[Digikam-users] where is the user support?

[ELLIOT SMITH]

If I can find some software that does a screen recording, I can upload to
youtube a video of what I am talking about.  You've put up a web site, and
apparently you think it works.  It doesn't.  I would suggest you (whoever
is the lead person or team for the user interface) actually collect data
on how well the web site works, or doesn't.  Just because it looks good to
you doesn't mean it is useable.  You use it every day, you know where
everything is at.  To me, it's a complete jumble and mess.  For one thing,
the color scheme is not color-blind friendly.

So I'm looking for information on how this broken software can work.  I go
here:

http://www.digikam.org/

wtf?

About
News
Developers Blogs
Events
Screenshots
Download
digiKam Recipes Book
Documentation
Wiki
FAQ
Support

That's a lot to take in, especially considering the color scheme makes me
want to gouge my own eyes out.

Documentation and Support and FAQ and Wiki are really similar concepts, if
you ask me.  Maybe these could all be grouped together under a single
"support" heading.

The wiki.  http://userbase.kde.org/Digikam

Wtf is this?  "View, manage, edit, enhance, organize, tag, and share
photographs." it says.  Yeah, I know.  I got that part.  That's why I'm
here.  Do you realize that the wiki is nothing but screen shots of the
software working.  There's no information on how to get it to work. 
There's no info on errors.  There's nothing.  It's not a wiki.  It's a
collection of screen shots.

What am I supposed to do with this?

http://userbase.kde.org/File:Digikam_camera.png

Set that as my desktop background and masturbate to it?

So the wiki is a bust.

As I mentioned previously, I did find the forum.. It wants a username and
password... No idea how to to get those... no link to sign up.  You don't
think that kind of idiocy is going to maybe turn people off just a little
bit?  And it shows ZERO posts in the forum.  ZERO.  You have a forum with
ZERO posts?  Either that's a bug in the software and it's reporting
incorrectly, or you actually maintain a forum with ZERO posts.  Because no
one can get a user name and password to get into it.  I can only assume
the donations are used to fund a healthy drug habit.

http://www.digikam.org/docs

Documentation

"The digiKam documentation comes as a separate package usually called
digikam-doc) which you have to install for local use."


Well, okay, now we're getting somewhere.  Not.  The documentation that I
have in my help menu is pretty lame and buggy at that.  How do I know if
the documentation that comes as a separate package is the documentation
that I already have?  Logically, if it comes as a separate package, then I
shouldn't have it, given that I have not downloaded and installed any
separate packages.  But so far nothing about this user interface is
logical, so how the hell would I know for sure?

But you can read it online as well (some options might differ from your
local installation because the online manuals belongs to the development
versions):

    digiKam and image editor plugins
    Showfoto
    Kipi-plugins


    digiKam PDF handbook
    Showfoto PDF handbook
    Kipi-plugins PDF handbook


Okay... the decision tree you are sending me down at this point is getting
to be a bit much.  Wtf is showfoto?  Why do I care about it?  Kipi
plugins?  Hello?  Before you throw something at me, give me an
introduction.  Give me some context.

"digiKam and image editor plugins"   Is this a link to plugins?  Or to
documentation for plugins?  Is a keyboard monkey part of the interface
design team, whacking on the keyboard with a stick?

"A wiki page hosted by KDE project is under contruction."

Yeah, I gathered as much.

"Every one can contribute to add and fix wiki contents."

That should be "everyone" not "every one."  And yes, I'm aware of how a
wiki works, thank you.

API and Database schema

If you plan developing for digiKam you might find these links interesting:

    digiKam API
    libkipi API
    libkexiv2 API
    libkdcraw API
    libkgeomap API
    Database schema

Use SQliteBrowser or the sqlite firefox extension to play with SQlite3
database files.
Online Source Code

    digiKam source code.
    kipi-plugins source code.
    libkipi, libkdcraw, libkexiv2 source code.
    libkface, libkgeomap source code.


No.  I don't want this.  I'm looking for documentation.  That's all I'm
looking for.  That's why I clicked to come here.  Why is all this crap on
this page?  How many users are going to actually want to read any of this?
 1% of 1% of 1%?  You couldn't put this info on a different page?  With a
simple link to it?  I'm looking for documentation, trying to overcome the
learning curve of a new software, new jargon, etc, and you're throwing all
this stuff at me about how to find the source code for libkipi, libkdcraw,
libkexiv2 AND ALSO libkface, libkgeomap.  Because of course, I don't just
want the libkipi, libkdcraw, libkexiv2 source code.  I might also need the
libkface, libkgeomap source code too.  I'm so glad this loaded on my
screen to give me more information to parse in this god-awful migraine
inducing color scheme.  Because I didn't already find enough useless
superfluous and generally distracting information and links on this web
site.

