       Focus this form for quick and simple issue entry.
               Adapt it for OpenOffice.org

Known issues:  <span> tags are not properly implemented.
               I don't have enough information about the styles that
               IZ uses and there are a few new ones that may need 
               to be added.

               <option> and other form elements may have the wrong
               keys.  I don't have the list of options names that IZ
               recognizes.

               Spell checking.  Sorry ran out of time, so this
               document hasn't been spell checked.
 
               "Sanity" checking.  Grammer, punctuation, consistence
               and other "spit and polish" elements has not been
               thoroughly worked on.

               HTML verification.  Sorry ran out of time, so this
               document hasn't been run through Tidy or some other
               HTML validation tool.

               Browser compatibility.  Just checked on IE 5.5.


Changes:       Major changes to the text inside the HTML.  Branded
               the product.  Reduced verbosity.  Reduced technical
               terms.  Focused intent and action.  Provided guided
               feedback to the user on the various stages of the
               process.  Added text effects ( bolding ) to key
               points of importance.  When appropiate, shortened and
               simplified all comments.

               The layout of HTML elements was completely reworked.
               Added more whitespace to increase readability.  Added
               consistent aligment of form elements by embedding
               elements inside tables.  Eliminated redundant entries.
               Changed flow orientation of form elements to provide
               top - down - left - right reading consistency and flow.

               Shortened drop down options lists and arranged 
               elements in lists in "guestimate" order of popularity:

               Component:  Only key components listed.
               Version:    Only current version, one version behind
                           current version and developer build version
                           listed.
               Hardware:   Shortened list to only supported platforms.
               OS:         Shortened list to only supported OSes.
               Issue Type: Shorted list to defect, enhancement and
                           feature.
               
               Summary text area broken out into a separate area.
               Summary text area was reduced to one line.

               Description area was seeded with template/skeleton
               questions to help user fill in the description.

               Removed "reproducibility" and "extra information"
               fields.  Not used in IZ.

               Removed URL form element.  Usually not required and
               adds to presentation clutter/noise.

That's all for now.

Created attachment 3637 [details]
helper.html updated in this file.  No JS file included.

One more comment, I left out Tru64 in the OS drop down list because I 
don't know if the IZ db supports it.

Created attachment 3638 [details]
Updated HTML & JS to fix issues/bugs

Have made changes to both the HTML & JS.

HTML:
* Fixed HTML 4.01 Strict compatibility issues by running through W3 
validator
* Changed <LI> tags to use tables instead - doesn't allow for 
automatic numbering but should hopefully help with having it 
displayed the way intended (note that this is only an idea I have - 
please feel free to put it back the way it was if required :) )
* Removed <LABEL> tag as a) it didn't confirm to HTML 4.01 Strict 
standard and b) didn't seem to do anything anyway (not on IE6 
anyway - perhaps someone can tell me what it was meant to do :) )
* Spell checked

JS:
* Altered case statements to work (changed "Case" to read "case")

Please feel free to let me know if the changes I've made are a) 
unnecessary, b) silly, c) don't work d) etc.

Are we planning on putting these on the QA site?  If so I can add this
as CVS under the IssueZilla area of the QA site.

scott, you are more than welcome from my perspective to include this
in QA. I can see if I can add this to IZ in general. 
But if we do include it there, PLEASE let me know so I can link to it
and any other good document. (Actually, send me or file an IZ to me
listing such docs...)
louis 

The files have been added to the qa index.html and the CVS.  Keep in
mind, the file is called helper.html instead of helper.htm.  

Let me know if you need any changes.

have fun...

That's a good start.
Some quick comments:
- OpenOffice should be changed to OpenOffice.org
- Keyword search doesn't work
- main components should be wordprocessor, spreadsheets, drawing,
presentation
- platforms/OSs should be the ones we support
- there are references to BugZilla and mozilla.org. Should they be
replaced (with giving credit).

I haven't tried to submit. That will be my next lesson...

Big thanks to Scott for all his work.

As requested by me, Scott has removed the form from the QA index 
site.  It wasn't GA yet, and it was the wrong version.  The team has 
made significant improvements to the form in the latest version.

The project is also now tracked in CVS at the QA site.

Jumped the gun a little there, I guess.  :-)

Oh well, the form looks good.  

For testing purposes, you can find the page at:

http://qa.openoffice.org/helper.html

Have fun...

Joost: The version numbers within the section "Component and Version"
contain old values. Version 1.02 and 1.1 Beta ( eq. 644) are missing.
Could somebody update this ?

JA: is there any update on this item ?

I've sort of come to a halt on this.  If somebody else wants to work
on it, they can.  To work properly, I think it will have to use the
original JavaScript methods to open a bug report.  Otherwise, the
submitted bug will have no reporter assigned to it.

hi
can I recommend that we actually put this on hold until we see what exactly the new 
IZ will be like? we will also have another issue tracker to play with; both are better 
than what we currently have.

If we are have hit the major elements and have *now* a doc that addresses most user 
needs, then let's go with it. 
louis

I think some work happened in the meantime, can you please review the current
status ?

JA: Version information needs still to be updated if this helper will be used as
default helper app.

The Issue you raised has been marked as 'Resolved' and not updated within the
last 1 year+. I am therefore setting this issue to 'Verified' as the first step
towards Closing it. If you feel this is incorrect, please re-open the issue and
add any comments.

Many thanks,
Andrew
 
Cleaning-up and Closing old Issues
~ The Grand Bug Squash, pre v3 ~
http://marketing.openoffice.org/3.0/announcementbeta.html

As per previous posting: Verified -> Closed.
A Closed Issue is a Happy Issue (TM).

Regards,
Andrew