I suppose it's old news but i want a better manual and knowledgebase

DxO PhotoLab Feature requests
1

Anyone notised that the present link from dxopl help to the usermanual sent’s you to a kind of copied paperback? No index of use in kind of linked pagesnumbers.
No real possible search in keywords.
No quick links.
(blue words who sent you off to the mentioned page)

I would like a link from the tool window and the actual information in the manual.
If you click on the [?] seated in the tool window you should see a shortcut, link to the pages which explain the working and use.now you see a very short and rudimentair info about the tool.
Most users need to ask on forums or test and learn them selfs for the more difficult understandable working habits of DxOPL.
Like colorspace behaviour in display and such or , what’s rendered alway’s on screen and what’s only at 75% and well , what’s never rendered in side preview. Contrast, micro contrast, fine contrast. Sharpening, CA?
How does the local toolset works in detail?

It’s good we have @Pieloe 's written manual for better explanation but DxO should learn from that and build there own clickbased knowledge centre.
Like first global info(as we have now in [?], insert link for detailed info (user manual), and in that insert a link to Short tutorialvideo’s and link to information which is nextknowledge in this subject.

now it’s shattered around in my experience.

2

Sounds like a good idea to me Peter. Voted.

3

I am passionate about good documentation. I actually offered to work for one of our software suppliers at my job to modernise their documentation. The trouble was I recognised the Microsoft Word template in use from a prior job 20 years ago! (The founders of the supplier used to work in the same place.)

I agree that good documentation should be a top priority and I’d make the same offer here… if I could make it a worthwhile full-time job, I’d absolutely do it.

In that same earlier job my boss set me a goal one year to “reduce the team’s reliance on you being here.” It was a trial by fire, but I learned how to make documentation work. The only success factor is a reduction of people asking questions! Over several jobs and many years, I got very good at it, and I’m still doing it today with my current team, who have all also been converted to doing a good job.

1 Like
4

I also vote for better manuals, but just to increase the number of voters.

Honestly I have no hope DxO will react accordingly.

First, in Europe a manual is part of hardware - if the manual is not onboard, not in the language of the customer’s country or lacks in quality, a customer can legally reduce the payment for the hardware.

50 years ago software devs found the excuse to be in constant development, therefore it’s impossible to deliver accurate manuals. This lame excuse is genetically inbuilt in dev’s brains, with very few, rare exceptions. Affinity i.e. does an excellent job in online tutorials, although only in English. Of course, who needs proper translations anyway? :rage:

Capture One is the same crap - although localized versions are around, a manual only exists in English.

My guess is DxO will hide behind the sheer mass of other app sheds, who also are arrogant enough to not bother about - no one could therefore sue them, so all easy.

I go as fas as to say, the world we live in today suffers a lot form the irresponsibility of software devs who never ever have to pay for their bugs, flaws, faulty and missing manuals. The only thing for them to be afraid of is a missed deadline, but no one will die form that.

I’m also writing manuals and it took some energy to discipline our devs - not too hard as I always reason “if your software is not helping our customers to use our machines well, your jobs might become expendable sooner or later”. Some devs realized it will make their own work easier and mine too, if I take care for the GUI texts, manage the translations into 10 languages and also do the graphics in a way to make long explanations redundant. But it was and still is a long fight.

DxO too often shows ignorance about GUI design, terminology and helpful manuals - so why bother if the code still sells?

5

Sadly I fear you have hit the nail on the head with that observation :sob:

To put it another way, a business, any business, does not exist to provide a service its customers, its prime purpose is to make a profit.

6

Also, I suspect DxO also relies more and more on this forum here. Some of the members have more insight in the app than some of the devs themselves, I believe. The ongoing beta tester program is another factor to distract the company from a very basic service they legally have to provide. But again, as long as the ship’s somehow sails…

7

I’m going to guess from your post that you’ve not crossed paths with “enterprise applications”. DxO’s documentation is fantastic in comparison to most of the documentation I have seen for enterprise software.

My favourite ever was for some fairly powerful, and complex, software from IBM. There was a dedicated page listed in the table of contents for “Pre-installation tasks”. I have reproduced that page in its entirety below.

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8

“Worse” is always possible, but if that’s the only good thing I could say about my documentations (“there’s worse around”) I would not be happy with my job.

And my definition of fantastic is not met by DxO’s standards. I don’t need it fantastic, “useful” and “correct” would do. Also, this constant “Mac version only”, “Windows version only” is annoying and often incorrect or confusing. As a Mac user I want to know what my version can do, not what it cannot.

