Templot Club Archive 2007-2020                             

topic: 3461more Xplains
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posted: 21 Jul 2019 13:45

from:

Martin Wynne
 
West Of The Severn - United Kingdom

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I mentioned a while ago that Tim and Alexander at EC-Software have come up with a new tool for creating program help. They have now upgraded it, which means it now looks even better as an alternative to the fuzzy MP4 screen video.

My last example wasn't entirely relevant, so here is an "Xplain" more recognisably Templot:

 http://85a.uk/hand_xplain/

I have 3 questions:

1. would you be happy to see the existing video format replaced with this format?

2. should the accompanying text explanation be in the Xplain itself, or on the page below it?

3. should a page consist of several short Xplains like this, or a much longer one more like a video?

p.s. you will notice a change to the quick-access buttons for the next program update. I've been finding myself hesitating over the existing abbreviated ones to click the right one. More grey cells gone. :(

cheers,

Martin.

posted: 21 Jul 2019 14:03

from:

Rob Manchester
 
Manchester - United Kingdom

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Martin Wynne wrote:
I mentioned a while ago that Tim and Alexander at EC-Software have come up with a new tool for creating program help. They have now upgraded it, which means it now looks even better as an alternative to the fuzzy MP4 screen video.

My last example wasn't entirely relevant, so here is an "Xplain" more recognisably Templot:

 http://85a.uk/hand_xplain/

I have 3 questions:

1. would you be happy to see the existing video format replaced with this format?

2. should the accompanying text explanation be in the Xplain itself, or on the page below it?

3. should a page consist of several short Xplains like this, or a much longer one more like a video?

p.s. you will notice a change to the quick-access buttons for the next program update. I've been finding myself hesitating over the existing abbreviated ones to click the right one. More grey cells gone. :(

cheers,

Martin.
Hi Martin,

1) Yes, especially if it is easier/quicker for you to produce.

2) Probably within Xplain as long as it doesn't interfere with the clarity. Less moving of the eye to read is always good.

3) Depends on the subject complexity I guess.

Does a change to the quick-access buttons mean less of them ? You won't always find consensus as to which to leave out. There are some I don't use but others will have different views.

Rob


posted: 21 Jul 2019 14:29

from:

Martin Wynne
 
West Of The Severn - United Kingdom

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Rob Manchester wrote:
Does a change to the quick-access buttons mean less of them ? You won't always find consensus as to which to leave out. There are some I don't use but others will have different views.
Hi Rob,

Thanks for the rapid response.

The ones I call the "quick-access" buttons are these 3:

 http://flashbackconnect.com/Default.aspx?id=hUsAbpUJYq2Ad8cQyEjBYg2

Increased to 4 buttons in the Xplain, but not yet decided.

The other buttons I have been calling the "beginner buttons", primarily to encourage folks not to rely on them exclusively but to explore the full menus. But they are all for quick access of course.

There is actually one more of them in the Xplain, at the expense of the toolbar getting longer. That was primarily to allow the zoom rectangle button on the end to be much larger.

Another change is that the keyboard shortcuts have been omitted from the face of the buttons (they are still in the mouse-over hint). They seemed to be a distraction.

2) Probably within Xplain as long as it doesn't interfere with the clarity. Less moving of the eye to read is always good.

The issue there is that if there is text in the Xplain it needs to be manually stop-start, so that the there is time to stop and read it. Without text it can run on autoplay. A difficult choice. The Xplains are quick to edit and update, but text on the page is even quicker, and can more easily include clickable links, tables, etc.

A constant thought is "if I make a typo in this, how quickly can I get back to fix it?". For the videos that's about 15 minutes. For Xplains maybe 5 minutes. For page text 5 seconds, and it can wait for the next Companion upload.  

cheers,

Martin.

posted: 21 Jul 2019 15:17

from:

Phil O
 
Plymouth - United Kingdom

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HI Martin,

I have had a quick look on my tablet and looks useful, especially as it seems to repeat itself a couple of times I agree with Rob, if any explanation can be kept within the existing frame without cluttering it, I'm for that.

