Required to Expand

Here's something that came up at work that I want to capture on this blog. The issue is finding text in documentation when the searched for text is within an expand / collapse section and that section is collapsed. This is not for a help file in the sense of WebHelp output from RoboHelp or Flare. This is a Confluence site so let me use that as my example.

From https://confluence.atlassian.com/display/CONF55/Confluence+Documentation+Home, enter this text in the search box:

• This text is hidden until you expand the section. 

The first hit is https://confluence.atlassian.com/display/CONF55/Expand+Macro.

Press Ctrl+F. It says there is one match on this page. It is in the “Storage format example” section, right?

Scroll up to the Expand me… link, which is the 3rd line after the title.

Expand that link.

Press Ctrl+F again and enter this text in the page-level search box:

• This text is hidden until you expand the section”

How many hits do you get?

Two hits. Wait, I though there was only one hit so why are there now two hits?

The page-level search doesn’t look inside the collapsed text section!

That’s what is happening with our documentation. The ‘global’ search finds a word (using "jetty" as my example) on the page but you have to expand the section(s) of text (more clicking) in order to find it.

Is there a use case for this scenario? I think so. Consider that a user of the documentation I write at work knows, somewhere in our documentation, they have read about “jetty” but damn, they don’t remember where they read about it or in what context.

Since they don’t know what context the word is used in, the TOC is useless. The user decides to use the Search box – which they know will search the entire site - to search for the word "jetty" with the hope that when they see the search results, they will find the information about it that they need to solve their issue. So, the user clicks Search and the search results tell the user that there is a page with that word on it. When the user gets to that page, the user see the graphic in step 2 below. When the user then searches the page using their browser page-level search functionality (for example, using Firefox) for “jetty” there is not a hit at the page level. This is confusing because the search results just told the user that “jetty” is on this page, but searching at the page level contradicts that information because there is no search result. On the page that the global search results' said had a hit, there are two expandable sections. The user goes to step 3, which is to expand the first section. Again, the user uses the search functionality in Firefox to look for “jetty” and, again, there is not a hit for “jetty” on this page. Within the first expanded text, there is a second section that can be expanded. The user expands that and, again, searches for “jetty” on the page. That is where the user finds it. The issue is that the search results for the entire site tell the user “jetty” is on the page but when the user arrives at the page, the user can’t find the word “jetty” unless they click two more times to expand the collapsed text.

If you wanted to read the above in a step-by-step procedure, it'd look like this.

1. User goes to your documentation site and enters "jetty" in the search box and clicks Search. There is a page that is listed in the search results. User clicks the link to access the page. On the page that was listed in the search results, the word "jetty" is included within a collapsed section of the content. 
• 
2. User presses Ctrl+F and enters "jetty" in the browser specific search. No hits.
• 
3. User expands first section of text. User presses Ctrl+F and enters "jetty" in the browser specific search. No hits.
• 
4. User expands second section of text. User presses Ctrl+F and enters "jetty" in the browser specific search. User is able to see the paragraph that contains "jetty".
• 

So, after the user finds what they want through the search functionality, the user is then required to click additional times to find the text that is within a collapsed section of text.

I do not find the conclusion to be acceptable. I don't want to make the user do more work than is absolutely necessary. I want the user to click the link in the search results (step 1), go to the page, and have step 2 be like this to be the second part of step 4 where the user presses Ctrl+F, enters "jetty" in the browser specific search and is able to see the paragraph that contains "jetty". If I were the user using this documentation that makes me click additional times to find what the search told me was there, I would not be happy.

In a brief survey of the Microsoft online Help for Outlook 2013, I could find an example of where the "global" search of the online Help tells me a word is on a specific page, but after arriving at the specific page, it is within a collapsed section of text. Microsoft does have an "expand / collapse all" link so that is better than expanding multiple sections, but it is still not ideal.

More about this topic as I come across it.

Here’s another example

You are using Acrobat and you get this error message: “Online Help content cannot be displayed. Verify you can launch your web browser and have access to the Internet.” You happen to have a shortcut to http://helpx.adobe.com/acrobat.html on your Desktop because you <sarcasm>never have issues with their products.</s>

You open http://helpx.adobe.com/acrobat.html and you enter “Online Help content cannot be displayed. Verify you can launch your web browser and have access to the Internet” in the search box. You click Search.

