Newbie Working On Xfce-Panel Documentation

[Nick Schermer]

On Fri, Feb 25, 2011 at 11:11 AM, S. Miller <shara.miller at gmail.com> wrote:
> Yes, I am working on the 4.8 panel. Taking screenshots with the
> default xfce theme (gtk + xfwm) as I go along.

Pfew.

> I'm done revising two sections already (Getting Started and Preferences) and all I have left to do is validate the XML.

FYI, there is code in the makefiles to do this validation. I might
also have some scripts around to validate+build the html pages as we
ship them in the packages (you can use yelp for that too iirc).

> Would I be in the clear to create those patches for each of those sections and post them on Bugzilla once I'm done with that?

Yes, then we can discuss it a bit so we're on one line when it comes
to the way the manual is written. After that I'll give you access to
git to you can commit directly upstream and we can both work on the
pages at the same time.

> Also, should I just hold off on working on the theming section until you guide me though the stylings?

A bit of an description of styling first. There are some plugin
settings that are not used by many people and thus too much effort to
create (hidden) settings for them, therefore in some places I use
style properties to give more control to the end user. Some examples:
  - you can control the popup/down delays of autohide panels.
  - icon-lucency of minimized icons
  - ellipsizing modes of window names
  - window button allocation settings

These properties can be applied per-item, per-plugin or per-panel, the
same way you can apply specific theming (font color for example). The
specific properties for each plugin or panel need to be described in
the page of this plugin or panel (ie you look for a setting, so it
might be deeply hidden in the plugin), the way to apply this or tune
colors + examples will end up in the styling page: how to write a
gtkrc-2.0 file, examples, classnames and unique names (what are they,
how to find them, hierarchy).

So to get back to your question: I'll add those hidden property names
in the plugin pages (or you can dig through the code) and we'll both
work on good descriptions of them. The styling page will be rather
technical so i can make the initial version of that as well.

> Just want to make sure I submit / work on / prepare the right things. Thanks. :)

You collaborate so nothing can go wrong ;-). Looking forward to see
your first contribution!

Nick