Cheers

Phil.

posted: 21 Jul 2019 15:40

from:

John Shelley
 
St Ciers Sur Gironde 33820 - France

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That looks very good Martin.

As has already been said keep any explanation within the "video" window, having to look away, in my view, merely interrupts viewing and could lead to a small but important detail being missed.

In my browser, Firefox, it just kept on repeating.  Is that what you intended?
Is it possible to make it stop after a single showing with a user controlled option to leave "Got it" or see it again "Replay" .

As to explanation, maybe a title page could be added, just a few words to describe what is about to be shown, or am I just getting carried away with the bells and whistles, I don't wish to add to your workload.

John S

posted: 21 Jul 2019 17:07

from:

Charles Orr
 
Leicester - United Kingdom

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Hi Martin,

Fully agree with the previous comments.

Charles

posted: 21 Jul 2019 17:33

from:

Rob Manchester
 
Manchester - United Kingdom

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Martin,

Have to admit to not using the "quick-access" buttons at all :( only because I forget....

I do actually remember to use the "beginner" ones though. F3 F4 and the rest of the row get used a lot along with moving the peg end-to-end. Zooming etc I find more intuitive using the mouse. The rest I usually forget are there and just use the menus. I manage to remember to use three keyboard shortcuts though - Ins, Home and End :) I will bet a good few users may be the same, it is difficult when you don't use something everyday - sometimes it can be a couple of months between sessions on Templot. Don't let that put you off developing shortcuts and the like as some users will love them.

Rob


posted: 21 Jul 2019 18:28

from:

Martin Wynne
 
West Of The Severn - United Kingdom

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Thanks for all the comments. :)

John Shelley wrote:
In my browser, Firefox, it just kept on repeating. Is that what you intended?
Is it possible to make it stop after a single showing with a user controlled option to leave "Got it" or see it again "Replay" .
Hi John,

It's a slideshow, so the player controls are optional. I left them off that one.

If it contains text, they are needed to allow the show to be paused while reading the text. In practice they are probably needed anyway, because you don't want it to go on playing indefinitely while trying to read the rest of the page.

Here I have added some notes at the start, and the player controls:

 http://85a.uk/notes_hand_xplain/

After reading the notes, click the middle Play button to watch the rest. Clicking one slide at a time doesn't have the same effect. Stop it again when you have seen enough.

As you can see, in order to be large enough to read on mobile devices (is it?), the text tends to fill the frame, so leaving it in place while the show runs isn't practical.

I'm still learning my way with this software, please ignore any slight glitches. :)

Alexander is still working on the controls, so there are likely to be some changes. Several users have asked for a "replay from start" button, so that there is no need for the endless looping.

There is also a lot of stuff which I left off, such as the "share on Facebook" social media functions.

cheers,

Martin.

posted: 22 Jul 2019 08:10

from:

Phil O
 
Plymouth - United Kingdom

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Hi Martin

I have just tried it on my laptop running Win 10 and on the last one, I have to scroll down to get the play buttons which then cuts the top off the display, my screen resolution is set to the recomended 1366 x 768. What would you recomend I change the setting to, too get it all on the screen.

Cheers

Phil

posted: 22 Jul 2019 08:48

from:

John Shelley
 
St Ciers Sur Gironde 33820 - France

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Martin Wynne wrote:
Thanks for all the comments. :)

John Shelley wrote:
In my browser, Firefox, it just kept on repeating. Is that what you intended?
Is it possible to make it stop after a single showing with a user controlled option to leave "Got it" or see it again "Replay" .
Hi John,

It's a slideshow, so the player controls are optional. I left them off that one.

If it contains text, they are needed to allow the show to be paused while reading the text. In practice they are probably needed anyway, because you don't want it to go on playing indefinitely while trying to read the rest of the page.

Here I have added some notes at the start, and the player controls:

 http://85a.uk/notes_hand_xplain/

After reading the notes, click the middle Play button to watch the rest. Clicking one slide at a time doesn't have the same effect. Stop it again when you have seen enough.

As you can see, in order to be large enough to read on mobile devices (is it?), the text tends to fill the frame, so leaving it in place while the show runs isn't practical.

