IPB 2.2 Documentation

[Brandon C]

I assume we can expect that the documentation will integrate into the Help and Support tab of the AdminCP? Or am I asking for something new to happen here?

I agree, I definitely think there should be an integrated documentation link for IPB 2.2 within the Help & Support tab of the Admin CP.

[neen]

Documentation seems fine.

Only problem with a printed copy is you can't use control/command + f!!


I love how they used Transmit as their example for FTP software for Mac. :)

[Brandon C]

1. I found an error on Page 4 under the Conventions Used Section.

It says in the first sentence under that Section:

Several formatting conventions are used throughout this book to

indi cate

particular types of information you may need to be aware of.

It should not have a space between "indi" and "cate."

So, it should say for the first sentence under that Section:

Several formatting conventions are used throughout this book to

indicate

particular types of information you may need to be aware of.

2. On Page 5 right above the yellow note at the top, it says:

You need to have access to at least one

datab ase

on your MySQL installation.

It should not have a space between "datab" and "ase."

So, it should say:

You need to have access to at least one

database

on your MySQL installation.

If I find anymore (I'll read more of it tomorrow), I shall post here or post in the bug tracker.

[Jeremy Privett]

If anyone catches any incorrect information, or anything of that nature, please let us know.

The documentation says that IPB requires:

PHP 4.1.0 (or better) PHP 5.x recommended

If I remember correctly, the latest (stable) version of IPB only works with PHP 4.3+ ... Has something changed to allow it to work with as far back as 4.1, again?

[Australia4WD]

Great to see, first glance looks great
For the PDF it would be handy to have bookmarks
Thank you

[Brandon C]

Another typo...

It says on Page 5 under the "Uploading the Files" section, first sentence:

The download package contains all the IP.Board

fi les

within a directory called upload/.

It should say:

The download package contains all the IP.Board

files

within a directory called upload/.

[Will L.]

Anyone downloaded the new documentation in the 2.2 public beta 1 announcement? Wanted to see what you thought.

Documentation has always been one of our weak areas and we put some effort into them and hope you like the new documenation. You might notice the version that is up there is a little out of date because we're still tweaking the beta series. We will of course update it.

We are also working on Developer Documentation to go into detail on the components, RSS, login manager, ipsclass, etc. for developers.

Charles I do have to say this Doc. for 2.2.0 is by far best looking and easiest to understand since 1.0.0 docs

this really makes me happy to see you refining the Docs :thumbsup:

[WalleniuM]

very goood :)

on page 20 (p.e.) the screenshot is from 2.1 (as said above). Actual Screenies would be better, to avoid confusion ;)

i'll print it @ work, i'm working at a digital printing company.. (i'll wait for the final doc, first)

looking forward reading the developer doc.

[UBERHOST.NET]

The PDF is really excellent. Job well done IMHO. :thumbsup:

[Mat Barrie]

There's one thing I noticed immediately on opening this document - the table of contents isn't hyperlinked. It'd be great if, for example, you could simply click on "Requirements" to jump to Page 5. Since it seems SolidConvertor PDF (which you used) doesn't actually do that, you might have better luck with PDF995 (which is also a ton cheaper) for generating the document.

[Guest]

a hyperlinked table of contents would certainly make it much more usefull as a reference. :thumbsup:

[Mat Barrie]

Just listing a few quirks as I go...

1. Page 62: "This section allows you to unlocked locked user accounts" should be "This section allows you to unlock locked user accounts"
2. Page 95: The documentation suddenly begins referring to the product as "IP.B" - for consistency, it should continue to refer to it as "IP.Board"
3. Page 120: Apparently, if you turn on the option labelled "Show Affiliates/Favoured Sites Box", a box appears on the portal entitled "Latest Discussions" - not sure this is accurate
4. Page 122: "Allow dynamic images" is incorrectly formatted as an option choice rather than a subheading
5. Page 125: "Display IPB Version on your site" option is described as handy to prevent attacks if you do not update IPB with security and bug fixes. I would highly recommend rewording this and adding a note or warning that it is not a substitute for updating with security and bug fixes
6. Page 128: "Explicitly" is misspelled as "explicitely"
7. Page 129: "If 'yes', members using IE6, Mozilla, and Firefox" should probably include Opera.
8. Page 135: "The content of this page is controllable form" - "form" should be "from"
9. Page 144: Being really picky here, but there are lots of exclamation marks in the IP.Gallery description, but none in IP.Blog, even for identical sentences.
10. Page 153: "It is highly recommend you delete" should read "it is highly recommended you delete"
11. Page 154: Is a blank page. Intentional?

[Quillz]

We'll have a printed and bound version you can buy which we will ship to you. Obviously we can get a bulk printing discount :)

Seriously? You guys are going to sell the documentation as a book? How much will you charge for it?

[Mat Barrie]

Seriously? You guys are going to sell the documentation as a book? How much will you charge for it?

Read a little further down the thread. He already said, it will be the cost of printing + postage. It's not a profit thing.

Found it: Link

[theclub]

l don't like PDFs with no clickable index tab. 154 pages is too much to have to scroll through. The content is pretty good though.

