[HP4GU-FAQ] Updates .... Updates Anyone?

[Steve Vander Ark]

Hi, Penny:

You don't need to know HTML to edit the FAQs. You just need Composer
(not the 6.x version, but the 4.x version). Then you need to either have
the user name and password to upload to the server involved or you need
someone to send it to who does know the user name and password. It's
very easy to do, VERY. I have parents here at school do it for our
school site all the time. 

As for transfering the FAQs, that's simple to do too. Whoever has the
access for the server that we want to transfer to can do it in about
five minutes. If I had the user name, password, and ftp address, I could
do it. 

None of this requires techie know-how. What DOES require the techie
know-how is figuring out how to transfer Word documents into clean code,
which is what has stymied us. I don't have time to do the conversion.
Paul has done it in the past, but until he converts the files, they
don't get uploaded. 

Here's what I propose:

Whoever has the access needed for the new server should get in touch
with me. If they don't want to give me the access info, which is
perfectly understandable, they can get the files from me and upload them
themselves. Depending on the method they use, they may have some link
fixing to do. 

>From that point on, anyone doing the FAQs should download and install
the 4.x version of Netscape, which includes Composer. Whoever has access
to the server will have to do the uploads unless they want to hand out
the access info, but aside from that it's easy. Here's how it works:

Using Navigator, you browse to the page you want to edit. Once there,
you click on file => edit page. The page opens in Composer and you can
edit the text to your heart's content, maintaining the fonts etc. which
we've established for the FAQs. If you want something to become a link,
you hightlight it and click on "link." Then you type in the address you
want the link to go to.  When you're done, you click on "publish" and if
you have the access information for the site, it goes right back where
you found it in revised form. If you don't have the access info, you
save it as a file, then send it as an attachment to an email to the
person who DOES have access. 

If we can get people using Composer that way, editing and maintaining
becomes extremely intuitive and quick. I know, I do all my sites this
way all the time.

Steve

Steve
--- plinsenmayer <pennylin at swbell.net> wrote:
> Hi all --
> 
> To avoid this being on Cindy's Task List for the
> Mods for the 5th
> Monday running, I'm getting this out just under the
> wire.  <g>
> 
> We would like to do several things with the FAQs:
> 
> (1) Get updates from everyone as to when they expect
> to have a draft
> or completed product; and 
> 
> (2) (a) Solicit some technical assistance for
> getting the FAQs that
> are completed moved over to the hp4gu.org.uk site.  
> 
> (b) Along these lines, I was wondering if anyone
> with the techie
> know-how would care to write up a very basic set of
> guidelines for
> updating & maintaining existing FAQs.  If I don't
> know anything about
> HTML, can't I be given some very basic step-by-step
> instructions for
> pulling up the document in a program where it can be
> revised and for
> adding in sentences, paragraphs, references, etc.
> for purposes of
> updating existing FAQs?  It would make sense to me
> that someone could
> devise a basic set of instructions that could be
> followed by people
> who want to help maintain FAQs but are not
> necessarily technically
> proficient.  Sigh.  I've asked before though & noone
> ever seems to
> respond so maybe it's "you know HTML or you don't." 
> ????
> 
> I know we had a flurry of activity on this group a
> few months back --
> new volunteers, enthusiasm, etc.  But, we've been
> very quiet.  Here's
>  my memory of where things stand -- please update
> us:
> 
> British Ed System -- John ???
> Character Accents -- Neil ??
> Character Names -- ???
> Quidditch -- Neil (almost completed at last update)
> Clothing -- ??
> Economy -- ??
> Mythology & Magical Creatures -- Heidi??
> Social Issues - Mike
> Spells & Charms -- Neil (almost completed I think)
> 
> Sirius Black -- Dicey
> Albus Dumbledore -- Caius 
> Hagrid -- ??
> Lupin -- Amy 
> Malfoys -- Heidi & Cassie
> Snape -- Gwen, Amanda & others
> Weasley Family -- ready to be uploaded since July
> 2001!
> Ginny -- probably needs her own FAQ, there's a start
> in the Weasley
> Family FAQ -- Percy might need his own FAQ too & I
> might take that on
> 
> 
> Audio Versions, Cover Art, Fan Clubs, Merchandise --
> probably all need
> to be updated
> 
> I may have missed some other pending ones, but I
> think these are the
> main ones that are mising as I recall.
> 
> So, please update us so we can plan a roll-out of
> the New Name
> (Fantastic Posts & Where to Find Them), the New
> Location and Newly
> Written (or Newly Updated) FAQs.  :--)
> 
> Penny  
> 
>