Automatically generated Entry Point Statements for Online Help

1 Initial Problem

Up to 5.3 the editorial team could make reasonable assuptions about the Personal Desktop menu. 
With ILIAS 5.4 Personal Desktop menu is configurable and thus unknowable to the editorial team. The help cannot know what nodes are presented and how they are stacked and labled. Help articles can no longer provide correct entry point statements. 
Even if we assume that few existing installations will change labels, with 6.0 the Personal Desktop concept is abandonned altogether and all organisations are nudged to think fresh about the Main Menu.

The flexibility stays as the new normal.

Help as we know it starts breaking with 5.4 and will positively do so with 6.0. The help will no longer be able to indicate precise paths that need to be taken to start a workflow (entry point statement). 

2 Conceptual Summary

We want to automatically generate the entry point statement according to the actual configuration of the very ILIAS installation the help is running on. 

• As part of the entry point statement Editors will enter a placeholder for Main Menu Items instead of text i.e. [menupath item = "mm_pd_port"\]
• Once the help package is imported into an actual ILIAS installation the placeholders are replaced by the very labels used in that installation. 
• The replacement is done on the fly.

3 User Interface Modifications

3.1 List of Affected Views

none.

3.2 User Interface Details

none

3.3 New User Interface Concepts

{If the proposal introduces any completely new user interface elements, you might consult UI Kitchen Sink in order to find the necessary information to propose new UI-Concepts. Note that any maintainer might gladly assist you with this.}

4 Technical Information

Killing, Alexander [alex], 27 May 2019: I support the general idea. The GlobalScreen service may need to be extended to deliver this function in a performant way. Fabian Schmid needs to be consulted here.

Schmid, Fabian [fschmid], 28 May 2019: Yes, the Global Screen Collector would have to be extended by a possibility to obtain a single item on the basis of its ID. This should not be a problem. By using PHP generators you should be able to do this very efficiently. You are welcome to contact me, if you want me to do this extension.

5 Contact

• Author of the Request: Tödt, Alexandra [atoedt]
• Maintainer: Killing, Alexander [alex] for help system and Schmid, Fabian [fschmid] for global screen service
  
• Implementation of the feature is done by: {The maintainer must add the name of the implementing developer.}

6 Funding

If you are interest in funding this feature, please add your name and institution to this list.

• …

7 Discussion

Killing, Alexander [alex], 27 May 2019: I support the idea.

JourFixe, ILIAS [jourfixe], 03 JUN 2019 : We highly appreciate this suggestion and schedule it for 6.0.

8 Implementation

It is possible to use the tags [menu item="menu_item_id"/] and [menu path="menu_item_id"/] in page help texts and page titles now.

{The maintainer has to give a description of the final implementation and add screenshots if possible.}

Test Cases

Test cases completed at 2019-12-06 by Tödt, Alexandra [atoedt]

• 32091 : Menü-Kickwege sind an Konfiguration angepasst

Approval

Approved at 2019-12-04 by Tödt, Alexandra [atoedt]