New (APMcopter) Wiki up and operating!

The new APMcopter Wiki is up and running!

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As you probably know, some of us have been hard at work trying to bring up a new Wiki for the copters, planes and rovers.

I have recently completed installing the vast majority of the pages from the Old ArduCopter Wiki into the new APMcopter Wiki/Manual.

And I have produced a Drop Down Menu as well as a Hyperlinked Table Of Contents (that is accessible from the top of each Wiki page).

Please look over the new APMcopter wiki here: http://copter.ardupilot.com/wiki/arducopter/

And provide feedback.

There is still some work to do repairing broken hyperlinks (they do not import correctly from WordPress and the images all need to be moved to the WordPress repository), but I am slogging through all 109 Wiki pages fixing them and performing minor reformatting.

There is an issue that I would really like you all to look at carefully.

Right now, I have constructed a Drop Down menu and Table of Contents that completely mirror each other and I think they work effectively together.

However, it is 3DR's intention to minimize or eliminate the Wikis Drop Down Menu at the very least removing the vast majority of links so that it will work better with tablets and to support their own vision of what is in the best interests of themselves and the community.

They envision a very short set of quick starts designed to get uninitiated users up and running as quickly as possible.

And while I think that is a very worthwhile pursuit, I do not think that it is appropriate to do it by applying the scarce drop down menu resource to that endeavor and removing it from the full Wiki.

I think that the current full Drop Down Menu and Table Of Contents work very well together and are an asset to our community.

Please look this over with special regard to the Drop Down Menu and the Table of Contents and Weigh in here, it may be your best chance to influence the final form of our Wiki/Manuals.

Of course, I invite 3DR to respond here as well.

This is an open community that has benefited greatly and grown considerably in no small part due to massive support from Chris and 3DR.

I'm not trying to cause a problem here, but this is a time where our feedback is really important.

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Comments

  • correct. thx again.

  • Hi IS,

    I've got to admit I hadn't even tried the Wiki on my Nexus 7 yet, but I just did and using Google.

    Basically drop down menu zero (Tap on the Quick Start Guide Tab (home for the Drop Down Menu) and the Drop Down Menu Pops up for a second or 2 and then goes away).

    Table of Contents 100 (couldn't work better).

    I think you were looking at the Drop Down Menu not the Table of Contents which is a separate page of hyperlinks to all the Wiki pages.

    If you tap on the Quick Start Guide tab bringing up the Quick Start Guide page you will notice a little green hyperlink (Table of Contents) at the top right of the page.

    Tap on that, now you have a lovely Table of Contents you can scroll through with your finger like any other page.

    And when you get to a page you want to open just tap on that and bingo there you are.

    To get back to the Table of Contents, just tap on the (Table of Contents) link in the upper right of any page you are in (except the Table of Contents page itself of course, because you are already there.)

    Basically as Joshua said, the drop down menu simply doesn't work on a tablet, not my Nexus anyway.

    I think the TOC will work on pretty much anything that has internet access.

    I'd appreciate it if somebody would let me know how useful it is on an IPhone or Android, don't have one of those.

    Going to try my IPad next.

  • Distributor

    Getting there!  but this is a bit confusing for new users... 

    it's on the main page and people will think it's how to upload firmware... if you try to connect a brand new APM it will time out... so you will create a post about your faulty APM... :)  (many did) 

    so if you only want to show nice icons I suggest to not put connect in front of firmware... 

    MP_icon_connect          MP_icon_firmware          MP_icon_configuration

    Dany

    www,CanadaDrones.com

    CanadaDrones.com
  • Gary,

    I suppose it is about personal preferences. I am not a big fan of drop down in general, I prefer to scroll with my mouse wheel on a long list rather than looking for something in a drop down. I can use my browser search function as well. Some people will prefer the drop-down, for sure. One detail though, on my crappy corporate laptop in 1600x900 with chrome (with favorite bar) the drop down list does not fit when I am at the top of the page. ( I can sent you a screenshot if you want) 

    The doc about the common frame are defintely usefull ..  read all of them as I am converting my apm from plane to copter (chose DJI 450, thanks to your post 8)

  • toc not working properly in my nexus 7 Firefox neither. it disappears after few sec after clicking.

    like the idea though.

    wiki looking neater than before.

    thanks Gary for your work.

  • Hi Matthias,

    I put a ton of work into that hyperlinked TOC and connecting each Wiki page back to it as well, so I am happy you like it.

    It is my primary means of getting around in the Wiki as well.

    But I am surprised you say drop down menu doesn't work on a PC, I worked hard to keep it short enough and organized in such a way that it could be used to it's fullest even on pretty low resolution PCs should be OK at 800x600 and fine at 1024x768 and only one nest level deep.

    So I would appreciate your letting me know the symptoms of it not working on your PC.

    I have published a couple frame specific how tos for the FlameWheel 330 and 450, one is in the Wiki, the other is in the Printable PDF download section of the Wiki, but I know what you mean, they are really not an adequate introduction for the novice.

    I understand that Joshua and their new technical writer Alex are busy putting together a couple "Quick Starts" designed to address that exact issue.

  • I like the toc and it is structure a way that I am used to, coming from the wiki. I do not really use the drop down as it indeed does not work on my nexus 7 and even on pc, it is not very convenient.
    However I agree that there should be a one page with all the steps for a simple setup for popular frame like the 3dr copter or dji 450 . I do not feel yet that it is simple enough so that I can recommend the APM to novice RC users.
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