I'm still learning my way with this software, please ignore any slight glitches. :)

Alexander is still working on the controls, so there are likely to be some changes. Several users have asked for a "replay from start" button, so that there is no need for the endless looping.

There is also a lot of stuff which I left off, such as the "share on Facebook" social media functions.

cheers,

Martin.
Greetings Martin,
Thanks for the quick response.  That looks good, maybe add "click the middle button below to start, or is that too much hand holding?
I didn't mean to have a title there all the time.  I was assuming that the "video" would be accessed from a help list and the thought was to have a front screen to confirm what the viewer was about to see in case they'd clicked in the wrong place.  That is what you have done, great.

John S

posted: 22 Jul 2019 09:57

from:

Hayfield
 
United Kingdom

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Top marks for a super video.

I have been using some of the quick buttons for some time, but failed the relevance of all of them.

Thanks

posted: 22 Jul 2019 11:50

from:

Martin Wynne
 
West Of The Severn - United Kingdom

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Phil O wrote:
I have just tried it on my laptop running Win 10 and on the last one, I have to scroll down to get the play buttons which then cuts the top off the display, my screen resolution is set to the recomended 1366 x 768. What would you recommend I change the setting to, too get it all on the screen.
Hi Phil,

Don't change anything your end. Click this instead:

 http://85a.uk/notes_hand_xplain/hand_direction.html

The previous link is just a quick web page to show an Xplain. Sorry it didn't work on your system.

The final setup will have the Xplains on the page in the Companion, where they will resize to fit the screen.

It's hard work creating web pages these days to accommodate everything from a mobile phone to a 4K widescreen TV. :)

cheers,

Martin.

posted: 22 Jul 2019 16:13

from:

Martin Wynne
 
West Of The Severn - United Kingdom

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Hi Phil,

I have now added a resizing script to the original page, so it should work on all systems and screens:

 http://85a.uk/notes_hand_xplain/

cheers,

Martin.

posted: 22 Jul 2019 20:09

from:

Phil O
 
Plymouth - United Kingdom

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Hi Martin,

I have just checked the laptop and it looks fine. Thanks for sorting it. I thought I'd report it before you get to deeply into it and then someone else found it later on, I'm lucky that I have several different machines to look at web stuff, if I have a problem on one, one of the others usually works.

It looks like a great leap forward in the ability to produce video documentation.

Phil.

posted: 22 Jul 2019 21:57

from:

Martin Wynne
 
West Of The Severn - United Kingdom

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Phil O wrote:
It looks like a great leap forward in the ability to produce video documentation.
Thanks Phil.

Actually the jury is still out. I'm still in two minds about an Xplain versus the abbreviated FBR video which I created recently, such as this one:

 http://flashbackconnect.com/Default.aspx?id=si_mVF-fRWnCF1NnT1c0Yw2

Tim and Alexander's sales pitch for HelpXplain is that it is 10 times faster and easier to create an Xplain than a screen video. I'm not (yet?) convinced about that. Planning and recording the sequence and adding the text and call-outs takes the same amount of time in either.

The great advantage of the abbreviated FBR is that it can fall back to full screen video when needed for the Templot mouse actions. An Xplain is slide-based, it can't include video. The only way to show the mouse actions working in an Xplain will be by means of an animated GIF. Which might be enough.

The big disadvantage of the FBR format is that it needs it own browser tab, and relies on Blueberry Software to provide the interactive and slightly fuzzy MP4 hosting. They provide a great service, but there's no guarantee that it will continue indefinitely. Other hosting providers wouldn't support the interactive pauses in the MP4, rendering the format useless. (The abbreviated format doesn't work properly in the embedded Templot Video Player. You may have noticed that I've deprecated that in 223b.)

Whereas with an Xplain I'm in total control of it on the Templot server. No external web sites needed. It can appear directly on the page in the Templot Companion, with other Xplains and notes. And it's not fuzzy -- at least not if your browser is set to the dot-for-dot zoom level.

