Begin Using TortoiseSVN 1.4.7
There is no central user interface for TortoiseSVN. You work with it via context menus in Windows Explorer, some of which produce dialogue windows.
Open from the Start Menu
Starting a newly installed application is usually a simple case of:
- opening the Start menu;
- going to All Programs (or just Programs);
- finding the folder it was installed to;
- and clicking the item named after the application.
The screenshot shows it is easy to locate this.
Welcome to...erm...this Message Box
Clicking that item gives you this message box:
TortoiseSVN is a shell extension.
That means it is integrated into the Windows explorer.
To use TortoiseSVN please open the explorer and right-click on any folder you like to bring up the context menu where you will find all TortoiseSVN commands.
And read the manual!
Observations
- Badly worded. Is “the explorer” different from “the Windows explorer”?
- Missing a capital letter for “Explorer”.
- Bold text for no reason.
- Underlined text for no reason. It isn’t a hyperlink to the manual.
- Unpunctuated sentance with 27 words in it.
- Takes 4 paragraphs to say: “The item you clicked does nothing. RTFM.”
- OK button is too small.
- OK button is too close to the bottom edge
As first impressions go? Well, I’ve had better!
The Window you Never Knew you Wanted!
You click the OK button. A new Windows Explorer winder is shown, open at the My Documents folder. Strangely, the Address Bar is absent from it.
Observations
- Created a window I didn’t ask for.
- Didn’t indicate it was going to do this.
- A useful navigation aid has been hidden.
- Doesn’t start at the folder I want to set up.
- The folder I wanted to work with was alreadyopen.
This window was not useful to me.
Idea
Provide a central UI for all the features, like an FTP client or an IDE. Start page could list the most recent actions.
When installation finishes, it could take you straight to the central UI. This would guide you step-by-step through setting up your first project, like a Wizard.
A central UI would be additional to the Windows Explorer context menu items.