250 lines
7.7 KiB
Markdown
250 lines
7.7 KiB
Markdown
---
|
|
stage: none
|
|
group: Style Guide
|
|
info: To determine the technical writer assigned to the Stage/Group associated with this page, see https://about.gitlab.com/handbook/engineering/ux/technical-writing/#assignments
|
|
description: What to include in GitLab documentation pages.
|
|
---
|
|
|
|
# Documentation topic types
|
|
|
|
At GitLab, we have not traditionally used topic types. However, we are starting to
|
|
move in this direction, and we now use four topic types:
|
|
|
|
- [Concept](#concept)
|
|
- [Task](#task)
|
|
- [Reference](#reference)
|
|
- [Troubleshooting](#troubleshooting)
|
|
|
|
Each page contains multiple topic types. For example,
|
|
a page with the title `Pipelines`, which is generated from a file called `index.md`,
|
|
can include a concept and multiple task and reference topics.
|
|
|
|
GitLab also uses high-level landing pages.
|
|
|
|
## Landing pages
|
|
|
|
Landing pages are topics that group other topics and help a user to navigate a section.
|
|
|
|
Users who are using the in-product help do not have a left nav,
|
|
and need these topics to navigate the documentation.
|
|
|
|
These topics can also help other users find the most important topics
|
|
in a section.
|
|
|
|
Landing page topics should be in this format:
|
|
|
|
```markdown
|
|
# Title (a noun, like "CI/CD or "Analytics")
|
|
|
|
Brief introduction to the concept or product area.
|
|
Include the reason why someone would use this thing.
|
|
|
|
- Bulleted list of important related topics.
|
|
- These links are needed because users of in-product help do not have left navigation.
|
|
```
|
|
|
|
## Concept
|
|
|
|
A concept topic introduces a single feature or concept.
|
|
|
|
A concept should answer the questions:
|
|
|
|
- What is this?
|
|
- Why would I use it?
|
|
|
|
Think of everything someone might want to know if they've never heard of this topic before.
|
|
|
|
Don't tell them **how** to do this thing. Tell them **what it is**.
|
|
|
|
If you start describing another topic, start a new concept and link to it.
|
|
|
|
Also, do not use "Overview" or "Introduction" for the topic title. Instead,
|
|
use a noun or phrase that someone would search for.
|
|
|
|
Concept topics should be in this format:
|
|
|
|
```markdown
|
|
# Title (a noun, like "Widgets")
|
|
|
|
A paragraph that explains what this thing is.
|
|
|
|
Another paragraph that explains what this thing is.
|
|
|
|
Remember, if you start to describe about another concept, stop yourself.
|
|
Each concept topic should be about one concept only.
|
|
```
|
|
|
|
## Task
|
|
|
|
A task topic gives instructions for how to complete a procedure.
|
|
|
|
Task topics should be in this format:
|
|
|
|
```markdown
|
|
# Title (starts with an active verb, like "Create a widget" or "Delete a widget")
|
|
|
|
Do this task when you want to...
|
|
|
|
Prerequisites (optional):
|
|
|
|
- Thing 1
|
|
- Thing 2
|
|
- Thing 3
|
|
|
|
To do this task:
|
|
|
|
1. Location then action. (Go to this menu, then select this item.)
|
|
1. Another step.
|
|
1. Another step.
|
|
|
|
Task result (optional). Next steps (optional).
|
|
```
|
|
|
|
Here is an example.
|
|
|
|
```markdown
|
|
# Create an issue
|
|
|
|
Create an issue when you want to track bugs or future work.
|
|
|
|
Prerequisites:
|
|
|
|
- A minimum of Contributor access to a project in GitLab.
|
|
|
|
To create an issue:
|
|
|
|
1. Go to **Issues > List**.
|
|
1. In the top right, select **New issue**.
|
|
1. Complete the fields. (If you have a reference topic that lists each field, link to it here.)
|
|
1. Select **Create issue**.
|
|
|
|
The issue is created. You can view it by going to **Issues > List**.
|
|
```
|
|
|
|
If you have several tasks on a page that share prerequisites, you can make a
|
|
reference topic with the title **Prerequisites**, and link to it.
|
|
|
|
## Reference
|
|
|
|
A reference topic provides information in an easily-scannable format,
|
|
like a table or list. It's similar to a dictionary or encyclopedia entry.
|
|
|
|
```markdown
|
|
# Title (a noun, like "Pipeline settings" or "Administrator options")
|
|
|
|
Introductory sentence.