Or it can be embedded directly in the Templot program, without needing an internet connection, similar to the many embedded help notes. So for example you might click make tandem say, and (if wanted) an Xplain could pop up directly in front of the trackpad to show you how to do it, while you copy the actions needed. No need to rearrange your screen windows to show Templot and your browser side-by-side -- assuming you have a screen wide enough.

Whatever, as you know I've been agonising about different formats for years -- while there are still massive gaps and unfinished business in the Templot Companion. It's time I made a decision and stuck to it, and made some progress. I've known about HelpXplain for about 12 months and helped with the beta testing. So I've been waiting for its recent public release before doing any more on the Companion, so that I could try it it out and post some examples here.

Decisions, decisions. :)

cheers,

Martin.

posted: 23 Jul 2019 07:40

from:

Phil O
 
Plymouth - United Kingdom

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Martin,

Is it worth doing a couple of short videos in both formats and seeing the reaction you get from us users, before you make a final descision. I can see the advantage of having it embeded in Templot when you don't have an internet connection and still want to use it and need a reminder on how to do something.

Cheers

Phil.

posted: 23 Jul 2019 11:43

from:

Judi R
 
Sutton-on-Sea - United Kingdom

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Martin Wynne wrote:
... with an Xplain I'm in total control of it on the Templot server. No external web sites needed. It can appear directly on the page in the Templot Companion, with other Xplains and notes.
I believe that clinches it! Far better to have everything in one place, if you are dependant on others they will change sooner or later and you will then have to scrabble around changing everything at short notice.

Judi


posted: 23 Jul 2019 13:52

from:

Martin Wynne
 
West Of The Severn - United Kingdom

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Judi R wrote:
I believe that clinches it! Far better to have everything in one place, if you are dependant on others they will change sooner or later and you will then have to scrabble around changing everything at short notice.
Hi Judi,

Thanks. However we are always relying on others. I don't actually have the Templot server here under the kitchen sink. It is far away in Columbus, Ohio -- a place I have never visited. :)

cheers,

Martin.

posted: 23 Jul 2019 14:57

from:

Martin Wynne
 
West Of The Severn - United Kingdom

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Phil O wrote:
Martin,

Is it worth doing a couple of short videos in both formats and seeing the reaction you get from us users, before you make a final decision.
Hi Phil.

That's a good idea. :) I will make an Xplain equivalent of this abbreviated FBR:

 http://flashbackconnect.com/Movie.aspx?id=si_mVF-fRWnCF1NnT1c0Yw2

and see what folks think. Watch this space.

cheers,

Martin.

posted: 25 Jul 2019 02:29

from:

Martin Wynne
 
West Of The Severn - United Kingdom

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Martin Wynne wrote:
Phil O wrote:
Is it worth doing a couple of short videos in both formats and seeing the reaction you get from us users, before you make a final decision.
Hi Phil.

That's a good idea. :) I will make an Xplain equivalent of this abbreviated FBR:

 http://flashbackconnect.com/Movie.aspx?id=si_mVF-fRWnCF1NnT1c0Yw2

and see what folks think. Watch this space.

I have now created an Xplain version of the catch points video.

Abbreviated FBR video:

 http://flashbackconnect.com/Movie.aspx?id=si_mVF-fRWnCF1NnT1c0Yw2

Xplain infographic slideshow:

 http://85a.uk/catch_points_xplain/

There are one or two timing glitches in the Xplain, but I'm slowly learning the software and getting the hang of it. :)

The Xplain works best if you click the Play button, but you can click forward and back one slide at a time using the other buttons if you prefer, to refer back to an individual slide at any time. There are 28 slides in total -- it would be helpful if the numbers were shown on them. I will look into that.

Comments welcome. Which format do you prefer?

cheers,

Martin.

posted: 25 Jul 2019 07:11

from:

Phil O
 
Plymouth - United Kingdom

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Martin,

I have just looked at both and I think I prefer the Xplain version, at least for that particular subject.

Thanks

Phil

posted: 25 Jul 2019 07:25

from:

Charles Orr
 
Leicester - United Kingdom

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Hi Martin,


No doubt about it as far as I am concerned.


The Xplain version  flows much more smoothly.

