new documentation

[Han-Wen Nienhuys]

address@hidden writes:
> I've only had time to skim the posts about the _New and Improved
> Documentation_.  Most of what I remember from them seems to focus on how
> to structure it, what to put in and how to arrange it.  As a novice user
> of Lilypond what I think would be important would be a way to find the
> useful information that is already there.  Often the answer to a post
> (many of them mine) is look here:
> 
> http://www.lilypond.org/answer-to-your-question/
> 
> While some of the information found is indeed of use, it is often
> difficult for new users (me, at least) to grasp in this manner.  That
> is, theory first then apply it to your problem.  I find it much easier
> to see an example of something like what I'm trying to do and see how it
> is done and then make use of the method.
> 
> I understand it is likely impractical to give an example for
> everything.  For many things a simple description of what it does and
> how to use it would be sufficient.  Finale, no matter what you think of
> the software, has rather good documentation.  The three-volume printed
> set of documentation, while it seemed intimidating to some users,
> actually made learing to use the program quite easy for me.  The best
> feature of this was the extensive index which made it possible to look
> up almost anything I wanted to do and provided me with a location for
> the information.  For example, a question I asked not long ago had to do
> with the global setting for the MultimeasureRest number position.  I was
> instructed by Mats to look at some particular place in the docs, and
> after studying it for a few minutes I had my answer.  Without being told
> where to look I would not have found it.  That is what a good index
> does, it tells you where to look.  It would have been very intuitive to
> see and index entry something like:
> 
> ******
> 
> Rests
>       multimeasure see--> MultimeasureRest

there is an index at
http://lilypond.org/development/Documentation/user/out-www/lilypond/Index.html#Index

Please post specific keywords that you are missing from the index. 

-- 

Han-Wen Nienhuys   |   address@hidden   |   http://www.xs4all.nl/~hanwen