You get to a page that lists results: http://www.adobe.com/cfusion/search/index.cfm?cat=support&term=%22Online%20Help%20content%20cannot%20be%20displayed.%20Verify%20you%20can%20launch%20your%20web%20browser%20and%20have%20access%20to%20the%20Internet.%22&loc=en_US&self=1&lr=en_US&site=acrobat_all&product=acrobat

There’s only one hit for this string of text and it’s on this page: http://helpx.adobe.com/acrobat/kb/error-online-help-content-cannot.html

Now, we’ll use our imagination and pretend the following:

1. that the headings on this page (Issue and the Solutions 1 – 4) are hyperlinks that, when clicked, show the user expanded text.
2. that all of these sections are collapsed
3. that the only place on the entire page where the exact text you searched for is in the Solution 3 section.

Thus, if those sections are all collapsed and you press Ctrl+F on this page and search for “Online Help content cannot be displayed. Verify you can launch your web browser and have access to the Internet”, the browser / page specific search would tell you that the text is not on this page.

And that’s the issue! The page-specific search doesn’t look inside collapsed text but the search you used on http://helpx.adobe.com/acrobat.html *DOES* give you results if the text you are looking for exists within the collapsed text.

More ISIS Crap

Here's an interesting dilemma that makes me wonder "Who do I believe?"

On one hand, I receive email newsletters from Conservatives that state that ISIS is trying to cross the border into the United States near Mexico / Texas. On the other hand, I receive email newsletters from Liberals that state that ISIS is NOT trying to cross the border into the United States near Mexico / Texas.

So what to believe? Is it possible both are correct - that this group of terrorists are crossing while simultaneously not crossing?

Bill O'Reilly's "Talking Points" memo doesn't concern the sub-issue of ISIS crossing our border, but it does address another alarming idea: the United States is at war. That's the reality. However, since it's an election year and since the presidential candidates for 2016 (Hilary Clinton for the Democrats; Jeb Bush for the Conservatives) are grooming the public for an announcement and because the elections next month will determine if the Republicans will be able to control both the House and Senate and because President Obama doesn't want to leave his successor a war and because of the nightmare (not just political, but in general) called war, there's a lot of uncertainty. Read the Talking Points memo and decide for yourself here.

Fake Scandal Resumes Its Ongoing Irrelevance

http://freedomoutpost.com/2014/09/bombshell-benghazi-documents-scrubbed-state-department-basement/

http://www.westernjournalism.com/navy-seal-and-3-marines-blast-liberal-democrats-about-benghazi-the-words-stand-down-were-given/

http://www.westernjournalism.com/select-committees-top-democrat-praises-gowdys-handling-benghazi-hearing/

More FFDP

Per Setlist.fm, these are the songs Five Finger Death Punch played the other night.

1. Under It and Over It
   
2. Burn It Down
3. Hard to See
4. Lift Me Up
   
5. Bad Company
   
6. Burn MF
   
   
7. Remember Everything
   
   
8. Coming Down
   
9. Never Enough
   
10. The Bleeding
    
11. House of the Rising Sun
    

I'll Tell You Your Opinion

I kind of got in trouble with my opinion about Adrian Peterson on Facebook, which I don't seem to be on lately with all that is going on in life.




 

Per Bleacher Report, Adrian Peterson is expected to play in week 3 vs. the New Orleans Saints. 

Facts about ISIS

http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Peace/2014/09/13/7-ISIS-Facts-Every-American-Should-Know

Gearing Up for FFDP

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In Defense of Heavy Metal

http://blogs.villagevoice.com/music/2014/09/ask_andrew_wk_in_defense_of_metal.php

Time after Time

Song: Time After Time:

Clean Me Up

I feel like I'm entering the home stretch with the CD reconversion. When I just ran my DOS batch file, I got 66003 File(s) as a result. My status has been ever changing over the last few weeks. Off the top of my head, this is what remains:

1. ~100 CDs that I *think* I converted, but since I'm not sure, I'm auditing them.
2. ~100 CDs that I *think* must all have the song and artist information added manually.
3. ~100 CDs that are either custom made mix CDs or Life CDs, which I have written about previously on this blog.

I *think* that's it. 300 CDs to go and so far, for the CDs in #1 above, I have been making good progress. I didn't work on the audit last night, but plan to do so tonight. I admit freely that I'm not looking forward to doing the CDs in #2 or #3 as they are going to take more time per CD. For the CDs in #2, usually, a CD is ripped in no more than 5 minutes, but if I am going to be manually typing song names and artist information, I wouldn't be surprised if it turned into an average of 10 minutes a CD. For the CDs in #3, these are all CDs that have songs that exist "somewhere" in my CDs, but because the CDs were created the way in which I did, the information is not included when I rip the CD. I get "Unknown Artist" on an "Unknown Album" (essentially). That results in at least listening to enough of the song until I recognize it. Sometimes, I don't remember the artist for the song. Sometimes I can see the album cover or recognize the voice or the drums or the riff, but can't immediately state, "That is Hypnos' "I Am the Wind" (which is a song I recognized.) These CDs rely upon my memory and since the CDs were created nearly 6 years ago (the latest Life CD I have seen is from 2008), it's not always easy to remember those details. All of this leads me to the realization that there are 80 days until my self-imposed deadline of December 1, 2014. Honestly, as I look at the calendar, there's a limited number of hours to which I can devote to this project. It'll be interesting.