Regards

Charles

posted: 25 Jul 2019 16:10

from:

Kenilworth59
 
United Kingdom

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Hi.

I agree, Xplain feels right.

Cheers

Paul

posted: 30 Jul 2019 02:44

from:

Martin Wynne
 
West Of The Severn - United Kingdom

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Thanks for the comments.

Although I haven't made a final decision, I have now updated the Companion page with an Xplain instead of the video, see:

 http://templot.com/companion/catch_points.php

cheers,

Martin.

posted: 30 Jul 2019 14:31

from:

Rob Manchester
 
Manchester - United Kingdom

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Hi Martin,

It looks good in terms of learning how to insert a catch point. It won't all fit on my screen at once though. I am running a 27" monitor at 1920x1080 and you can't get both the Xplains controls and the Templot menu bar etc on the screen at the same time. Pressing F11 ( in Firefox ) to switch to full screen gives the same result.

Rob


posted: 30 Jul 2019 15:12

from:

Martin Wynne
 
West Of The Severn - United Kingdom

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Rob Manchester wrote:
Hi Martin,

It looks good in terms of learning how to insert a catch point. It won't all fit on my screen at once though. I am running a 27" monitor at 1920x1080 and you can't get both the Xplains controls and the Templot menu bar etc on the screen at the same time. Pressing F11 ( in Firefox ) to switch to full screen gives the same result.
Thanks Rob.

Try either:

zooming out (Ctrl+mouse wheel)

or

reducing the width of your browser window until the Xplain shrinks to fit.

The original design size was 1200 pixels wide for the Xplain. You will get the sharpest image if you resize it to that by either of the above methods.

I will try to use a wider aspect ratio in future. Can you tell me what is the available height in your browser at your usual zoom setting, between all the various top toolbars, and the Windows taskbar at the bottom? Thanks.

You can get a handy free screen ruler from: http://www.spadixbd.com/freetools/jruler.htm
Right-click on it to flip it vertical.

cheers,

Martin.

posted: 30 Jul 2019 15:58

from:

Rob Manchester
 
Manchester - United Kingdom

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Hi Martin,
That screen ruler is useful. On my system the height between the favorites bar and the taskbar is 920.

Yes, of course zooming the window works. I just 'expected' Xplains to fit to whatever I was using when launched.

Rob


posted: 30 Jul 2019 16:21

from:

Martin Wynne
 
West Of The Severn - United Kingdom

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Rob Manchester wrote:
Hi Martin,
That screen ruler is useful. On my system the height between the favorites bar and the taskbar is 920.

Yes, of course zooming the window works. I just 'expected' Xplains to fit to whatever I was using when launched.

Rob

Hi Rob,

Thanks for the info.

Yes it does fit, if you have your zoom level set to dot-for-dot, which is what I normally use to ensure crisp images. That means on a screen at 120dpi I use Firefox at 80% zoom for everything.

If you prefer 100% zoom, for 920 max height I will need to record the Xplains at 80% of 920 = 736 max height including the controls. Allowing 32 / 0.8 (=40) for the player controls, that comes down to 696 max for the recording. Say 680 to be sure (it needs to be a multiple of 4).

cheers,

Martin.

posted: 30 Jul 2019 17:19

from:

Rob Manchester
 
Manchester - United Kingdom

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Hi Martin,

Don't change it just for me :) I can cope with whatever you think is best all round and just zoom out if required for Xplains.

Rob


posted: 30 Jul 2019 19:49

from:

Martin Wynne
 
West Of The Severn - United Kingdom

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Rob Manchester wrote:
Don't change it just for me :)
Hi Rob,

I have added resizing buttons on the controls bar:

 http://templot.com/companion/catch_points.php

Just for you. :)

And everyone else with a similar screen.

If you use 120dpi setting for your screen at 100% zoom in your browser, 3 clicks on the smaller button will take the Xplain down to actual design size, for the sharpest image quality.

cheers,

Martin.

posted: 30 Jul 2019 19:53

from:

Rob Manchester
 
Manchester - United Kingdom

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Martin,

Just for me - how sweet of you :thumb:

Yes, it works fine with that. Thank you.

Rob




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