68253 - Add context help to Account Central view

Status: RESOLVED WONTFIX

(SeaMonkey :: MailNews: Account Configuration, defect)

Description

[robinf]

We'd like to add context-sensitive help to the Account Central page, as
described in the Account Level proposal:
http://gooey/client/6.5/proposals/mail/AccountLevel.html
(see item #9). When the user mouses over one of the links in the Account Central
page, context help will be displayed in the Account Central view.

The default (new profile) window size for Mail/News is 700x500. I'm assuming we
should use this size as our default in determining how much white space is
available for help text. (Note that this window is slightly smaller than the
800x600 minimum size that we recommend to users.)

Comment 1

[[e-mail] (gone - use [e-mail] instead)]

Just adding the Mozilla.org for folks outside the firewall.

Comment 2

[robinf]

Bhuvan, after you implement this, please re-assign this bug to me since I'll be
creating the help text. Thanks.

Comment 3

[Matthew T (active 1999-2002)]

I predict that any help text which is short enough to be read during a mouseover 
will be too short to be useful, and that this will just be annoying. Of course, I 
can't tell for certain until I see it.

You can't use a 700*500 window for determining the amount of whitespace 
available. Firstly, people on laptops often have a 640*400 screen (it's likely 
they'll hide the folder pane once bug 21344 is fixed, but that only gives you 
extra space in one dimension). And secondly, you don't know how big the user's 
default font is.

Comment 4

[scottputterman]

I hope that if we do the help text that it won't only show during mousing over a
link. As mpt says it won't be very useful, and I'm also not sure it will look so
great to have the help text changing every time you move the mouse.  If it's
based on mousing over a link, I think it should at least stay until the next
link is moused over, though even that presents a confusing UI if the user is
trying to follow the steps in the help and accidentally mouses over another link.

We could just make it a "tip of the day" section that doesn't change.  Or
perhaps someone can come up with a better way of keeping useful help from
changing when the user is trying to follow it.

Comment 5

[(not reading, please use [e-mail] instead)]

mass re-assign.

Comment 6

[Tony Mechelynck [:tonymec]]

Not sure where I stand about this bug.

I suppose it ought to be either FIXED or WONTFIXed some day, but I don't see it heading either way.

Comment 7

[Robert Kaiser]

I don't think this is going anywhere, let's just get rid of the report.