Also, if one expects software devs to write manuals about what they are programming, that will also end in a solid debacle. It’s like Ansel Adams would try to write his books while hiking around and taking pictures in Yellowstone Park. The change of perspective for programing software and describing how to use it is simply too much to handle for one person.

9

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :joy: :joy: :joy:

I find this horrendous when trying to teach a class of mixed Win/Mac users in our club photo.

Now, do I need to press the shift key or not for this particular shortcut? And then there’s the toolbars that are or are not present, or the lack of access to certain features without resorting to a keyboard shortcut, etc.

10

So, some wrapping with silver paper and scented candles on top won’t do? :space_invader:

2 Likes
11

I am not a dullard I think but I don’t understand some text in the manuel e.g. the text explaining the use of the automatic mask. What does it mean? How can I use it? How do I get a good result? The same problem with neg. controllines, how to place them. et c. DxO introduces new functions but the user has no idea how to handel it. Btw. Pielo did a good job in explaining something.

12

If you want an example of excellent documentation then take a look at Oracle Database documentation Oracle Database Documentation - Oracle Database

Also, Photo Mechanic has very good documentation.

So, not everyone neglects documentation: it can be done!

13

Thanks every one for there votes and input.

The biggest issue is that when i need some info about anything i mostly end up googling and if i find a informationsource probably end up signing in a forum to get some more detailed info. The amount of manual pages and often very spagetty like following thread inside those manuals by wordlinks creates a manual tiredness.

If i want to read something about the working of a part of software i like to get a:
1 what is it?
2 what does it?
3 how can i use it?
4 what do i need to be aware off when i use it?
5 examples. In text and short tutuorialclips.

And i don’t want to jump around trough pages of side info which distract me and even can get me sidetracted from the original quest.

The old read a manual from page 1 till 499 before you start. RTFM methology😉 doesn’t work any more in this web base instant answer era.

We want to click around and read about things we are interested at that moment,
Often maybe a GIF as quick example and some technical background text. And if i am really in to it a 15min tutorial about how to implement it in a workflow.

So 1 and 2 in the present ? Popup.
3,4,5 by links on the end of each.
Popup window has link to 3. 3 has link to 4 and 4 has link to 5.
No side tracs nor hopping around in other tools. Maybe a reverence that you are encouraged to look at an other 12345 string.

And if you have the time, just read the paperback PDF in a relaxt manner with some beverage at reache.:grin:

14

What do you think of the new HTML guides we have put online? Have a look at userguides.dxo.com

All products will transition to that.

EDIT/ the good URLs
https://userguides.dxo.com/pureraw/en
https://userguides.dxo.com/nikcollection/en

Steven.

1 Like
15

It’s a start.
Point is this pdf is flat. No index nor in the side of the pdfviewer, i can get only the minipages not a chapter tree. So i need to scroll in order to find what i like to find.
This is the RTFM which you got as printed manual in the day’s you bought a tv or a reciever or a piece of software.

I suspect it’s a build in progress?

Look at this see the diverence?
I can navigate through that. Jump in and out chapters.
This is step 3. Detailed info.
If i am in the program and i click on a info button i am directly send to the revering chapter. Hop in , read ,hop out, back to my editing.
I revering to them because they are also a small company in the way of “piece of the pie”.
It’s not critic it’s motivation to look around for examples.
:slightly_smiling_face:

16

Just wondering, did you get a chance to look at the website I posted above?

https://userguides.dxo.com/pureraw/en
https://userguides.dxo.com/nikcollection/en

?

At the moment only PR and Nik have the new guide…
As I said, all products will transition to that.

Steven.

17

Eh not at those i looked at the plv5 link only because i thought that was where you pointed to.

Did now and yes this is more like it :ok_hand:
These are “small” or “thin” manuals but the navigation is much better. There is also a plain pdf download for the garden readingsesions.:grin:

Be happy to see and test the PLv5 version.
Would this be connected to the ? Marks inside PL?

Edit.
Dirt and scratches of Analog Efex Pro 3 click doesn’t work. (Firefox)

18

Yes, the idea is to point to the corresponding page/section of the HTML guide, directly from within any correction you have in the app. The first step is to port the whole guide on this new platform (pretty soon PhotoLab-wise), then a bit later, we will add exactly the feature you are asking for…

Steven.

1 Like
19

Great, Steven.
Good work. And good to point this out/point at this on this feature request.

Owh and Levels & Curves click doens’t react either.
Maybe they need to be connected?

Regards Peter

20

What do you mean exactly?