Thunderbird:Help Documentation:Outline

Content:

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Topics:

• Configuring Thunderbird
  • Setting Up Accounts
    • Email Accounts
    • Newsgroup Accounts
    • RSS Accounts
    • Movemail Accounts
  • Setting Thunderbird Options
    • General Options
    • Display Options
    • Composition Options
    • Attachment Options
    • Font Options
    • Advanced Options
• Importing
  • Address Books
  • Mail
  • Settings From Other Program
• Composing Email Messages (including reply/forward/edit as new)
• Managing Junk Email
• Managing Message Filters
• The Address Book
• Organizing your email (too unspecific, overlaps with managing junk and message filters)
• Handle the folder pane (sort by, threaded, grouped by sort, display only certain messages/threads, change the columns displayed)
• Handle the message display (header display, message body as, text size, chararcter encoding, show images)
• Searching (various options in the searchbox, save search as a folder)
• Customizing Thunderbird: 3 layouts, Extensions and Themes, (Toolbar?)
• Options
  • Overview of the various options dialogs and managers (explain where to look for which kind of setting)
  • Folder Properties
  • Account settings (including Identities)
  • Options dialog
  • Junk mail controls
• OS-specific documentation
  • Terminology differences between Thunderbird, Outlook (& OE), Eudora (others?)
  • Terminology differences between Thunderbird, KMail, Evolution (others?)
  • Terminology differences between Thunderbird, Mail.app, Eudora, Entourage (others?)
• Shortcuts (keyboard, possibly mouse if there are enough that are non-obvious)
• Menu reference

Special Topics:

• Glossary of terms
  • terms to include: RSS, IMAP, POP, SSL, signature, S/MIME, LDAP, subscribe, Movemail (Unix-ish platforms, hidden on Windows) <add others here>
• Documentation for specific areas (via Help button/special overlays)

Topics to Omit(*):

• Profile/mail folder sharing between Windows and Linux (too geeky, not generally useful)

(*) Where "Omit" means "Put in an alternate location, obvious to geeky folks" Such as an online FAQ or NotSoFAQ.

Advanced topics have been stored in the Mozillazine Knowledge Base. While this isn't a perfect location, I don't think it's Help's place to direct people there -- such people should be able to find the information unaided, and when we get around to reorganizing the start page in Help, there'll be a prominent link to Support. Advanced users will want more and thus will check out Support. Support can link where it thinks necessary, including advanced places. (There's also the point that advanced users don't really need or use Help, which is probably more pertinent [and coherent, as I'm doubtless writing poorly now because it's really late].)