|
|
|
|
| Setting | Description |
|
|
|---------|-------------|
|
|
| **Name** | Descriptive sentence about the setting. |
|
|
```
|
|
|
|
If a feature or concept has its own prerequisites, you can use the reference
|
|
topic type to create a **Prerequisites** header for the information.
|
|
|
|
## Troubleshooting
|
|
|
|
Troubleshooting topics can be one of two categories:
|
|
|
|
- **Troubleshooting task.** This topic is written the same as a [standard task topic](#task).
|
|
For example, "Run debug tools" or "Verify syntax."
|
|
- **Troubleshooting reference.** This topic has a specific format.
|
|
|
|
Troubleshooting reference topics should be in this format:
|
|
|
|
```markdown
|
|
# Title (the error message or a description of it)
|
|
|
|
You might get an error that states <error message>.
|
|
|
|
This issue occurs when...
|
|
|
|
The workaround is...
|
|
```
|
|
|
|
For the topic title:
|
|
|
|
- Consider including at least a partial error message in the title.
|
|
- Use fewer than 70 characters.
|
|
|
|
Remember to include the complete error message in the topics content if it is
|
|
not complete in the title.
|
|
|
|
## Other information on a topic
|
|
|
|
Topics include other information.
|
|
|
|
For example:
|
|
|
|
- Each topic must have a [tier badge](styleguide/index.md#product-tier-badges).
|
|
- New topics must have information about the
|
|
[GitLab version where the feature was introduced](styleguide/index.md#where-to-put-version-text).
|
|
|
|
### Help and feedback section
|
|
|
|
This section ([introduced](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab-docs/-/merge_requests/319) in GitLab 11.4)
|
|
is displayed at the end of each document and can be omitted by adding a key into
|
|
the front matter:
|
|
|
|
```yaml
|
|
---
|
|
feedback: false
|
|
---
|
|
```
|
|
|
|
The default is to leave it there. If you want to omit it from a document, you
|
|
must check with a technical writer before doing so.
|
|
|
|
#### Disqus
|
|
|
|
We also have integrated the docs site with Disqus (introduced by
|
|
[!151](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab-docs/-/merge_requests/151)),
|
|
allowing our users to post comments.
|
|
|
|
To omit only the comments from the feedback section, use the following key in
|
|
the front matter:
|
|
|
|
```yaml
|
|
---
|
|
comments: false
|
|
---
|
|
```
|
|
|
|
We're hiding comments only in main index pages, such as [the main documentation index](../../README.md),
|
|
since its content is too broad to comment on. Before omitting Disqus, you must
|
|
check with a technical writer.
|
|
|
|
Note that after adding `feedback: false` to the front matter, it will omit
|
|
Disqus, therefore, don't add both keys to the same document.
|
|
|
|
The click events in the feedback section are tracked with Google Tag Manager.
|
|
The conversions can be viewed on Google Analytics by navigating to
|
|
**Behavior > Events > Top events > docs**.
|
|
|
|
### Guidelines for good practices
|
|
|
|
> [Introduced](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/-/merge_requests/36576/) in GitLab 13.2 as GitLab Development documentation.
|
|
|
|
*Good practice* examples demonstrate encouraged ways of writing code while
|
|
comparing with examples of practices to avoid. These examples are labeled as
|
|
*Bad* or *Good*. In GitLab development guidelines, when presenting the cases,
|
|
it's recommended to follow a *first-bad-then-good* strategy. First demonstrate
|
|
the *Bad* practice (how things *could* be done, which is often still working
|
|
code), and then how things *should* be done better, using a *Good* example. This
|
|
is typically an improved example of the same code.
|
|
|
|
Consider the following guidelines when offering examples:
|
|
|
|
- First, offer the *Bad* example, and then the *Good* one.
|
|
- When only one bad case and one good case is given, use the same code block.
|
|
- When more than one bad case or one good case is offered, use separated code
|
|
blocks for each. With many examples being presented, a clear separation helps
|
|
the reader to go directly to the good part. Consider offering an explanation
|
|
(for example, a comment, or a link to a resource) on why something is bad
|
|
practice.
|
|
- Better and best cases can be considered part of the good case(s) code block.
|
|
In the same code block, precede each with comments: `# Better` and `# Best`.
|
|
|
|
Although the bad-then-good approach is acceptable for the GitLab development
|
|
guidelines, do not use it for user documentation. For user documentation, use
|
|
*Do* and *Don't*. For examples, see the [Pajamas Design System](https://design.gitlab.com/content/punctuation/).
|