Reaction to the Speech

What is the President of the United States supposed to do because he's in a situation where he simply cannot win. Every husband should know what he's going through.

If the President is cautious and doesn't have a strategy, he's berated by the media for not being a leader. Now, the President has stood in front of the American people and stated he does have a strategy and when the details are stated, he's berated by the media for getting involved. Both the Fox News channel (currently, where I go for Conservative-based political commentary) and MSNBC (currently, where I go for Liberal-based political commentary) were critical of the President's speech last night.

I mean, really, what is the guy supposed to do? He's authentically damned if he doesn't do anything and damned if he does. This article describes the President of the United States as being caught masturbating in its analysis.  Don't get me wrong - Erick Erickson usually writes what I believe about President Obama, but I don't think that is an appropriate example.

I Want to Go South

This http://www.louderthanlifefestival.com/music.html festival in Louisville, KY, looks absolutely awesome! Are you serious?

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Bands Scheduled to Appear on Day One:
Judas Priest, Korn, Limp Bizkit, Stone Temple Pilots, Alter Bridge, Mastodon, Theory of a Deadman, Steel Panther, Pop Evil, Memphis May Fire, Otherwise, Fuel, NonPoint, Thousand Foot Crutch, Miss May I, Flaw, Wilson

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Bands Scheduled to Appear on Day Two:
Kid Rock, Five Finger Death Punch, Volbeat, Papa Roach, A Day to Remember, Bring Me The Horizon, Buck Cherry, P.O.D., Hell Yeah, Motionless in White, Nothing More, Butcher Babies, Avatar, Crobot, Islander

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And when I look at that concert, I'm amazed.

Judas Priest, Alter Bridge, Theory of a Deadman, Pop Evil, Otherwise, Fuel all at the same concert?!? And the next day, seeing Five Finger Death Punch, Volbeat, Buck Cherry, Papa Roach, P.O.D., and HellYeah in concert?!? I haven't read the details, but I hope there isn't three stages going at the same time.

Stinky Cheese

They want my stinky cheese?

Common Cored

I like this phrase: "common cored" to the extent that I am adding a link to the article that uses it.

Writing Style

Here's an original sentence:
The ISIS fear, spurred by the beheadings of two American journalists, has seeped into public opinion.
Here's how I would edit the same sentence:
The ISIS fear has seeped into public opinion spurred by the beheadings of two American journalists.
Another way to edit it would be like this:
Spurred by the beheadings of two American journalists, the ISIS fear has seeped into public opinion.

Not Today, Not Tomorrow, Not .... Ever?

A camper like this is not something I would run right out and purchase, but my sister-in-law likes it:

http://www.crrvc.com/NewFW/NewFW03/NewFW03.htm

Trust

There's something in the air in Kinnick Stadium. They scored a touchdown but upon further review, it was overruled. Ball State tried a 53 yard field goal and missed. Now, Iowa tried a field goal and missed.

Solve this Iowa.

Joan Rivers

I admit, I wasn't much of a Joan Rivers fan. I know of her extensive career and of her accomplishments. I never really saw her as a "female comedian" where her gender has more to do with her accomplishments than her actual content. Now, at age 81, she has passed away.

Rest In Peace.

Uproar Tour 2014

Nope, not travelling to Sioux City this weekend.

Serious Threats

America is not in the shitter, but it sure feels that way. There are so many things happening and I am sincerely glad I don't have to decide what to do about them.

Domestic

1. There's the influx of people - some say "illegal immigrants" or "refugees" or some other term that suits the moment - crossing our border. We, as a country, do not know what to do about it. Some want to immediately grant amnesty, as argued by Brian Beutler, not only because it would be good policy but also good politics.
2.  The country is also healing from the death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, MO. This article highlights a number of tragedies that has come from this situation. Coupled with that, there's the issue of race in America and the belief that there is racial profiling, which Ann Coulter takes a stab at dissecting in this article.

