I had another very good use case for wanting and need PREV and NEXT on the pages. I was looking at a command in the DFSMS books. The command (DEFINE PATH) has a set of Required Parameters, and a set of Optional Parameters. These parameter pages are, typically, about 3-4 levels "deep" in the documentation topics.
Looking for the parameter I wanted, I thought it was Optional (PATHENTRY). My luck, of course I was wrong, and it really was Required. In this case, I really could have used a PREV (when I was on Optional and needed to go to Required) in a single click, or Next (when I was on Required and needed to go to Optional). Without a PREV, I had to:
- go back in the ToC on the left, which was not in the right location, as we've talked about the scrolling problem in the ToC not matching where in the book you are
- scroll through the ToC to find the element book I was in
- expand that element bookshelf
- scroll to the right book
- select either the parent topic (the DFSMS command itself), or the other parameter topic (Required Parameter, for me).
We've also talked about breadcrumbs across the top, and that would have helped me, if NEXT and PREV were not, there by making my use case:
- click on the DFSMS commands book itself, or even more ideally click on the command (DEFINE PATH) itself which would be across the top of the page,
- select parameter topic (Required Parameter, for me).
Contrast this with the NEXT or PREV, when my clicking pattern would be:
- click on Required Parameter from the Optional Parameter page.
I can get screen shots of the above use case, if they'd help.
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Marna Walle
z/OS Installation and Upgrade
IBM Poughkeepsie
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Original Message:
Sent: Thu October 28, 2021 11:40 AM
From: Geoffrey Smith
Subject: Is there a need for page forward and page backward buttons for z/OS documentation in IBM Documentation?
Is the TOC performance acceptable?
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Geoffrey Smith
Original Message:
Sent: Wed October 20, 2021 01:31 PM
From: Edward Jaffe
Subject: Is there a need for page forward and page backward buttons for z/OS documentation in IBM Documentation?
I remember first seeing Page Forward and Page Backward in the old Windows-based Library Reader. I never actually used this feature in any Book Manager, Library Reader, Information Center or Knowledge Center implementation, but it seems to be a popular request among those that have been doing so for ages.
In the current IBM Documentation, any off-page navigation other than clicking on the TOC to the left is quite slow. Clicking a topic in the TOC to the left is light speed by comparison. I mentioned this on the one very productive meeting we had (our second one I believe) and Kerry confirmed my suspicion that navigation initiated from clicking in the page body takes a much slower path because you're working with full HTTPS links that could be cross-book, cross-release or even cross-product links.
For this reason, I avoid off-page navigation links that appear in the page body where possible. So even if Fwd and Bwd links were provided, I would not use them unless they had the same "fast path" navigation characteristics of clicking in the TOC (which is how I always page forward and back).
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Edward Jaffe
Chief Technology Officer
Phoenix Software International, Inc
El Segundo, CA CA
Original Message:
Sent: Thu September 30, 2021 11:44 AM
From: Geoffrey Smith
Subject: Is there a need for page forward and page backward buttons for z/OS documentation in IBM Documentation?
IBM Knowledge Center introduced page forward and page backward buttons. At the time we received positive feedback mostly likely because z/OS documentation was created as books, and paging through the content using page forward and page backward was easier and more intuitive, than using the table of contents to move from page to page, but what do you think? Is the table of contents sufficient to navigate z/OS documentation? Or would you like to see page forward/backward buttons on every page?
Example of Previous/Next in Knowledge Center
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Geoffrey Smith
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