:thumbsup:

[PolakTom101]

We'll have a printed and bound version you can buy which we will ship to you. Obviously we can get a bulk printing discount :)

Sweet I always wanted this!!! The last doucmention u realesed which was printed was IPB 2.0 was not that good so I didn't order that.

l don't like PDFs with no clickable index tab. 154 pages is too much to have to scroll through. The content is pretty good though.

:thumbsup:

I have to agree here. Takes way to long and hurts ur eyesight

[Brandon C]

Just listing a few quirks as I go...

1. Page 62: "This section allows you to unlocked locked user accounts" should be "This section allows you to unlock locked user accounts"
2. Page 95: The documentation suddenly begins referring to the product as "IP.B" - for consistency, it should continue to refer to it as "IP.Board"
3. Page 120: Apparently, if you turn on the option labelled "Show Affiliates/Favoured Sites Box", a box appears on the portal entitled "Latest Discussions" - not sure this is accurate
4. Page 122: "Allow dynamic images" is incorrectly formatted as an option choice rather than a subheading
5. Page 125: "Display IPB Version on your site" option is described as handy to prevent attacks if you do not update IPB with security and bug fixes. I would highly recommend rewording this and adding a note or warning that it is not a substitute for updating with security and bug fixes
6. Page 128: "Explicitly" is misspelled as "explicitely"
7. Page 129: "If 'yes', members using IE6, Mozilla, and Firefox" should probably include Opera.
8. Page 135: "The content of this page is controllable form" - "form" should be "from"
9. Page 144: Being really picky here, but there are lots of exclamation marks in the IP.Gallery description, but none in IP.Blog, even for identical sentences.
10. Page 153: "It is highly recommend you delete" should read "it is highly recommended you delete"
11. Page 154: Is a blank page. Intentional?

I was going to mention the consistency part - they should remain consistent with either IP.Board, IP.B, or IPB.

[Mat Barrie]

Sweet I always wanted this!!! The last doucmention u realesed which was printed was IPB 2.0 was not that good so I didn't order that.

I have to agree here. Takes way to long and hurts ur eyesight

IPS didn't write that. That was a book by a third party which they chipped in to give discounts to license holders to :)

[richstar]

Two pieces of feedback:

First that the table of contents seems inconsistently laid out with a mixture of serif and sans-serif fonts at the same level.

Second, why not bundle a cdrom with the board software on it with the book and make the cdrom version a full blown 30 day trial like Adobe does with its products. Since anyone attempting to hack the software will be discovered by running an ipscheck each time they enter the acp and reporting the results, that might be a good way to let people find out about the board in its newest form. They get to try it out for 30 days and then it will stop working unless they register it.

[neen]

Two pieces of feedback:

First that the table of contents seems inconsistently laid out with a mixture of serif and sans-serif fonts at the same level.

Second, why not bundle a cdrom with the board software on it with the book and make the cdrom version a full blown 30 day trial like Adobe does with its products. Since anyone attempting to hack the software will be discovered by running an ipscheck each time they enter the acp and reporting the results, that might be a good way to let people find out about the board in its newest form. They get to try it out for 30 days and then it will stop working unless they register it.

I think that's kind of pointless, only because the people buying the book would already have the software, wouldn't they?

Who would buy a book like this for light-reading? (w00t)

[Grant]

Invision Power Board is not a product that you can learn easily. For beginners, documentation is very good. I remember when I first used 2.0 of IPB... I didn't know where anything was at.. I remember being so confused and eventually learning where everything was/is.

[neen]

I'm just saying, I don't think that is a feasible thing, only because it would drive up costs, etc. Maybe having developer tools on the disc would be a better idea, along with a PDF version of the docs?

Again, I don't think anyone will go buy the documentation without first buying IPB.

I just don't think someone would bother buying a manual for something they don't plan on buying...

[bfarber]

Second, why not bundle a cdrom with the board software on it with the book and make the cdrom version a full blown 30 day trial like Adobe does with its products. Since anyone attempting to hack the software will be discovered by running an ipscheck each time they enter the acp and reporting the results, that might be a good way to let people find out about the board in its newest form. They get to try it out for 30 days and then it will stop working unless they register it.

I've been suggesting something similar. I say we put the docs, developer docs, and a trial (which can be upgraded without reinstalling/etc.) on a CD and put it in stores like other software. I'd love to see IPB boxed up in Target. :D

[Curbbit]

I'd like to see a updated reference made that identifies what the bits control for making skins. I figured them out for the new profile but there are a lot of bits to have to guess at and some don't seem to control anything. The old one at http://www.duggyd.co.uk/css/ipb2_1/index.htm has some that are labeled wrong and nothing for the new profile. That would help a lot of people trying to make their first custom skin a lot

[Charles]

I'd like to see a updated reference made that identifies what the bits control for making skins. I figured them out for the new profile but there are a lot of bits to have to guess at and some don't seem to control anything. The old one at

http://www.duggyd.co.uk/css/ipb2_1/index.htm

has some that are labeled wrong and nothing for the new profile. That would help a lot of people trying to make their first custom skin a lot

We're working on a separate skinning guide actually.