International

1. There's ISIS and the beheading of a second American. Those assholes think that killing Americans is good. They are bad people. Is the solution to eliminate the evil of ISIS by force? Perhaps, as argued in this article.
2.  President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia is unafraid of President Obama and unafraid of doing anything he wants to do when it comes to the Ukraine. This article outlines the seven steps that are necessary for a cease-fire.

The Bizarre

Apparently, celebrities put nude photos of themselves in the Cloud and someone hacked it and posted them. James Patrick, the current Rock 108 DJ I listen to on the way from Karen's work to my work, stated that there is already a television show about this crisis.

Future Hawkeye

Wrong choice. This player needed to go to North Carolina and be the 15th man on the bench. Here's another article about this choice, which includes this very interesting nugget of information: "I’ve been picked on, just because of who my dad is. I just had to deal with it. I’m used to it now.”

Really? We have to Argue about That?

From http://www.mediaite.com/tv/mark-lamont-hill-cnn-guest-clash-over-pull-your-pants-up-challenge/:

"Following a video by Malik King, in which the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge is converted into the Pull Your Pants Up challenge, CNN contributor Marc Lamont Hill argued the challenge internalized the idea that black men bear a partial responsibility for attracting undue police attention."

Dressing appropriately has NOTHING to do with race!

Metallica.... Nope, Not Tired of Them

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A Few More Years

This article talks about O.J. Simpson's conversion to Islam within prison and notes that "he’s not eligible for parole until late 2017." Guess we have until "late 2017" before all the hoopla starts up again about his release.

Read more at http://godfatherpolitics.com/16902/o-j-simpson-converts-islam-will-fit-quite-well/#hPVSECEGMIj3qYqD.99

 

It's hard for me to believe that this is the first post to use the label "OJ Simpson" on this blog. Wow.

Evil Intentions

The episode of "All in the Family" with Archie stuck in the elevator with an African-American, a Puerto Rican couple, and a woman who cannot be quiet was on television.

Not everyone thinks like Archie, but some think it's the way to win the upcoming election: http://www.billoreilly.com/b/The-Democrats-Cynical-Election-Strategy/983371056057116758.html

More Beheading

From NBC News:

"The Islamist militant group ISIS has killed another American journalist, Steven Sotloff, just one week after his mother was seen pleading for his life. Sotloff, 31, wrote for Time magazine and disappeared in August, 2013. In a video released today, his executioner appeared to be the same militant who killed American journalist James Foley."


The SECOND American, Steven Sotloff, has been beheaded by ISIS. Nukes? Anyone got one for these bastards? Obviously, they do not respect human life. And yes, I know that is not the Christian response. At the moment, though, I'm peeved that we seem to have had war declared upon us and it's still being debated in a committee (or so it would seem).

Read more at this link: http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/isis-terror/isis-beheads-american-journalist-steven-sotloff-monitoring-group-says-n193936

And more at this link: http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/isis-terror/u-s-will-degrade-destroy-isis-militants-obama-says-n194411

Converting Away the Stacks

I'm entering the final stacks of CDs at this point and I'm happy with the progress I am making. I'm up to 66431 files. Easily, I will complete the initial CD conversion by October 1. After that, I will work on these tasks:

1. weed out any duplicate files
2. consolidate the files on the MyCloud partitions
3. audit all CDs converted

Rain Rain Rain

Nothing beats spending time with my wife and her family in a camper as it rains outside. 12 of us. Lou, Susie, mark, Karen and Megan playing cards, Jonathan and Danny and Tyler on handheld devices, Alex and Jean finding a game on television, barb and I sitting on the couch.

My imdb.com app is getting a workout.

On another note, talking with Mark R and Steve R was a highlight of this weekend. Another was going to Guardians of the Galaxy at the Elkader theater yesterday at 330 with Megan. A third highlight was not going to bed and then waking up with a terrible headache that 2 Aleve hasn't taken away.

It's not even 1 PM and I am already thinking about Vanessa's issue with Confluence. When she tries to export to PDF, there's a table that gets cut off. I think there is a way to make it work but I don't know what it is at the moment. I'm hoping to get back home fairly early so I can try to figure it out.

I'm also anxious to get home so I can see if the RoboCopy job that I left running when we left the house on Saturday morning has been completed. If it's done, I think I will be able to resume the task of consolidating the files on the MyCloud drive to some sort of structure that makes sense. I created such a mess. Each of the two times I had an external hard drive fail resulted in copying duplicates to more than one of the partitions. My goal is to reduce the number of duplicates and reduce the space being used.

It's unclear whether the plans outlined above will come to fruition.