I did finally click on the non-obvious "digiKam and image editor plugins"
after exhausting all the other dead-ends, and what do you know, it's NOT a
link to plugins, it's a link to documentation.

So I wind up here:

"Any configured digital camera will be listed here. You can use the "Add
Camera" menu entry to add a new camera to the list. Please, read the Setup
Camera Section for more information. "

So I click the "Setup Camera Section" link which directs me here:

http://docs.kde.org/development/en/extragear-graphics/digikam/using-setup.html#cameraselection.anchor

The anchor is apparently misplaced, because it lands me in the middle of
some text, with no heading to indicate where I am.  I scroll up, and I'm
pretty close to being where I need to be.  I scroll up, and yes, there is
a screen shot of the function that isn't working for me.  And look, it has
an "auto-detect" button.  I don't have that button.  wow.  wtf?

You need to enter here the path where you mount the camera, usually
"/mnt/camera" or "/mnt/removable".

Um?  I'm using Windows 7?

 To be able to use your digital camera with digiKam, connect the camera to
your computer, switch the camera to the image display mode and turn it
on.

Try and see if digiKam can auto-detect the camera; if not, you can set the
camera model and port manually. Once you have the camera setup, go to the
"Cameras" menu in the main interface and you will see the camera listed in
the menu.

Right.  If that would have worked, I wouldn't be here in the first place.

When I try to add my camera, it gives an error with "102CANON The folder
name is not valid"

See, this is how a support interface would work.  I would search or browse
for my error message, and I would get information on the error.  I don't
see that as really being an option here.  Google says:  No results found
for site:docs.kde.org "the folder name is not valid".

Google further says:  "No results found for site:kde.org "the folder name
is not valid"."

Wow, look at that, I'm the first person who has ever gotten this error
message before.

If only I could log into that support forum I could do a FRIST PSOT!

Well I was hoping to have the software pull my photos off my camera, it
might preserve the metadata that way.  man.  It's a sad world we live in
when this might possibly be the best the open source community can do.  I
need to start looking at commercial software.  Nothing against people with
Aspergers I probably am a bit of an aspie myself but god damn I don't want
a support interface designed and managed by someone with such extreme
microfocus as to be unable to see the forest for the trees.

Good luck with y'alls project, I'm signing off this list now.

-Elliot










Hi,

I just wanted to check if there was any reason for the
complaint concerning the support documentation; most of it
seems up-to date and working.
BUT: some links in the index give an error: "The file
/development/en/extragear-graphics/digikam/inedex.html could
not be found."
Well, the "inedex.html" seems quite suspicious to me, guess
that too many thumbs have been hammering a keyboard somewhere...

So, if the bug is true, Elliot has already (indirectly)
contributed to the wonderful open-source world - despite the
rant...

Best regards,
Sveinn í Felli

Þann lau  3.ágú 2013 20:56, skrifaði Peter Mc Donough:
> Am 03.08.2013 20:58, wrote ELLIOT SMITH:
>>
>> I am looking for a photo management application, so I
>> downloaded digikam
>> to give it a try, and I found some features that are
>> broken, so I thought
>> I would check the support docs and forum to see if I could
>> get any help,
>> and I found that the support docs
>> a) suck,
>> b) are buried and hard to find
>> c) something about how I can't use them until I download
>> and install them,
>> but no link to do so... so maybe there are better docs
>> that I could get if
>> only there were a link to download them?
>
> Welcome to the world of Digikam.
> I have been running Digikam successfully for quite a while.
>
> If you have a problem with Digikam, this list may be able to
> help you.
> Have also a look at http://www.digikam.org/
>
> Within my system I just have to click the help button and
> there it is.
> Digikam is opens source, free of charge, and very powerful.
> Which means, you will have to invest some effort to unlock
> that power.
>
> You should include some information about your system and
> specify the problem.
>
> For example my system runs digikam Version 3.2.0, unter KDE
> 4.10.5 "release 1", OS is opensuse 12.3.
> It also runs under Windows, which I don't use for photo
> management
>
>> And there is a mailing list.  Very retro.
>
> Yes, you get the information via email and can read it when
> you have spare time. Some like it that way and not being
> retro doesn't automatically mean "advanced".
>
> Have fun
> Peter
> _______________________________________________
> Digikam-users mailing list
> Digikam-users at kde.org
> https://mail.kde.org/mailman/listinfo/digikam-users

_______________________________________________
Digikam-users mailing list
Digikam-users at kde.org
https://mail.kde.org/mailman/listinfo/digikam-users