I know that there have been some changes in MyInfo terminology. It may be too late but I'm going to throw my two cents in anyway.
I find some of it is quite confusing.
I think the Topic should be called a file or database
I think the Document should be called a topic
I think the page should be called the document
The tabs at the bottom should be DB or File tabs
I mean going to the file menu to open a topic is sort of counter intuitive IMHO.
There are also some short cut keys which could be more intuitive but I've posted enough stuff here & had very little response or reaction so I think I'll just shut up now.
Nah... keep talking! The only way things have a chance of changing is if they are mentioned. Of course, not everyone agrees on the changes but at least the opinion is expressed. It's obvious petko (or some admin) checks the forum frequently (spam is removed pretty quick), so keep the comments coming. I agree that these boards are pretty quiet, so keep talking in the face of silence! (kind of a self-defeating circle: people don't want to post if not many people are posting... ironic!)
I agree. I'm a little confused too, was just hoping I'd get used to it. I would like it to look pretty much like you suggested but leave out the "DB" I vote for this:
Topic should be called a "File"
Document should be called "Topic"
Page should be called "Document"
I just bought V3 after using an early version for a long time and I agree with the statements here. One thing that all great programs have in common is they are intuitive. Some you don't even need the manual and rarely look at the help file. The terminology will take a bit of getting used to. I think the reason for using Topic for example is the MyInfo concept. Make a database a Topic like one of the examples, "Trip to Bulgaria".
I'd prefer something more general and commonly known in the hierarchy like a File, Worksheet or Database, Headings, Topics or Folders then Sub-headings etc., followed by pages.
Frankly, not a big deal for me at this point because I've gotten used to the names. I'd rather see some of the more technical enhancements proposed on the message boards. And I can understand that there are many MyInfo users who probably would be confused by more name changes
If you're considering new names, however, I suppose I would do (1) "file" or "outline" instead of "topic," and (2) "heading" or "title" for "documents."
I agree with this thread-- I used MyInfo before the terminology change and the previous terminology was more intuitive. I believe it was File (now Topic) and Item (now Document).
Topic is fine for some MyInfo uses. For example, if I'm maintaining info about items within a broad topic, it's great. But if I'm tracking topics within a broad field, then MyInfo's usage is counterintuitive. The problem of what's broad and what's narrow is always relative to the scope of what you're working on.
So I vote for using File instead of Topic, because MyInfo literally creates a file. That way, I'm not thinking about where "file" fits into a hierarchy of categories, but just about the physical file on the computer.
I'm happy with leaving Document alone, since it has also become pretty generic in the computer sphere. It often just means "the unit my program is working on now." And since any name change will inevitably be a pain for users while we adjust, I don't think this one justifies the change. (But if Document does get changed, I prefer Item rather than Topic, because I think Item is more generic.)
I think file (for topic) and document (for document) don't go well together because documents that we typically deal with everyday such as Word documents, spreadsheets, PDF etc. are also files. This oneness is quite visual and established in the mainstream computing. When you break that common concept and ask the users to see file as one thing and document as another thing, it will most likely cause confusion.
The term document in myInfo (as it's now used) is intuitive and makes sense because its visual appearance in the editor is just that of a document. So, it wouldn't make sense to change the term document to something else.
When you say something like "such and such documents about such and such topic," it makes sense, but "such and such documents about such and such file" dosen't make much sense.
In my opinion, in the absense of a better term, "topic" is not a bad one. For those "power users," who need to know the internal representation, it would help to state clearly in "Quick Start" and all other Help areas that topic is reprsented as a file. Before I started using myInfo, I was unclear and bit fuzzy as to what really a topic was. I wasn't sure about its scope and how to use it to organize a knowlegebase. Once I knew that each topic is physically represented as an object (file, in this case), I got some idea of its scope in relation to "documents" and at what level I can use it to intuitively organize information. Any one instance of myInfo, from its content perspective, is a collection of documents belonging to various topics.
jamal wrote:.... In my opinion, in the absense of a better term, "topic" is not a bad one.
That's the whole point. Any term is not a bad one in the absence of a better one.
For those "power users," who need to know the internal representation, it would help to state clearly in "Quick Start" and all other Help areas that topic is reprsented as a file. ....
I agree. I've read the manual and I still don't understand what "Value" means. "Edit -> Rename/Change Value". I know what it does but why 'Value'? It's just not intuitive and it is poorly explained if it is explained at all. Perhaps the existing terminology could stay and more conventional terminology could be placed in brackets.
I'm quite happy with the program but I wouldn't recommend it to anyone because of the steep learning curve when compared to other programs. Just a final thought. How many people on the planet use PDA's? Look at the terminology used and how easy it is to understand.
jamal wrote:
For those "power users," who need to know the internal representation, it would help to state clearly in "Quick Start" and all other Help areas that topic is reprsented as a file.
I don't think people are interested to know the internal representation.
The main point is that people are used to standards.
Moreover, to create new topic in MyInfo, you have to use File->New. Not Topic->New. To open a topic, you use File->Open.
I couldn't care less....I probably wouldn't even notice if this discussion didn't exist, but I'm not wondering that it's confusing for many people.
It's probably kind of similar if you used File->New in the Word editor, but after that was offered to create a Letter instead and not a file.
Bob B wrote:
I'm quite happy with the program but I wouldn't recommend it to anyone because of the steep learning curve when compared to other programs.
My experience was different, very easy to learn and the only complaint in that respect is the slight turning away from standards.
Anyway, I'm not discounting what you said, I can see why it can have a steep learing curve for you. I have used many similar programs in the past, and if you would change to MyInfo from Zoot or Ultrarecall, you would also consider it to be a very easy program after the experience with the above two.
